I read some very challenging words from Paul this morning in Acts 20:24:
"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

Paul was heading back to Jerusalem after completing his third missionary journey, certain to face imprisonment and hardships. But Paul was not one to shrink away from persecution. His faith and his resolve were far stronger than what the world could throw at him.

Oh how we need this kind of courage in our pulpits today! We need men who will not bend to the pressure of those wishing to have their ears tickled with modern notions and entertaining chit-chat. We need shepherds who will boldly declare "thus says the Lord," not coaches who push us to try harder.

Writing on this verse, A.W. Tozer comments, "We languish for men who feel themselves expendable in the warfare of the soul...such men will be free from the compulsions that control and squeeze weaker men. This kind of freedom is necessary if we are to have
prophets in our pulpits again instead of mascots. These free men will serve God and mankind from motives too high to be understood by the rank and file of religious entertainers who today shuttle in and out of the sanctuary."

As your primary preaching pastor, I ask for your prayers. Please pray that God would fashion a boldness in me to "finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus."  Pray for our pastors across this world that they would represent Christ and His Word faithfully.