It seems that these days the louder people shout, the more others listen – even if they're in the minority, even if what they're espousing lies somewhere between lunacy and extremism. If they disagree with you, they want to shut you down, cancel you out, erase you from the public square. And that's incredibly intimidating.

In many parts of the world, it's become unacceptable to say that a man is a man and a woman is a woman. Crazy as it may seem, that simple statement of the plainly obvious truth is viewed by some (only by a few, but still by some) as bigoted and offensive.

And so, the average Joe like you and me, can feel intimidated into stepping away from speaking the truth, into withdrawing from conversations that matter.

That persecution, whatever form it may take (and I've only cited one example here) has been happening since time immemorial. Those early Christians suffered terrible persecution. So how did they react? Did they withdraw? No. They prayed. They prayed, in fact, like this:

Acts 4:29-30 And now, Lord, listen to what they are saying. They are trying to make us afraid. We are your servants. Help us to say what you want us to say without fear. Help us to be brave by showing us your power. Make sick people well. Cause miraculous signs and wonders to happen by the authority of Jesus, your holy servant."

Those early Christians didn't cower in the face of persecution. They prayed for courage. They prayed that God would help them speak without fear. They prayed for God's power to work in them and through them.

When you feel intimidated, pray. Because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

There are times when evil strikes at us from the outside, in … people, circumstances, systems, social trends that attack the good that we're trying to do. It's happened to you too, right? But there's nothing new in any of that.

Not many years after Jesus had walked this earth, His Apostles were out there doing good.

Acts 8:9 Now there was a man named Simon who lived in that city. Before Philip came there, Simon had been doing magic and amazing all the people of Samaria. He bragged and called himself a great man.

And people believed him. So facing someone like that … well, it's easy to feel intimidated. Yet when he saw the amazingly powerful miracles of the Apostles, he wanted some of the action, so he offered to pay them for some of their secret sauce. But …

Acts 8:20-24 Peter said to Simon, "You and your money should both be destroyed because you thought you could buy God's gift with money. You cannot share with us in this work. Your heart is not right before God. Change your heart! Turn away from these evil thoughts and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you. I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and cannot stop yourself from doing wrong." Simon answered, "Both of you pray to the Lord for me, so that what you have said will not happen to me."

Don't be intimidated when evil assails you. Because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

'Evil', I think you'd agree, is a strong word. So there are not many things in our lives to which we'd ascribe that label – 'evil'. A murderer, sure. A child abuser, absolutely. But stuff in our own lives? Not really.

And yet, we can all look back at some particularly bad things we've done – perhaps there are one or two still lingering in your life; husbands who unthinkingly speak harshly to their wives over and over again, day after day destroying that most precious of relationships; people in the workplace who boast and take the credit for what others have done.

We could rattle off a list as long as your arm of ordinary everyday occurrences that honestly, given their destructive impact, ought well to be labelled as 'evil'.

1 John 3:8 The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this: to destroy the devil's work.

That's God's take on all that stuff and I think you'd agree with me, He doesn't mince His words. But the good news – the Gospel, as it's called, of Jesus Christ – is this. That He came to destroy the devil's work.

In other words, the Gospel displaces and disempowers the evil that assails us from within.

But how does that work in practice? What's the rubber-hits-the-road takeaway in your life and mine? When we let Jesus into our lives, not as some nice to have add-on, but as the One for whom we live, as the Lord of our lives … this is what He does. He destroys the devil's work from within.

After all, that's what He came to do.

And that's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Let's face it, some days you just don't feel like showing up; for whatever reason – and there are many – you just don't feel like playing the game. Some days, staying in bed feels by far the best option. Some days …

The day that I prepared today's short message, I definitely didn't feel like showing up. I was just getting over a chest infection and I felt awful. But when you do something like this – Fresh – 365 days a year, there are writing and recording schedules, deadlines to be met.

At times like these, I remember what one of my wise old Bible School lecturers said to me all those decades ago. "Some days," he said, "you just have to plod for God. And if that's all you have in you, that's just fine."

Galatians 6:9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up.

There's a lot to be said for perseverance. In fact, it's one of the strongest themes in the Bible. You look at the people who've made a real difference in this world, in fact in your own life, and sure, talent's part of it. But I don't think that's the main thing. It's more about them showing up when they didn't feel like it, over and over again.

So in your own little cabbage patch, in your circle of family and friends, work colleagues and neighbours … don't grow tired of doing good because you will receive the harvest of eternal life at the right time. Don't give up, show up.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

There's absolutely nothing, it seems, that can beat a good run in life. You know, when you have a period of weeks or months when everything seems to be falling into place – your finances, your health, your family, your relationships. Everything just clicks. Fantastic!

I know, I realise that you may not be in the middle of one of those fine, warm, sunny, pleasant stretches at the moment. There always seems to be something, right?

But when life's great, when the going's good, there's a risk – a big risk – that we become all too self-reliant. If your finances are doing pretty well, it's easy to be buoyed up by your bank balance. If your health is really good, by the belief that it always will be.

The exuberance of a good life can all too easily morph into a self-satisfied pride that, let's be honest, won't serve well at all once the storm clouds start rolling in … as they inevitably do.

As God was preparing Israel to take the Promised Land all those years ago, He warned them, through Moses, about this very thing. The executive summary goes something like this:

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Don't ever say to yourself, 'I got all this wealth by my own power and ability.' Remember the LORD your God is the one who gives you power to do these things.

Never forget. Every good thing in your life is from Him. He's the one who provided; He's the one who enabled; He's the one who blessed you. Honour God on your best day … because He'll definitely be with you on your worst.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

You and I, we're surrounded by so many talented people, aren't we? People who can do things we could never do; who've achieved things we'll never achieve; who have their lives so together that it beggars belief.

Look, much of that talent is somehow baked into them; it emanates from their very DNA. My friend Lorraine who's the most gifted violinist. My old friend Laurrie, whose gentleness and strength have him ministering healing into conflict and strife. Those people are capable of things that I'll never be capable of.

And then … then there's the whole temptation thing. You've been there too, right? Those other people all seem to have it so together, while you and I … we know our foibles, we see our failures, we know when we've stumbled at temptation and fallen to sin. Why can't I be like them?, we ask ourselves.

But there've also been times when you've endured temptation; when out of a deep knowledge of the love that God has for you, you've resisted, stood firm … because of what Jesus did for you.

James 1:12 Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (NRSV)

The thing about temptation is that when it comes your way it feels far preferable to fall into it rather than to resist it. But here's the truth. It's not about talent, it's about standing firm when you don't feel like it, in order to receive the crown of life that the Lord promised. Stand firm!

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Can I ask you to cast your mind back over all the mistakes – big and small – that you've made in your life. Financial, health, relationships, career, pride … the whole lot. Doubtless, like me, you could write a book about them.

Those mistakes can weigh heavily on our hearts. Have you let go? Have you forgiven yourself? Or are the consequences still robbing you of your peace and joy, hanging over your future like a dark cloud?

What mistake from your past continues to haunt you? As you feel the weight of that, perhaps revisiting the pain, let me share this with you:

1 John 1:9 … if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.

What does it mean to confess your sins to God? It means to fess up, to name them, to take responsibility for them, to be honest with yourself and with God about them, rather than continuing to sweep them under the rug hoping they'll go away.

And when you do that, God will forgive you. You can absolutely trust Him to do that, because Jesus died to pay for your sins. And He will make you clean from all the wrong things you've done.

So that, with your slate wiped completely clean, you can get on with living the life He always meant you to live. Which is why Jesus rose again from the grave – to give you victory over sin and death; to let you live a new life, eternally, in His love.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

According to latest estimates, there are over 5 million podcasts and 600 million blogs out there, collectively publishing nearly 8 million episodes and posts a day. That's on top of "traditional media" where true journalism has largely been displaced by carefully crafted spin … so many people throwing ideas – good and bad – at us … it's hard to know what to believe anymore.

Let's be honest. Whilst there are some real gems of wisdom out there, a lot of it's toxic rubbish. And in the face of this maelstrom of increasingly dark and perverted ideas, it feels as though a single small candle with a flickering flame of love doesn't stand a chance. How can anyone possibly live out a simple faith in Jesus in a world that increasingly wants to shut them down; to silence them; to cancel them? Is there any hope at all?

1 John 4:4 My dear children, you belong to God, so you have already defeated these false prophets. That's because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

What a powerful truth. All those people peddling false, toxic and increasingly dark and dangerous ideas out there have already been defeated. Why? Because the One who is in you – Jesus – is greater than the one who is in the world.

This Jesus who died and rose again has already won the battle for you and for anyone else who puts their trust in Him – because by dying on that cross, He took the punishment that you and I deserved for our sin. By rising again, He won our victory over sin and death to spend an eternity in His love.

The truth is that even if all hell comes against you, hell is still outnumbered. Jesus.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.