Episode 13
BE PROUD OF YOUR ASSOCIATION WITH JESUS
(Boldly Identify with Him)
Sunday, 13 September
TO THE BIBLE – Matthew 10:32-33
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
The silence broke on Sunday evening.
A new message appeared in the class group chat—this time from one of Tyler’s friends. It was a screenshot of an old photo from a school event months earlier. In the background, Maya stood with a small group from the youth fellowship, Bible visible in her hand. The caption read:
“Still doing the whole church kid thing, or was that just a phase?”
A second message followed quickly: “Curious if the faith talk survives when people actually ask.”
Jordan saw it first and called Maya. His voice was tight.
“They’re circling back. Not directly from Tyler this time, but it’s the same energy. They’re waiting to see if we downplay it.”
Maya stared at the screenshot on her screen. The old familiar temptation rose immediately—the urge to answer lightly, to laugh it off, to say something vague enough to keep the social temperature low. A middle-ground reply that wouldn’t cost anything.
She recognised it for what it was.
“I’m not hiding it,” she said into the phone. “And neither should you. There’s no middle ground here. Jesus said if we confess Him before people, He confesses us before the Father. If we deny Him—even by staying quiet to protect our image—we miss that.”
Jordan was quiet for a moment. “So we just… answer?”
“We answer clearly,” Maya said. “No vague comments. No ‘I just go sometimes.’ We’re not ashamed of the association. He’s the most honourable person we could ever be identified with.”
They didn’t craft a long defence. Maya typed a short reply into the group chat:
“Still following Jesus. Not a phase.”
Jordan’s message appeared right after hers:
“Same. Not changing that.”
The chat went quiet again for several minutes. Then a few neutral emoji reactions appeared from other classmates. No further sarcasm followed immediately. The moment that had been designed to make them flinch had instead become a clear line.
Later that night Jordan sent Maya one more message.
Jordan: Felt different typing it out in front of everyone.
Jordan: Like something settled.
Maya: Because we stopped leaving room for denial.
Maya: He isn’t ashamed of us. We don’t get to be ashamed of Him.
The wider tension with Tyler and his circle had not vanished. The screenshot had been a reminder that people were still watching, still testing how firmly they would stand. Yet the choice had been made in the open.
No backpacks hiding Bibles.
No careful jokes to soften the truth.
Just a clear identification.
And for the first time since the pressure began, both of them felt the strength that came with refusing to hide.
ACT
Post one thing on your story or status today that shows whose side you’re on: a verse, a worship song, or simply “Church was good today.”
