People are generally cowards. We don’t like confrontation. We don’t like heated conversations. While we may have a conviction or two about something, if we think our livelihood or perhaps even our life could be at stake, we skirt around issues. The men who came to arrest Jesus in Matthew 26:55 were cowards. Jesus even called them out on it. Every day he was out in the open but because of their cowardice and fear of what the people would do, they waited until the middle of the night to arrest him. I look back on my life when I identified with Christianity but was not actually saved. I thought I was saved but was a coward. I would go to church and discuss Christ with people who were safe. I kept my “religion” to myself at work and in mixed social circles. I was a politically correct “Christian.” I believed what I believed and I let others believe what they believed and kept quiet about it. I was a coward. I didn’t want to loose business. I was a coward. I didn’t want people to think I was a Jesus freak. I was a coward. I didn’t want to loose friends. I was a coward. Jesus turned all that around on May 20th 2013 when he knocked some sense into me. He revealed himself to me and it was then that I truly understood that just because I identified with Christ did not mean I was one of His. I was truly a coward. Then, all of the sudden, I was not anymore. Jesus showed me my sin. He showed me how much I loved this world. He showed me how arrogant and ignorant I had been. He showed me that I loved myself above all, the worst form of idolatry. It was then that I raised the white flag and repented of my sin and placed my full trust and faith in Jesus. I became bold. It didn’t matter. All those things I held so dear, just didn’t matter. All that mattered was Jesus and what he wanted me to do. Looking back on the past 2 years I have seen some of the hardest trials I have ever had to go through. Yes, I lost friends, good ones. Yes, I lost business, A LOT of business. Yes, I have gotten into a lot of heated discussions and have been slandered, and people have flat out lied about me. But guess what!? PRAISE GOD! Praise Jesus, that I have been counted worthy to undergo and withstand even the slightest mildest form of persecution. What a joy to be bold. What a joy to know Jesus. WHAT A JOY TO BE A PROUD JESUS FREAK!