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REFLECTION
“Peter and John, faithful in danger” is the theme for our reflection. To be faithful means to be loyal and steadfast. Danger is the possibility of suffering harm or injury. To be faithful in danger means to be loyal or steadfast to God even when harm or injury is imminent. We shall reflect on the following facts:
1. It takes boldness in Christ to be faithful in danger
2. To be Faithful in danger means doing His will at all times.

Firstly, it takes boldness in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to be faithful in danger. Peter and John were faithful in danger because they were bold in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit was at work in them. The Jewish authority arrested Peter and John for preaching Christ and healing a lame beggar. During their trial, Luke tells us that the Jewish authorities “… saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. (Acts 4:13-14). Why were Peter and John bold and not afraid in the mist of the trial? Beloved in the Lord, we shall recollect that Jesus assured them in Matthew 28:20 that. “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Again, Jesus assured them in Luke 10:19 that “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19) Again Jesus said to them, “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:25-27) Beloved in the Lord, let us be faithful in danger by remaining bold, confident and courageous and trusting that we are not alone in the battles and tribulations of life. We must be resolute and bold because we know that we shall overcome the storms with Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit. When Job was in danger, He boldly declared that “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. ²⁶ And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, (Job 19:25-26). We have every reason to be faithful by being bold and courageous by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is for this reason, Paul assures us that, “…God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power… ” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Secondly, to be faithful in danger means doing God’s will at all times. The Jewish leaders called Peter and John “and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, ²⁰ for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” ²¹ And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. ²² For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. (Acts 4:18-22). We shall notice again that Peter and the Apostles never stopped doing the will of God they continued to be faithful in danger of being arrested, beaten, imprisoned and even killed by preaching the Gospel. In Acts 5 they were arrested again for preaching Christ, “when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸ saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:27-29). In other words, Peter and the apostles were saying that we are faithful to God, not to man, therefore we must do His will always even in times of danger. Beloved in the Lord, we must stand up boldly to preach the Gospel and deliver those who have been kept captive by Satan regardless of the danger that lies ahead. We must be bold to speak to power as Christians without fear or favour. It is rather unfortunate to note that, we live in a world where many renowned church leaders fail to speak the truth to authorities. We look on while corruption and moral decadence are on the ascendency. For the fear of danger, victimization and political vindictiveness many pastors, evangelists, bishops and other church leaders are silent and passive when it comes to preaching the Gospel and speaking God’s prophetic voice to the masses and our corrupt and faithless generation of leaders and citizens. We are being called upon to be faithful in danger by doing the will of God regardless of the resistance. Paul further admonishes us through his letter to Timothy when he wrote that “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ⁵ As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5) My dear friend, are you faithful to God even in danger by doing His will? How often do preach the Gospel? Are we obeying the voice of men and rather disobeying the Word and will of God? Let us do the will of God and have his promises fulfilled in our lives in times of danger and tribulations.

In summary, we have deliberated on the theme, “Peter and John, faithful in danger. We have discussed the fact that It takes boldness in Christ to be faithful in danger and to be faithful in danger means doing His will at all times. Shalom.

PRAYER
1. Let us pray for the spirit of boldness, courage and confidence in order to remain faithful to God in danger.
2. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us to be faithful in danger especially when it comes to doing the will of God.
3. Let us pray for all those currently facing persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Let us pray for the spirit of endurance and faithfulness for them even as they preach the Gospel and are being persecuted.

Holy Spirit, strengthen us to remain faithful to God by being bold and consistent in doing His will even in times of difficulty and danger. May You increase our faith to put our trust and hope in God in times of calamity and great distress. Amen.