Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local
councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought
before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when
they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time
you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit
of your Father speaking through you. Matthew
10:17-20+
For years, I never had an exercise routine. Sure, there were times that I would start
doing it for a few weeks and maybe even a month, but ultimately, it would not
last. Even health concerns raised by my
doctor had not fully gotten me on board.
However when I started not feeling as well as I thought I should, I tried
one more time. This time, I measured my
success focusing on overall wellbeing and not exercising. When I did not feel up to it, this inner
voice would say, “Ok, Kent. You have to
get out tomorrow and do it so you will feel better!” That subtle change in the message made a
wealth of difference. In month number
three, so far so good (someone check on me in June J).
Witnessing for God is about trusting the Holy Spirit within you. My pastor is passionate about winning others
to Christ, and he is very good at it. While
I am passionate about winning others to Christ, I still need a lot of work at
it. Yet even though I struggle at and am
not comfortable with doing it, I am not absolved from trying. By trying, I realized I am not good at being
direct (i.e. Do you know who Christ is?).
God did wire me to ask really good questions leading to others self-discovery
(Why are you here with me today? Why
aren’t you happy? What’s missing from
this picture? Could I share what I know
with you?). Your message and approach
will be very different from mine and many others. However you must trust the Holy Spirit within
you (some might call it lending a voice to it) to be able to truly witness for
it.
God did not give us gifts to let them stay idle. He gave them for His glory such that each are
to be used to as Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Let
go of your fears and trust God to guide you where you need to go with others. What is the Holy Spirit within you
saying? Who do you know that is waiting
to hear God from you? My prayer is that
we share with others by submitting to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit within
us. Amen.
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