Empowered

Duane Vander Klok

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NKJV

When Scripture says that believers will be empowered and a witness to the world, what do you think of? What do you imagine? In the Greek, it literally means “to be one who testifies,” or “a martyr, a witness unto death.” You see, it’s not just saying that you’re going to share a little bit about Jesus, or be a ‘good Christian’ on Sundays and special holidays. Instead, it means that everything that we are and everything that we do will center around Jesus.

So often, however, the Enemy tries to sneak in and tell us differently. He tries to tell us that our personal testimonies, our stories of who Jesus is and what He has done in our lives, really doesn’t mean much. The Enemy tries to tell us that we are actually alone, that our story won’t impact people’s lives, and that we should just stay silent and safe in our comfort zones. Even more, the fear of ‘death’ begins to sneak in and try to persuade us from sharing about Jesus.

The truth is, however, that the Enemy is a liar. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He left us with two promises: First, He will send a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will always be with you, will empower you, and will be a guide through any situation. Second, He will be back to defeat every lie of the Enemy, every false persuasion, and even death itself. You see, every story in the Old and New Testament is the truth and promise that we now inherited. It means that what He has done, He can and will do again in our lives, but we have to be willing to partner our whole lives with His Gospel, His Good News.

This week, let’s share His Good News with someone around us that needs to hear or experience it. Let’s BE the light to the world around us.