1 Cor. 12:3 "...and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
Paul says the ability to say "Jesus is Lord" comes directly from the Holy Spirit. To say "Jesus is Lord" in the first century would be problematic as it was a direct challenge to Rome and the emporer. The emporer was lord, so by Christians saying Jesus is Lord, they were declaring their allegiance not to the emporer but to Christ. Paul says this ability and courage comes from the Holy Spirit.
JJ spoke at HangTime last night and a did a fantastic job. He shared his story and hung out an extra hour and a half to talk with students. Afterwards, his dad Fred told me that JJ believes strongly that God is speaking through him and in fact, JJ will only speak to groups if he totally allows God to speak through him. JJ wants God's words to be spoken, not his own. How often am I speaking my words, or allowing God to speak through me? I need to ask for, and trust God to do the talking and I need to stay out of the way!
Dear Lord, help me to get out of the way, so you are the one speaking. Jesus is Lord! Amen.
