Be My Witnesses

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Scripture: Acts 1:7-8 (ESV)

He [Jesus} said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Devotion:

            We live in interesting times. The unrest in Palestine between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip dominates the news. Along with this war, protests have erupted both for and against Israel all around the globe. This has many people wondering if the end of the world is upon us. While as the scripture teaches, we are always to be ready for Jesus’ return we will never know the exact day and hour because Jesus has tasked us not to be prophets but witnesses.

            We, having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, are empowered, and commissioned to do the hard work of being witnesses to this world. We are to be about telling others of the love and grace that our Lord Jesus showed us when he lived among us. Our human curiosity would love to know when exactly we can expect Jesus to return. Let us be about proclaiming that Jesus has visited this earth already. When he came, he showed the way for all to be saved. If we have faith in Jesus, then we can be anxiety free about the coming of the end of the world.

            The task Jesus has given us is an urgent one. When Jesus returns at the end of the age it will be too late to seek forgiveness. The time for faith in the Lord Jesus is now. We are not promised tomorrow. Our newsfeeds may be full of news of disasters and holocausts of war. We are not to be distracted from our mission. In the power of the Holy Spirit under the authority of Jesus Christ the Lord we are to tell this wicked and wayward generation of the love God has for them.

            If we get entangled in controversies, we will miss the opportunity we have to share the love of Christ with our neighbors. Christ will come again for His church. We have that much as a promise. Jesus made it clear that knowing the specific hour or day of His return was not ours to know. Jesus came once 2,000 years ago, and he will come again this much we know. Let us ask the Lord to strengthen and empower us to carry the good news of salvation in Jesus’ name to this needy and broken world.

Prayer:

            Lord God Almighty, we watch the world in a fever pitch over wars and rumors of war. We wonder how much longer you will delay your return. However, we know that you will come to us like you did in Bethlehem so long ago at an hour and a day when no one would predict. Help us to be faithful witnesses of the salvation you have provided in Jesus. May we be found faithful in the telling of the old, old story of Jesus and His love. Amen.


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