You will receive power... and you shall be witnesses to me (Acts 1:8).
It's stated as fact. Not a command, not even a possibility, but real, actual. We have received power, enablement, the ability to act; the Holy Spirit has come and indwells every Christian. What do I do with this power of the the Living God who abides within me? I watch tv, fool around in the garage, work on the computer, watch the game, go for a walk...I have received power, but what do I do with it?
I am a witness to Him, but what sort, how much, how often, how effective, how intentional? Whether timid or bold, confusing or clear, I want to be more Christ's witness. Like Paul said in the end of Ephesians, let me speak the gospel boldly as I ought to speak. I'm cooped up in the church too much, let me get out and put myself in the path of people. Let me speak up more because people around me need to know Jesus as savior, and faith comes by hearing.
Could it be that God intends to save them, and He intends to use me as His witness?
Living in Real Life
I just reads a news story about conflict at work. A woman was arrested for putting a sedative into her bosses coffee because she felt "he needed to chill out" a little. Maybe he did...Maybe you do... Ephesians 5 and 6 confronts three places in which who we are as new in Christ Jesus, is lived out in real life. You can be whoever you want to be on Sunday mornings, but who you real are is best known by your spouse, your parents or your children, and those you work with 40 or more each week.
In each of these sets of relationships: wife/husband, child/parent, worker/boss; the naturally tendency towards "me first" sets us up for conflict. On the other hand, submitting ourselves to one another in reverence to Christ (Ephesians 5:21) will turn any of these relationships upside down. God says to submit or set aside my own agenda and instead devote myself to my wife, my kids, those who work with me, for their good. When I do, I am living the mind of Christ before them and for them. This may not eliminate conflict, but it could change the direction of it...
As far as the woman and the coffee--maybe she should have just tried decaf...
In each of these sets of relationships: wife/husband, child/parent, worker/boss; the naturally tendency towards "me first" sets us up for conflict. On the other hand, submitting ourselves to one another in reverence to Christ (Ephesians 5:21) will turn any of these relationships upside down. God says to submit or set aside my own agenda and instead devote myself to my wife, my kids, those who work with me, for their good. When I do, I am living the mind of Christ before them and for them. This may not eliminate conflict, but it could change the direction of it...
As far as the woman and the coffee--maybe she should have just tried decaf...
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