Acts 4:13

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter & John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

They didn’t receive their Doctorate in Divinity. Nor did they have titles in front or behind their names. They had never been awarded any plaque for their research in Religious Studies or had written a book published by Zondervan.

What they did have?

The Holy Spirit and the resolve in their heart that Jesus was real to them.

The religious leaders stood in awe of the eloquence that flowed from Peter and John’s lips as they declared who Christ was.

How could these men with no training speak with such confidence in front of those who were known to have gone through rabbinic schools and whose titles evoked fear and respect?

Peter and John had been with Jesus. They had taken on His wisdom. They had taken on His love. They had taken on His Truth.

They had been marked by His presence in their life.

What these religious leaders came to recognize that day was that being with Jesus had nothing to do with merit or status. But it had everything to do with the assurance of a relationship with Him.

I don’t need to have a doctorate in divinity to know that Jesus saves. I don’t need to be acknowledged to have merit with God

The confidence that we exude in how we speak about who God is to us will show people that we have been with Him. Not just have come in and out of His House but have made our hearts His home.

We have been qualified and equipped through Christ to be who He has called us to be in this Earth. That is our confidence. We need not be afraid of what we are not by society’s standards.

I’m sure Peter would have never imagined that he would go from being a fisherman to standing in front of influential leaders of that day to declare the Truth of Christ that “there is salvation in no one else (not even the money he was making through his occupation) and there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

I may be uneducated by the world’s standards, but I know God.

I may not have titles in my name, but I know God.

I may never receive any recognition, but I know God.

My prayer is that our lives will be marked with JESUS so that the world will know that we had been with Him.