Thought of the Day !!

Part 3 of 3 - Where to Witness

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:6-8

If you're willing to allow the Holy Spirit to empower you to be a witness, then the question is where will you go? And the answer is simple. It's the same places that the disciples were told that they would go; Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

First there's Jerusalem. This was the city near them. This was the place that they traveled to at least fairly regularly for Passover if nothing else. This would be like going into town for us. We probably go into town much more often than the disciples did. We go to the grocery store, to Wal-Mart, to the bank or Pharmacy or out to eat. We are called to be witnesses for Christ when we go into town, wherever in town we may go and wherever our town may be.

Then there's Judea. That's the whole countryside. When you go to a ball game, when you go to a wedding, when you go to political rally, when you go to the local school, when you go to a friend's house. Are you displaying Christ in a positive or negative way to your neighbors? Are you conforming to the world or trying to change your own little section of it.

Now Samaria is a little tougher place for us to go. Samarians and Jews didn't get along. They were different races, different cultures, different kinds of people. Yet Jesus intentionally traveled through Samaria so that he could encounter the woman at the well. And he tells his disciples that they will witness there. Should we believe that we're excused from this particular mission field?

Samaria is wherever there are people that are different. And in our case, our Samaria's are places where there is much need. Are we willing to go there and witness in word and deed? Or will we sit back and let someone else receive God's praise for doing what we were called to do?

Then there are the ends of the earth. There may be someone reading this right now who feels led to go on a mission trip. But I don't expect that we're all called to be missionaries and take off to Africa or Russia or Honduras or someplace like that. But we can be witnesses to the ends of the earth by supporting those people who are through our gifts and our prayers.

Just like the disciples, we have a job to do. We are to witness to people through what we say and through the actions we take. If we're willing to do this, God's Holy Spirit will take over and give us the power to complete the task. And this task of witnessing is to be done everywhere, not just in our homes, with our families or in our churches.

So how about it? Are you willing to let go and let God take control? Are you willing to be a witness for Jesus in a world that needs a positive witness so desperately?

In the love of Christ,
greg