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I have a necklace that I wear often. Attached to the silver chain is a small cross, as well as a pressed silver pendant that bears the single letter "B" on it. Of course the "B" stands for my last name Baxter. But to me, it has always stood for something more than that. When I put it on my neck, it serves as a reminder for me to Believe and Be Bold.Believe... in who or what? myself? my gifts? No, absolutely not. Believe in GOD...the God that created the universe, parted the Red Sea, rained bread from heaven, came to earth as a Man, and conquered sin and death. I have learned that the more I focus on Him and who He is, the less I have to worry about me and who I am (or who I am not). He is a BIG, BIG, BIG GOD...and I believe in all of who He is...His love, His power, His presence, His purpose. With Him in mind, I have peace of mind. But God does not want me to stop there; He calls me to rise up in my belief in Him......and be Bold. It's one thing to believe in God, but it's a whole different thing to believe and be bold in Him. For example, think of Jonah. He believed in God, but he certainly was not bold... he actually ran away from what God asked him to do. On the other hand, think of David and the giant Goliath. David knew His God, believed His God, claimed His God, and ran boldy to the battleline in order to confront and defeat his enemy. God is asking me to do the same... tobe bold in the gifts He has given me..not missing any opportunity to shine His light, share His love, or spread His word. Do I always succeed? No, but I have found that one little-bold step leads to the next little-bit-bigger-bold step, and then another-slightly-bigger than-that-bold step. And before I know it, I'm running, in His strength. BELIEVE... anyone that comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11:6AND BE BOLD... Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us... Ephesians 3:20So my friend, write a big "B" across your heart today. Let's you and I both run to our respective battlelines with a BIG BIG BIG GOD working both in and through us.

Here is a ten year old "journal entry", still filled with simple yet saving Truth:I was talking with my son this morning about the basic beliefs of Christianity. The conversation got started because we were kindly talking about a friend of his that thinks he's a Christian. I told him that he should gently and respectfully challenge his friend with the fact that he can know he's a Christian, not just think he's one. It was a delight to review the fundamentals of faith with my maturing 17 year-old son by using ...legos. You're never too old to play with legos, especially when they illustrate the beautiful simplicity of the gospel! Here is a review of the familiar "Colors of Salvation" method of sharing one's faith, usually portrayed with a beaded bracelet:BLACK represents sin. Humans are born in sin; thus, we cannot reach God on our own--no matter how hard we try. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).RED represents God's love found in Christ's blood that was shed for us. Jesus, the perfect God-man paid the price for every sin, past, present, and future, when He was nailed to the cross. He chose to die for us. God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).WHITE represents the forgiveness of sin. When we confess our sin and believe in the truth of Christ's death and resurrection, we can then stand fully forgiven in the presence of God. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7).BLUE represents the Holy Spirit, given to us, alive in us... an amazing thought... a life-changing truth! We are buried with him in baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by he glory of the Father, we too might to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).GREEN represents growth. Because of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, we have the ability to understand and obey God's word. A beautiful relationship begins! Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).GOLD represents God's eternal kingdom that we as believers in Christ will inherit. For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).I think many people "casually" believe in the concept of the first three colors (black, red, and white). First of all, can someone really be casual in their faith? If so, I think that's why this person may never experience a life marked by all of God's "colors", possibly making the Christian life hard and unattractive. He misses out in knowing that he has the capacity to house the living God, the Helper, in his own soul (blue). And he doesn't get to experience the awesome reality that he can talk to Him and walk with Him each and every day (green). And THEN...there's the daily hope-filled anticipation of ETERNAL life (gold)!I challenge you, as I did my son, (and myself!), to grab some legos, markers, or colored beads and share your faith with a friend sometime in the near future. Who has God put on your heart while reading this?But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims. "A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!" Romans 10:14-15, The MessageMay your life and mine, and the friends we tell, be lives that are marked by His true colors.