Acts 4: Peter is before the council because he taught about Jesus. Unlike Gospels-Peter, Acts-Peter is poised, confident, wise -- a strong leader. He does not back down before his opposition but proclaims the truth.

We, also, are not to back down before opposition, before wolves or hired hands or robbers. How do we serve as shepherds who are also sheep to THE Shepherd? How do we stand strong in the face of opposition?

What is our opposition? People who say that religion is just a crutch for the masses can be opposition. The appeal of secularism can be, as well. So can hedonism, the obsession with buying stuff, making sports into a religion. What is the opposition?

How does the Shepherd empower us against the opposition? Christ sends us baptism, Bible, prayer, holy communion, forgiveness, each other.

Imaculee Ilibagiza was a young Rwandan Tutsi when the genocide broke out in April of 1994. She hid in a pastor's three-by-four foot bathroom for about 90 days with seven other women. Ilibagiza eventually wrote a book about that horror and travels the world telling people about it. She says that prayer and focusing on God's grace got her through that long night.

Christ the Shepherd led her through the opposition. The Shepherd does likewise for you and me.

(from www.goodpreacher.com/blog/)

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church,
Youngstown, PA