Courage

Acts 4:13 (NASB)

Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Courage is not merely having guts. A natural man can never be courageous. One has to be born again and receive the Holy Spirit to be courageous. Courage is a deep-rooted belief that defies all logic and faces any adversity. A man who has guts in one situation may be timid in another. Remember Elijah, the great and courageous prophet who single-handedly defeated the false prophets of Baal? This same man ran from a woman named Jezebel, and hid until God found him and inspired him again. This was raw guts, not necessarily courage. Courage is when illiterate peasants and fishermen can speak with conviction and clarity when facing rulers and authorities. Courage is demonstrated when unschooled and penniless followers of a slain Jewish Rabbi who had abandoned Him when He was arrested and hid themselves, could finally walk out in the open and start performing miracles and wonders in His Name. Courage is when they are no longer afraid of even dying for their, and our Lord's, sake. How did they become so courageous? By receiving power from on high, the blessed Holy Spirit.