The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/14/2016 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Finding refuge in Central Asia, North Africa by Jason G. Duesing Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Something akin to the Old Testament cities of refuge still exists in the world and people are fleeing to them. Those cities were once set apart for those in need of protection or at least a fair hearing so that one may "flee to one of these cities and save his life" (Deuteronomy 4:42). In the 2016 version, many still are coming to them to save their life and, yet, they also are finding life. I observed this just weeks ago in two major global cities, both having been in the news in recent months for acts of terror and political instability. The first in Central Asia was teeming with young professionals and, though centered in a Muslim culture, there were signs that the younger generation in this city were not much different than many in the West in terms of their tenuous devotion to their historic and national religion. At prescribed times throughout the day, prominent mosques would erupt in amplified calls to prayer. Yet, just as in some of our Western cities where church bells ring out from massive and mostly vacant cathedrals, the normal course of business is for the people not to pause for genuflection, but to carry on with head bowed toward their smartphone. Yet, in midst of this bustling and burgeoning scene of a transient humanity, there is an underlying great work of God. In that city, I was visiting a team of Midwestern College students spending their spring semester serving with the International Mission Board as part of Midwestern's Fusion program. The students live and work every day among the people and specifically are working with university students. There they are joining the IMB's effort to reach these urban citizens through a variety of college-focused activities. On the last night I was there, they had an event in the basement of a community center where they regularly invite new friends to meet and practice their English. In this center, several churches also have their meetings and it was the event that night that prompted me to think of the Old Testament cities of refuge. For here beneath this massive city with its clamorous calls to prayer resides a quiet center of refuge -- a place where any can come, make friends, improve their English, and learn and hear about the Gospel of Christ. There students are coming and there they are finding life. The second city I visited was in North Africa. Here too, the city never sleeps or stops. Indeed, there are few traffic lights as none are needed for the flow of cars and people lilt like tidal waves at every hour of the day and there is no rest from the tumult. Here there are two teams of Midwestern students enduring dust and the press and noise of the people and traffic as they make a daily trek to their place of service. Taking a combination of metro rail and a 1.5-mile hike over bridges and under overpasses along streets without sidewalks, these students are in a daily battle for survival. Yet, they joyfully take on the challenge, for at the end of their trek is another city of refuge. In this metropolis, a displaced people from a neighboring war-torn country has sought a home. At a center for refugees, our students have admirably joined a long history of Southern Baptist work. Here they daily seek to serve the refugees by lending them aid of all kinds and particularly by teaching them English. After their formal classes, they spend extra time inquiring after their students and give them lasting words of life. At the time I visited, they had seen two men trust Christ and our students were now meeting with them on a regular basis for discipleship. Oddly, from these perilous and unstable cities I came home encouraged for, I too, found refuge. In these cities of great darkness and danger, God is still providing pockets of light and safety for peoples who have limited or no knowledge of the Gospel. For every act of terror in the world today, there are multiplied a thousand times over acts of sacrificial service and Gospel proclamation. Often, we are much like the psalmist in Psalm 73 who was discouraged and despairing at the seemingly successful state of the wicked around him to the point that he almost stumbled in disbelief. The wicked were prospering, living a life of excess and ease. They were like reckless bulldozers steamrolling over their culture with threats, violence and bombastic speech, with apparently nothing or no one to stop them. The people of God were faltering, questioning God's omniscience given that such men were achieving every end to which they set their desires --and thus many started turning to follow the wicked. At this point of deep darkness, the burdened psalmist finds new eyes to see. Seeking God, he finds the truth that God still sees and knows, that God will one day act and judge -- that in the end He will set all things right. This knowledge drives the psalmist back to God where he resolves, "I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works" (73:28). In one sense, all of humanity are refugees in search of cities of refuge. All are like sheep gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) from our Creator and deserving of judgment. Yet, instead, God judged His Son so that we could no longer flee from Him, but return home to Him (Luke 15: 20). Jesus Christ is the true City for those "who have fled for refuge" (Hebrews 6:18). Thus, the call now is for all to take refuge in God and not fear the temporal evils of man. These students in our Midwestern College Fusion program will tell you that the sole reason for their willingness to brave spiritual attack, daunting cultures and climates, and physical danger is that "so others may hear and live." This Christ-like motivation and action modeled so well by our International Mission Board partners throughout the world is serving to create cities of refuge for refugees of all kinds. Whether secularized university students in Central Asia or actual displaced peoples in North Africa, I take courage; for as I saw in the very places that the world would tell us to abandon, people are finding Gospel hope. As the old hymn says, in these cities full of terror and trial, our students are seeing the nations "for refuge to Jesus have fled." -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Perception vs. reality by Kristen White Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- People say, "Get it in writing," but one thing we rarely get down on paper is what someone really thinks of us. We have encounters with co-workers and friends, children and their friends throughout each day. We watch body language and facial expressions. We hear words that are spoken. Regardless of our stage in life, whether young or old, we sometimes make assumptions about how people feel about us. These assumptions can be accurate but often they are not. Some examples: -- Depending on how your day is going and how you feel about your performance and "place" in the world, you may too quickly assume people dislike or reject you. -- Depending on how another person's day is going, they may too quickly communicate frustration or disgust -- but it has nothing to do with how much they like or accept you. It has just been a long or hard day for them. -- Depending on how important a positive interaction or a person's approval is to you, you may look for or expect warm words or expressions that end up being absent -- and your perception becomes skewed about both your value and the other person's heart. The reality is that our perceptions get mixed up. We can literally change what we think of our value several times a day based on people's responses to us -- and we can jump to some pretty nasty conclusions about our unsuspecting associates, too. It is sad when our perceptions affect our personal joy and self-acceptance and when they break down relationships. Unfortunately, we can't walk around with giant placards: "These are my love languages.... Here are past wounds I deal with.... This is what happened today.... Please communicate to me like this so that I can receive what you are saying..." Maybe that would help us relate to one another better, or maybe not, since it is a rare companion who cares enough to see what is really happening on the inside, to value your heart, to understand and encourage. I hope we work to be friends like that, people who offer others the great treasure of grace. However, far more important than how we perceive the responses of others is learning to live without dependency on them. Your heavenly Father, the great Jehovah who designed the universe, has written down what He has decided about your value and place in this world: He decided you were important and loved enough to put on flesh for, to endure the cross for, and to make a present and future plan for. He didn't leave anything in your life untouched by His grace or His Word. That's why we must read the Bible for ourselves, so that we will know the reality of the immeasurable worth He bought for us. In Luke 10, Jesus listened to the disciples reporting on their successes. They had been traveling around in pairs, preaching about Him. The disciples were excited that they had authority over demons. In verse 20, though, Jesus told them to be more grateful, more aware of their identity as God's beloved children than as preachers or even as those to whom demons submit. I think what Jesus wanted them to know is that the most important thing we can learn to call ourselves is His. This identity of belonging to Him and being loved by Him is more powerful and lasting than any other relationship or achievement. (If you are not sure you belong to Him and that your name is written in heaven, please send me a note at www.womenwithroots.com/contact.html so we can talk about it.) I am writing on this because a young friend of mine is feeling quite alone. She feels awkward and friendless, especially at school. Sweet little one -- and you, sweet sister -- why spend any time at all worrying whether this or that person likes you? You have a Father and Friend far superior to anyone else in existence who says you are special. He wrote it down, so there would be no question. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Louisiana College, former president part ways by Art Toalston Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday PINEVILLE, La. (BP) -- Louisiana College's strained relationship with former President Joe Aguillard has returned to the news. The college has released a statement that Aguillard no longer has the title of "president emeritus" according to trustee action on April 12. Aguillard was LC's president from 2005 to 2014. The LC statement also reported that the trustee executive committee approved a recommendation from the college's Faculty Affairs Advisory Committee that Aguillard be removed from his tenured faculty position stemming from what it called "violations of the LC Faculty Handbook." Aguillard, in an April 13 statement to Baptist Press, said he had not been informed by the college of any actions about his status. Aguillard is now pastor of Kelly Baptist Church in Kelly, La. Aguillard said "three of my closest mentors ... called me and told me that there were media reports; but, I haven't read them in order to avoid triggers that would cause medical problems due to my fragile health.... It appears now that the College chose to give statements to the media before contacting me." The three Louisiana Baptist leaders, Aguillard said, are among those who "have always been and continue to be phenomenal pillars of strength to me" particularly during "these last two decades in our spiritual warfare for Biblical inerrancy and against Liberalism and Calvinism." The college, in a four-paragraph, 184-word statement, said the "violations of the LC Faculty Handbook" were considered in a hearing by the Faculty Affairs Advisory Committee but the college did not specify the date, the allegations or the committee's specific recommendation. The recommendation, according to its news release, was "upheld by the Executive Committee of the college's Board of Trustees following a lengthy appeal hearing." The college news release concluded, "Dr. Randy Harper, Chairman of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees, speaking for the Board and the current administration, said that all LC stakeholders should be assured that school policy and procedures were meticulously followed throughout the dismissal and appeal proceedings. Louisiana College officials are not expected to have further comment on the matter." Aguillard, in his statement to Baptist Press, said, "I trust in my Lord totally and fully. I have forgiven each of those who have continued these attacks against me for these many years, and I remind all to remember: 'And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.' "James 4:17 says, 'Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.' I would rather stand in the storms of the consequences of standing for Truth with Jesus than in the peace of hiding Truth in the tent of my heart and living with it forever in sin. For, when public opinion becomes the measure of our actions, we are wrong every time." Aguillard joined LC's faculty in 2000 as professor of education and chair of the division of education. He and his wife are 1977 graduates as are their daughters and, during the 1930s, his parents, with his father having served as a trustee chairman. -------------------------------------------------------------------- New York Yankees call Ken Whitten 'mentor' by David Roach Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday LUTZ, Fla. (BP) -- Ken Whitten used to dream of playing professional baseball. But even though God closed that door following Whitten's college pitching career nearly 40 years ago at Eastern Illinois University, He reopens another door into baseball for Whitten each spring as Major League players and coaches -- especially New York Yankees -- descend on the Tampa-area Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz where he has served as pastor for 26 years. With the Yankees' spring training facility less than half an hour away, some 8-12 players and coaches worship at the church each year. That has afforded Whitten the opportunity to forge relationships with legendary Yankees like Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Joe Girardi and Reggie Jackson. Former MLB player and manager Lou Piniella is an Idlewild member, and Angels slugger Albert Pujols is among other baseball personalities to whom Whitten has ministered. In 2014 when Whitten celebrated 25 years at Idlewild in Lutz, Fla., the church honored him with bobble head dolls featuring their pastor dressed in a Yankees uniform with a Bible under his arm. "God's calling on my life into ministry was not really saying no to baseball," Whitten told Baptist Press. "It was saying yes in a more eternal way, and that was that I get to minister to these guys in a spiritual way." Two pastors on the Idlewild staff are official chaplains for the Tampa Yankees, one of the team's minor league affiliates, and Whitten has led Bible studies with Major League Yankee players. "Seeing some of them come to Christ is always a special treat," he said. On a lighter note, Whitten added that Reggie Jackson, a Hall of Fame outfielder, "can hijack a Bible study quicker than anyone. He's always got a baseball story. And of course, we egg him on a little bit." Piniella, manager of the year twice in the American League and once in the National League, credits Whitten as one of the people who helped lead him to Jesus. Reared as a Roman Catholic, Piniella began attending Idlewild more than 20 years ago when he moved back to his home city of Tampa, Fla., and quickly learned about knowing Christ personally as Lord and Savior. "I had numerous talks with" Whitten about salvation, Piniella told BP. "He helped me immensely growing spiritually and going through the process of being born again and baptized." Piniella added, "It's been a wonderful transformation in my life. The amazing thing is that I managed in the big leagues for about 23 years, and the best years I had were when I was immersed in the Word, reading the Bible on an everyday basis." One of Whitten's favorite memories related to Piniella is attending spring training in Arizona with the Seattle Mariners, whom Piniella managed from 1993-2002. "They put a uniform on me," Whitten said. "I was around Ken Griffey and Randy Johnson. I was in the locker room with them, and I was going out there shagging balls." Pettitte, a retired pitcher who leads the Yankees all-time in strikeouts, told BP that Whitten "played a huge role in my life spiritually" and "has been a great mentor." Drafted by the Yankees at age 19, Pettitte sought a Bible-preaching church to attend while at the Yankees' training facility. A pitching coach in the organization, Nardi Contreras, recommended Idlewild, and Pettitte became "fast friends" with Whitten upon attending. The pastor stayed in touch with Pettitte throughout his minor league and Major League careers, offering spiritual and practical advice. "He's like a second father to me," Pettitte said, "just a great mentor for me, a great guy for me to go to for wisdom and counsel." Whitten's counsel has included "how to be a husband" as well as "how to be a father." Whitten remembers his own children babysitting Pettitte's children during spring training, including Pettitte's son Josh, who was drafted by the Yankees in 2013 but opted to play college baseball instead. When the Yankees retired Pettitte's jersey number and inducted him into their Monument Park museum, he invited Whitten to attend. If Pettitte is ever inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he says Whitten will be invited to that induction ceremony too. More recently, Yankees manager Joe Girardi has worshipped at Idlewild, and some of the younger players attended the congregation's Tuesday night service for college students. As Piniella put it, Whitten "basically has served as a pastor and a mentor to a lot of the Yankees." Baseball personalities attend Idlewild for a variety of reasons, Whitten said, but one key is that the focus is placed on Jesus, not them. "I think they always saw Idlewild as a pretty safe place," Whitten said. "We don't make [their attendance] a big deal. We don't recognize them. We let them come, be with their family and worship -- because that's what they want to do and that's what they need to do." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Payday loan limits urged by religious coalition by Tom Strode Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday WASHINGTON (BP) -- American Christians overwhelmingly support government regulation of the predatory lending industry, Southern Baptists and other religious leaders in a Faith for Just Lending Coalition said Wednesday (April 13). e need measures that rein in exorbitant interest rates."
-- Barrett Duke]Coalition members, in a telephone news conference, pointed to online survey results by LifeWay Research that 86 percent of self-identified Christians in 30 states believe laws and regulations should bar loans at "excessive interest rates." Payday lending, as it is commonly known, often draws poor people into a debt trap by charging exorbitant, and often misleading, interest rates. Though an interest rate may be portrayed by a lender as 15 percent, for instance, it actually is only for a two-week period until a person's next payday. The annual interest rate typically is about 400 percent, making it extremely difficult for a borrower to repay the loan. "[W]e need measures that rein in exorbitant interest rates" and "not half-measures" that are sometimes passed, Southern Baptist public policy specialist Barrett Duke said during the teleconference call. "The biggest challenge ... is getting public decision-makers to enact these particular regulations." Americans would benefit from the federal government's annual percentage rate (APR) cap of 36 percent for military members, Duke told reporters. "If it's good enough for the military, that interest rate cap should be good enough for everyone," said Duke, vice president for public policy of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The states that have caps demonstrate that lenders can still make "reasonable profits" without taking advantage of borrowers, he said. The coalition-sponsored survey of 1,000 self-identified Christians by LifeWay Research of the Southern Baptist Convention included these results in its April 13 release: -- 77 percent said it is a sin to extend a loan that does financial harm to the borrower. -- 55 percent said the "maximum reasonable" APR for loans should be 18 percent or less. -- 56 percent said their church should offer advice to the financially needy, and 27 percent would like their church to provide loans or gifts to individuals in financial trouble. A Baptist Press article on LifeWay's survey -- which was conducted in 30 states that have few or no restrictions on payday lending -- is available at http://www.bpnews.net/46652/survey-christians-call-payday-loans-sinful. The Faith for Just Lending Coalition also released April 13 its findings in a survey of clergy and religious service providers who know people who have borrowed payday or car title loans. The study showed: -- 86 percent pointed to a negative effect on payday loan borrowers. -- 35 percent had helped a borrower pay off or refinance a payday or car title loan. Predatory lending is a pastoral and public issue, said Stephen Reeves, associate coordinator for partnerships and advocacy of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). "Churches are, and need to continue, teaching stewardship as well as generosity ...," Reeves said. "To the public decision-makers, we want to show you that Christians widely agree that the laws and regulations should protect against expensive interest and loans that cannot be repaid." Efforts to convince the Texas legislature to regulate predatory lending have failed, resulting in a different strategy in that state, said Michael Mulvey, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi. The Catholic bishops switched their appeals to local governments, and 35 cities have passed ordinances regulating predatory lending, he told reporters. Mulvey demonstrated the magnitude of the problem in Corpus Christi by citing the $29 million in fees payday lenders in the area garnered in 2014. Coalition members told reporters they are not opposed to lending but to predatory lending. "What we object to is predatory lending that takes advantage of vulnerable people, traps them in debts that they can't afford and can't escape, and drains their already limited resources with usurious interest rates and fees," said Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). "Predatory lending violates basic biblical and moral principles," he said, "and it hurts people in our churches and communities." The LifeWay survey found a disproportionate number of African Americans -- 49 percent -- say they have taken out a payday loan. "[P]redatory lenders really target communities of color," said Cassandra Gould, pastor of an African American church in Jefferson City, Mo., and executive director of Missouri Faith Voices. Payday lending is a "scourge on our communities," she said. About 20,000 payday and car-title loan stores exist in the United States, according to the coalition. Payday lenders also operate online. The ERLC helped launch the Faith for Just Lending Coalition in May 2015 as a concerted effort by diverse religious organizations to increase awareness of predatory lending and to motivate individuals, lenders, churches and the government to help bring an end to the practice. Southern Baptists addressed the predatory loan industry in a resolution adopted by messengers during their 2014 annual meeting. The resolution denounced predatory payday lending, called for the adoption of just government policies to end the practice and urged churches to provide training in financial stewardship. In addition to the ERLC, NAE and CBF, members of the coalition's steering committee are the Center for Public Justice; Ecumenical Poverty Initiative; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Latino Evangelical Coalition; the PICO National Network; and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Frisbee toss begins witness on remote Asian island by Brent Mitchell* Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday EDITOR'S NOTE: This missions account by pastor Brent Mitchell* was told to Robert Jackson, a family practice physician in South Carolina who drafted this article for the Baptist Courier state newspaper in South Carolina. ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (BP) -- My two companions and I were on a ferry heading for an isolated island off the coast of Indonesia when a suspicious dark-skinned man approached us. Surprisingly, he asked in English, "Why are you going to my island?" Taken aback, I looked at the 240 other dark-skinned Indonesians who had been staring at us, obviously discussing the three fair-skinned foreigners, and replied to my interrogator, "We are tourists." He threw back his head and laughed out loud. "No tourists come to my island!" he exclaimed. "Where will you stay? There is no hotel." "Yes, we are tourists, but we don't know where we will stay." He pondered that for a moment, then announced emphatically, "Then you will stay with me." I turned to my friends and said, "See there? The Lord doth provide. We have lodging for the night. We won't have to sleep outside on the ground." Then I turned back to see those stoic Muslim faces for the rest of our two-hour ferry ride. The woman beside me with two dead chickens in her bag kept trying to edge away from me. My companions, two fellow pastors in North Carolina, and I had traveled to Jakarta. We took a commuter flight to one island and then to a second island. Now we were on a ferry ride to our final destination, the home of 100,000-plus Indonesian Muslims called the Solor people, an unreached, unengaged people group with no evangelical witness. They have lived and died without the Gospel for generations. Our intention was to travel there, explore the island, meet the people, share the Gospel if possible, and initiate contacts that would allow the pastors with me to return at a later date with church-planting mission teams from their respective churches. Our new friend, Mahmoud Ibrahim, took us to his home immediately -- a two-room house with a tin roof. His wife served us fruit juice. Then we had to register with the chief of police, who celebrated our arrival with great pomp. Although few tourists -- none -- came to their island, they suggested we visit the ruins of the fort, as good tourists would. En route to the fort, we stopped to buy drinks at a roadside stand because of the 100-plus-degree temperature and extremely high humidity, as this island is situated right on the equator. After drinks, a crowd gathered to see three fair-skinned people on their island. We popped out and threw collapsible Frisbees, which initially frightened the crowd because they had never seen anything like them. After a few throws, everyone was smiling and laughing. I then took a Sharpie and began to explain the Gospel in six pictures, drawing it on the inside of one of the Frisbees and using my host as an interpreter. The crowd was enthralled and listened intently. When finished, I threw that Frisbee with the Gospel message on it to one of the men in the crowd. He became an instant celebrity. We then marched down the road to the fort. We passed several more drink stands. At each one we stopped and repeated the process. My pastor friends and I took turns sharing the Gospel using the Frisbees. The crowds got bigger each time, and our interpreter got better and more authoritative each time, as if he was the Indonesian translator for Billy Graham! On the final day I asked Ibrahim if there were any believers like us on the island. He responded, "Why, yes, of course -- the port master, my cousin!" "Why didn't you tell me this already?" "You never asked me." "Can we meet him?" "Of course, he is in the harbor this week." So we all trooped down to the harbor to meet and interview the harbormaster. It turns out he had traveled to another island the previous year, at which time he had been invited to a Protestant church by some friends. The church was a two-and-a-half-hour hike to the top of a mountain. That day he heard singing and a Gospel presentation and became a believer. Incredulous, I asked him via my interpreter, "You became a believer after hearing about Christ only one time?" "Yes, of course, and I took my wife back there a month later, and she became a believer as well." "How often do you go there?" "I return to that island on business about every three months. We attend church when we return." "Are there any other believers like you on this island?" "Only one other, but he is not a very good believer." "Why do you say that?" "He doesn't go to church very often." The three of us Americans burst into laughter. He was quite perplexed. After meeting with him, my pastor friends promised him they would come back two or three times per year, God willing, with the support of International Mission Board personnel in Jakarta to help him and his wife start a church on their island. He was quite delighted we would take such an interest in him and the people on his island. Later that day we began our three-day journey back to the United States, with the ferry ride and the two flights back to Jakarta. We were full of praise to our Lord that He had prospered our visit to the Solor people, occupants of an island with no Gospel witness for generations, but which, with God's blessing, will soon have a New Testament church planted by Southern Baptists from rural North Carolina. *Name changed. EDITOR'S NOTE: A missions luncheon will be held at Boiling Springs First Baptist Church in South Carolina on May 2 at noon for pastors and lay leaders interested in reaching an unreached people group. If you and your church would like to attend or want to hear more about reaching an unreached people group, contact the church at 864-578-2828. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bible Study: April 17, 2016 by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Date: April 14, 2016 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from the Explore the Bible curriculum. Bible Passages: Acts 5:25-35, 38-42 Discussion Questions: What role does our faithfulness play in advancing the cause of Christ? How does our faithfulness open the door for opportunities to speak up for Christ? Food for Thought: The meals arrive for a lunch meeting with your supervisors. They examine their plates, ready to dig in. No one appears to be taking the initiative to offer a blessing. You know that they know you are a believer and active in your church, but you are not sure about their religious beliefs. Before anyone grabs their fork, you politely ask if anyone objects to you praying and thanking God for providing something to eat today. The silence is broken with a statement about religion being the topic of the lunch, especially the separation of religion and work. You quietly bow and offer a silent prayer, thanking God for the food and asking for courage. Most people are fine with people being religious as long as that religion is kept private. Peter and the apostles faced the same kind of sentiment as they stood before the religious leaders of their day. Peter reminded the leaders that obedience to God required them to share the Gospel. He also reminded them that the religious leaders played a role in the crucifixion of Jesus (Acts 5:30), getting to the core of the issue. The religious leaders brought up the issue to begin with by asking the apostles why they were telling everyone of the religious leaders' role in the crucifixion. The reaction of the religious leaders revealed their own guilt. Jesus died on the cross for OUR sin. Many would rather us be quiet about sin so they don't have to deal with their sin. Sin always runs and hides, disguised as guilt. The goal of sharing the Gospel is not to make a person feel bad, but rather to help them find freedom from guilt. Peter and the apostles remained faithful not out of spite or rebellion; they remained faithful out of love. Failing to tell the truth about Jesus would have actually been an act of hate and negligence. Failing to warn someone of a danger they face could only be painted as such. Opposition shows us the need to share, reveals the guilt of sin, and opens the door for us to demonstrate our faithfulness to Him. What good is a religion that is private? Shouldn’t what we believe impact every area of our lives? Explore the Bible Explore the Bible is an ongoing Bible study curriculum that helps groups dig into the key truths of each Bible book, while keeping the group on pace to study through the Bible books in a systematic way. More information can be found at LifeWay.com/ExploreTheBible. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.