Testimony

What do people say about you personally, if you are a believer?  And what about your neighbors, what would they say about you if they were to be asked to give an account of what kind of person they thought you were?

God’s Word says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”   Are you doing that or are your neighbors like enemies to you?  I realize that some people are real hard to get along with, very antireligious and not everyone would get a real favorable report, but your neighbors should know if you are a believer or not and acknowledge that fact.  There is one thing that people see and know in a person’s life and that is if they love them or not.  Do you try to make an effort to be a servant and help your neighbor or do you basically put up with them and ignore them most of the time?

When the Bible talks about your neighbor, it isn’t just talking about the people that are living around you, it is talking about everyone you may come in contact with.  What about your co-workers, what would they say about you if they were asked?  Would people say you were a conscientious worker or a person that just puts in their time and does no more than they have to?  Are you known as a go-getter, the one that goes the extra mile, or a goof off?  People are watching you and they are forming their opinions about you.  Are you known as a Bible thumper or maybe a preacher at work, but the people that work with you know that your words don’t line up with your actions so they think of you as a hypocrite?  We have a great responsibility to live what we speak.  When people see a genuine believer they may not get real excited about it but they will acknowledge the fact that you are the real deal and in many cases someday when hard times fall upon them they may look you up and ask you to pray for them and you may have a chance to share your testimony with them.  

This is what was said about the believers in God’s Word after the day of Pentecost, “they turned the world upside down.”  In the footnotes of my Bible it says this about these words, “The power of God revolutionized their lives.”  There was such a change in the lives of these early believers that it was unmistakable and you might say ‘earth shaking,’ it changed the whole course of history for many generations.  If it wasn’t for the power of God and the transformation in these believers lives, this may have never taken place, but these believers were un-ashamed of the Lord and the gospel and were willing to take it all around the world, and that is the truth.  Because these believers were willing to share the truth of the Word to all nations, multitudes have come to the saving grace of our Lord and savior, even at the cost of many of their lives.  The Lord and His Word had changed them so radically that they wanted everyone to know their Lord and Savior.  Down through the ages believers have been willing to be sawn in half, eaten by lions, burned at the stake, beheaded, crucified, boiled in oil and thrown in prison and to be persecuted in many other ways for their love and devotion to the Lord.  All of these have set an example for us to follow.

This is what it says about some of these believers in Hebrews 11:35-38, “Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”

When I think of these testimonies, it makes me ashamed of my unwillingness to share the gospel at times with non-believers.  Sometimes intimidation resulting in fear rises up within many believers, including myself, and it makes it hard to speak.  But if we are going to ‘turn the world upside down’ in our generation, we will have to pray for more boldness and power and the Lord’s anointing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit in our lives just like it took place on the day of Pentecost which revolutionized the early believers lives.  It truly changed their lives and it will change our lives also, praise the Lord!  Something to think about, may the good Lord bless you and may you have a super day!!