Witness

The second story is in Chapter 1:8 of the Acts of the Apostles where Jesus empowers the disciples with these words on the occasion of his Ascension into heaven:  “I will send the Holy Spirit and it will give you power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem; in Judea and Samaria; and to the ends of the earth.”

We are empowered by God himself to be witnesses in Jerusalem (right in our neighborhood—with our families and with our work mates and with our school mates).  Then we need to go out into areas which might be just a little out of our comfort zone (as certainly the areas of Judea and Samaria were to the disciples) to share the gospel as Jesus empowers us.  And then we need to go into the ends of the earth.  Even though many of us may not be able to travel and to do hands-on missions work in other countries, there are people who are willing to do that.  We can work in and through people we know who are dedicated to do that kind of work in an effort to forward God’s kingdom.

o    I will attempt to live my life as a reflection of the gospel in all that I do.
o    I will be a Christian at school, at home, and at my workplace.
o    I am willing to be involved with the evangelistic ministry of my Church.
o    I will keep an “Andrew list.”  That is, I will keep a list of folks that I know that do not yet know or serve the Lord Jesus.  Like Andrew in the Gospel of John did, I will ask that God give me the opportunity to be a witness and say to my friends and family “come and see” Jesus.
o    I am willing to tell others in our community about the good things which are happening in my church fellowship and to be about the business of inviting others to join our fellowship.
o    I am willing to commit myself to prayer in an effort to understand how I might be a better witness for Christ in all that I do.