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"But before all these things, they will lay
their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and
prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it
will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony." [Luke 21:12, 13
NKJV]
We are called to testify of our faith. There many different ways and different
places where we can be a testimony for the Lord. There are good and bad
ways to be a witness for the Lord. Consider the following possibilities. One,
you can be a spurious witness by not telling people the whole gospel or by not
living in accordance to the witness we bear. Two, some Christians are shirkers.
They fail to share the gospel because they don't want to stir things up or do not
want to get involved in the lives of others. Thirdly, some people are forced to
give witness to their faith because they are put on the spot by others. In these
circumstances people sometime take the easy way out and deny any relationship
with the Lord. A perfect example of this is Peter the night Jesus was betrayed.
When confronted by the little servant girl, he denied knowing the Lord.
Fourthly, some people are sporadic in their witness. One day a ball of fire and
others as cold as ice. Lastly, there is the spontaneous witness. The spontaneous
witness naturally shares his faith in a faithful manner whenever he has the
opportunity.
One of the most difficult times to be a faithful testimony is when we called to
suffer for our faith. The Lord told His disciples that times of testing should
be an occasion for being a witness of our faith. We bear witness in two ways.
The first is by the way we conduct ourselves and secondly by the words we say.
The best example is that of the Lord Jesus. "For even hereunto were ye called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should
follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but
committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" [1 Peter 2:21 - 23]. Why is
it important for us to be a good witness? Peter told us that is the "...will of
God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" [1
Peter 2:15] What kind of testimony are you for the Lord?
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