Tag: living testimony

What We Stand For Does Make a Difference

Acts 24:16
So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.

Paul spoke these words when he was giving an account of himself to his followers. He was under attack from his enemies at the time. He wanted his followers to know that he was under attack because he was leading a life that conflicted with how his attackers wanted to live their lives. Paul may have been the first to warn us about living our lives according to political correctness and not according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

How many of us take the comfortable silent path of “tolerance” in order to avoid being accused of being a fervent believer and devoted servant of Jesus Christ? Unfortunately, this is exactly where the world wants us. Much of what we see, hear and read that comes from the world is designed to desensitize us to evil and to move us away from the holy life style to which Jesus Christ calls us. When we give in to what the world wants to hear, we give in to Satan. We diminish our testimony that goes out to those who need to hear the truth.

It has become all too common to hear of the slaughter of Christians around the world. In most of these heinous cases, the martyrs are asked to deny Christ. Those who proclaim their loyalty to their Savior are subsequently beheaded or otherwise mercilessly killed. What is remarkable is how many continue to proclaim their faith in the face of the slaughter. Be certain that the faith of the first victim works to strengthen all the way to the last victim. One after another they lift and strengthen each other.

We will be held accountable for our testimony. What we stand for does make a difference.

Let us stand on the infallible Word of Almighty God. Let us strengthen one another through the bold expression of our faith.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to keep us mindful of the truths that You have revealed to us through the life of Your Son, Jesus, and through the writings in Your Holy Word. We pray that You enlighten us so that we may avoid the tricks of the wicked designed to get us to accept the self-serving ways of the flesh. As we live by your Word, Lord, we ask that You strengthen us to stand up to the ridicule and hatred of the world. Teach us, Lord, to rely on the Holy Spirit to help us to become bold ambassadors for Our Savior. May those around us be strengthened by our faith. We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

The Capacity to Share God’s Love with the World Around Us

1 John 4:16
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

God is love. His love is unconditional and without end. His love for us is expressed explicitly through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. His love for us is reinforced daily by the counsel of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Through His love, Almighty God gives us an unfailing hope for our future. Let us not lose sight of the truth that our hope for our future is so much more than how we feel about our future or what the world tells us about our future. Our hope rests upon a very special love gift from God. Our hope is built upon the Good News of God for the world that He loves us so much that He gave us His Son so that we may have eternal life.

Through His love, Almighty God also gives us His Holy Spirit to stand by us, to give us the strength to bear all things that come against us and the spiritual maturity to endure all the tribulations that make up life on this earth. His grace is poured out on us in this manner so that we may overcome the world.

Most importantly, Almighty God created a spot in our hearts so that we could receive His love and return it to Him. He gave us the capacity to share His love with the world around us. He gave us the Holy Spirit so that our love could be an endless spring. When we are living in accordance with the Holy Spirit within us, we are capable of extraordinary service to those around us. By returning our love to the Father through our service to those around us, we become living testimonies of His perfect love.

Let us prepare our hearts to become vessels of God’s perfect love and forgiveness. Let us show the world His love through our compassionate sharing of the love He has given us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us unconditionally. We thank You that Your love flows to us endlessly. Prepare our hearts, Lord, so that we may become vessels of Your perfect love. Cleanse us, Lord, of anything in our hearts that would restrict the flow of Your love in our lives. May we bear much fruit for Your kingdom through the spontaneous release of Your love to the world around us. We pray, Father, that the world will be drawn to Your Son when they see Your love at work in us. We ask all these things in the name of the One who delights in our steadfast love, Jesus Christ.

Raised Up Anew in the Spirit

Acts 26:16
Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.

These are the words that Jesus spoke to Paul when He struck him down on the trail to Damascus. Being the respecter of no man, these are the same words that Jesus speaks to every man. By the loving kindness, mercy and grace of Our Savior, each one of us have been taken down in the flesh to be raised up anew in the spirit to serve Our Lord. He is just waiting on us to say, “Here I am, send me.”

Saul was an enemy of the early church. He was doing all he could to shut down the early Christians. If God would use such a man for His good purposes, can He not use each of us? Just as the Lord lifted Saul from his blindness to be Paul, a beacon of light to the world, He can also lift us from whatever darkness is holding us down. He can change us into new men and women in Christ, witnesses to the way, the truth and the life that is Jesus.

All we have to do is respond to the One that is calling us to stand up and serve. He will give us our commission. He will equip us for our mission. He will lift us up from whatever may be holding us down. He will make us true ministers and witnesses to His Gospel.

Let us respond to the One that calls us. Let us learn to live under the power of the Cross as we take up the crosses that we have been given to carry. Let us stand up and boldly proclaim the Good News.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for taking down the old man and raising up a new man in Christ. We praise the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to escape the darkness in our lives and empowered us to be lights on a hill for the world to see. We rejoice in knowing that we will be bondservants to Our Savior for all eternity. Lord, we ask that the Holy Spirit prepare us for our work. We pray that the Holy Spirit will show us how to make our lives living testimonies to Your glory. We pray these things in the name of the One who calls us, Jesus Christ.

Supernatural Assistance to Overcome Adversity

2 Corinthians 6:4
In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.

Jesus prepared his disciples for what was to come. He forewarned them to expect tribulation in their lives. He then inspired them by letting them know that in the face of every adversity that He had already secured the victory for them. And so it was. As they endured all that came against them, the world noticed and their ministries grew. As it was with them, so it will be with us.

In every element of our lives, we are certain to experience resistance. Whether our activity is on the physical, emotional or spiritual level, we cannot avoid being challenged. This is simply a fact of life. Our ability to cope will be determined not by our own strength but by the strength we gain through the Holy Spirit.

As we learn to heed the urgings of the Holy Spirit, we will become more capable of overcoming the trials and challenges in our lives. Constant successful response to what the world throws at us will build up our proficiency in each area. The more times that exercise is chosen over idleness, the stronger we will be. The more times patience is chosen over anger, the more peaceful we will be. The more times righteousness is chosen over sin, the closer we will come to reaching the holiness that Jesus has set aside for us. The more times we make the good choices that we are shown by the Holy Spirit, the more proficient we will become in producing positive results in all areas of our lives.

As we endure, those around us will notice. We will become living testimonies of Jesus Christ to the world. Our personal ministries will become fruitful.

Let us learn to rely on Our Lord to endure all that the world throws at us. Let us seek to make all of our choices and meet all of our challenges under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us live daily under submission to Our Savior who stands by us. Let us rejoice in knowing that our endurance will bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we may have peace in our lives no matter what is coming against us. We bless the name of Jesus who died on the Cross so that we may have victory over all evil. We rejoice in knowing that we can have comfort when the world is trying to steal it from us. We pray that our pride will not lead us to believe in our own ability to overcome the world. We ask, Father, for the wisdom to lean on Our Savior in our times of tribulation. May we be built up in every area of our lives through our submission to Your Son. As we endure, may others be drawn to the One who strengthens us. We ask all these things in the name of Our Victorious King, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

Living in the Confidence and the Power of the Holy Spirit

Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we are immediately and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit works in and through us to accomplish the will of God. His power leads us, convicts us, teaches us, and equips us to do the work that God has set aside for us.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive all of His gifts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We are provided these gifts so that we may proclaim the Good News of the Gospel through our living testimony.

The Holy Spirit’s powerful indwelling is an amazing gift we should never take lightly. Because the Spirit of the Lord is within us, we also receive the powers that Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would receive by way of the Spirit of God resting upon Him. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that Jesus would be endowed by the Holy Spirit. “And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him–the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” Isaiah 11:2

Let us live in the confidence and the power that the Holy Spirit gives us. Let us use the wisdom and understanding we are given to perceive the truth that God reveals to us so that we are able to convey it to others. Let us use the counsel and might that we have been given to originate, plan and execute the work that God calls us to do. Let us take our new found knowledge and fear of the Lord so we are able to live our lives surrendered to Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gifts and the power that we receive through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We praise the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to receive this supernatural blessing that empowers us far beyond our natural capabilities. We pray that the influence and power of the Holy Spirit will be manifest in all that we do. We ask that we may be made fruitful vessels of the fullness of Your Holy Spirit working in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Our Keeper and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Bringing the Gospel to All Men is Our Calling

1 Corinthians 9:22
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

Paul shared with the Corinthians his passion to carry out the good work of delivering the message of salvation to all men. He emphasized that this required him to be a servant to all men, regardless of their stature or their spiritual state. In doing so, he was also teaching them that carrying the gospel to all men was their calling also.

God calls people to all walks of life to insure that His gospel message is spread to the world. He calls some to full time ministry, but most are not. Most of us are called to traditional occupations and lifestyles where the Lord wants us to let Christ be revealed by the way we live and by the way we treat others.

God wishes for our messages of love, compassion and forgiveness to be the same whether we are in a boardroom or in a maintenance shop, whether we are in a health club or in a hospital, whether we are at a church function or in the visiting room of a prison. He wants our messaging system to be on non-stop.

Let us surrender our lives to Our Savior. Let us allow the gentle urgings of the Holy Spirit to draw spiritual production from us within the structure of our natural lives. Let us strive to have our living testimonies become pathways to salvation for others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the perfect love, compassion and forgiveness that You pour out onto each of us. We praise the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to become vessels of Your grace. We pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten us and invigorate us to carry the salvation message with us as we walk through our daily lives. May we bear fruit for Your kingdom wherever our paths on earth lead us. We ask all these things in the name of the Tower of Salvation, Jesus Christ.

The Presence of God in Our Lives

2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, all of our triumphs are in Him. All of our success, especially our success in leading others to the Lord, are reasons for each of us to rejoice. In our joy, we must go forward in life, not covered in pride, but covered in the sweet aroma of His presence.

While it is a wonderful thing for us to proclaim to the world how Our Savior atoned for our sins and made us worthy to be heirs of the kingdom of Almighty God, our living testimony should be much more. The world should be able to see the presence of Jesus in every single action we take and in every single word that we speak. The world should be able to savor the experience of being near Jesus Christ just by being near us. This should be especially true when we gain victory during times of trial and tumult.

Let us surrender to the power and the presence of the Lord in every battle we face. Let us give Him the glory in every victory and share the sweetness of His presence with the world around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us conquerors over all things in this world. We rejoice in the victories that we claim through Your Son, Jesus. We ask that we be given the grace to overcome the arrogance and the pride that naturally come with victory. We pray that in every victory that all praise, honor and glory will go to You Father, to Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. May the aroma of the One who brought the victory be spread around the world as we become living testimonies to His presence in our lives. We ask these things in the name of the Rose of Sharon, Jesus Christ.

Our Favor Will Come When We Seek the Lord First

Acts 9:6
But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.

Paul’s writings provide the foundational truths upon which our faith in Jesus Christ is built. But as great as Paul’s writings were, his living testimony may have provided even more valuable teachings to those who are seeking to be disciples of Our Savior.

In Acts, we read that before Paul was given any specific spiritual task to accomplish, he was simply asked to “rise and enter the city.” If Paul had failed to be obedient in following this simple command, we would not have all the writings of Paul in the Bible. Some other obedient man would be there in his place. But Paul was obedient in this first dramatic calling and to all the others that the Lord issued to Him, so he became one of the greatest men in all of the Bible. His teachings have been a blessing to generations of people throughout the ages. His legacy continues to live on today.

The other thing that we learn about Paul is that he never sought the favor he received. He only sought the one who called Him. So it is with us. We will receive favor from the Lord, not because we seek favor but because we seek Him.

Let us be mindful of Paul’s example. Let us seek the Lord first. Let us be obedient to His calling on our lives. Let us rejoice in how he uses us. Let us celebrate the favor that He pours upon us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to Yourself. We seek You, Lord. We humbly come before You and ask forgiveness for all the times that we have fallen short in our obedience to You. We pray that You will strike us down like You did Paul, so that we may see how we have offended You and so that we may turn our lives toward the path that You direct us. May the Holy Spirit guide us, inspire us and provide our strength to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy. May we learn to be slaves to Jesus Christ and not slaves to this world. May Your grace be with us always. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.

God Reveals Every Facet of His Existence Through His Creation

Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

It is undeniable. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. Every facet of God’s existence, power, wisdom and goodness are revealed in the starry canopy above us. Peering into the vast heavens gives us a sense of our infinite Lord, a sense of His control over all things and a sense of the magnitude of His power to hold it all together.

Our Creator provided the sun, the moon and the stars to provide light in our world. He provided His Son to be the Light of the World. Just as the Lord declares His glory through the display of His handiwork in the heavens, He also declares His glory through His Son. And the glory that He receives through His Son is multiplied over and over again through His children. He reveals His glorious Holy Spirit to the world through every single child that He has created.

The Lord uses powerful men of God to deliver His messages, but He does not use them alone. He chooses to use everyone of His children – of every age and every time – to declare His perfect love and forgiveness. He certainly does not need any of us to accomplish anything, but He loves to use all of us to reveal Himself to those who are in our everyday lives. We are the instruments of God’s perfect love.

Let us take time to consider how awesome our God is. Let us take time to marvel at all of His creation. Let us recognize we are intricate pieces in His divine handiwork. Let us insure that our lives reflect His glory.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for the magnificent universe that You have created. We proclaim Your glory in all that we see before us. Father, we pray that You will use us as instruments of Your good work. May the world see the magnificence of who You are through our living testimony. May we be daily expressions of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We ask all these things in the name of Your Everlasting Light, Jesus Christ.

Our Living Testimony Changes More than Our Words

1 Peter 3:1-2
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

God is a respecter of no man. Therefore, what He directs to one, He directs to another. Therefore, whatever He directs to the wives, He also directs to the husbands. Therefore, whatever He directs to husbands and wives, He also directs for all relationships.

What Peter is teaching us is that we do not change the lives of our mates, or others around us, by our words. We change the lives of those around us by changing our own lives in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Through our new lives in Christ, and not through our words, all around us are drawn to the truth that is working within us.

As the Holy Spirit changes us, He will also change our spouses and others in our lives. The Holy Spirit will work continuously to strengthen our marriages by making Jesus Christ the foundation of our union. He will work continuously to open the eyes of those around us to the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus.

Let us seek the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us. Let us strive to have the world see the presence of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Let us lead lives that are marked by purity and reverence.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the institution of marriage. We thank You for providing us with mates who complete us in Christ. We pray, Lord, that You will show us how to surrender our individual lives to the work of the Holy Spirit so that He can build the foundations of our marriages in Jesus Christ. We thank You for providing us with friends and family to help build us up. May our lives open their eyes to the wondrous work of Jesus Christ. May He become the cornerstone of all our lives. We ask all these things in the name of our rock and our foundation, Jesus Christ.