Witness

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Acts 10:28 Give Them A Chance

He said to them: “You are well aware that is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.” Acts 10:28

Society has often divided itself into different segments in which each does not mix with the other. Some common divisions are the extremely wealthy don’t mix with the extreme poor, or the prim and proper don’t mix with the drug-addict criminal.

This is often done to keep up appearances or to keep from being affected by the lower classes of society.

Peter, a Jew, was called to visit with Cornelius, a Gentile. As Peter meets with them he lets them know that it is normally against the Jewish law for them to meet, but that God has told him that no person is unclean to the point of not being able to meet with them at all.

In the same way that the society has different classes that don’t often mix, the church acts in the same way with others, both inside and outside the church.

There are many believers who will not associate with believers of a different denomination, believing the others are sinners being condemned to hell for their beliefs. Along with avoiding other believers, they refuse to go around and visit with non-believers for fear of being contaminated with sin.

Acting in this way does not give people a chance to believe in or even hear the truth about Jesus. It writes them off before they can hear about Jesus.

When Jesus walked on the earth, He met with anyone and everyone, regardless of status or ethnicity. As the church began to grow, the apostles learned to do the same.

Every believer needs to meet with the unbeliever to give him a chance to believe in Jesus.

There are people in your life who are of a different social status or belief than you. Each one needs a chance to hear the gospel message. God will open doors for you to meet with these people, so that you can tell them about what Jesus has done for them.

Do not allow yourself to be like the Jewish people and refuse to meet with them out of fear of being contaminated. Go in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit and bring the gospel message of salvation to them. Without it, they are dying.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that God will give you boldness to be His witness; that you will tell everyone you meet about Jesus; that you will give every person a chance to accept or reject Jesus; and that God’s kingdom will be built up through you.

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Acts 8:13 Everyone Can Change

Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. Acts 8:13

While most people feel as if they are completely set in their ways of thinking, there are times when they can change their thoughts. Some event or something said to them can occur that gets them to thinking in different ways.

Often this cannot be foreseen until it actually occurs. There are no signs that there is coming a change in thinking until it happens. The world likes to push certain thoughts a little everyday, in every way possible, to get people to change their thinking.

Philip was going around preaching the gospel message and healing people. Many started believing in Jesus. One of them who believed was Simon, a very famous sorcery in the area.

Although most believers in the church will say that anyone can begin to believe in Jesus and be saved, many also do not feel that there are certain people who could ever be saved. When they look at these certain people, they see them as beyond all hope.

As a result of this type of thinking, many will not even attempt to be a witness to those people.

Jesus told the disciples to be a witness to everyone in the world, not just to certain groups or types of people. He wants to save every person. He wants every person to have a chance to be saved.

Since the time of Philip the message has not changed and there are people who still need to know Jesus as their Savior. Those who are believers in the church need to go out and proclaim the message of salvation to everyone and anyone that they can come across.

Only God knows which ones will choose to change and believe.

If you are a believer in Jesus, someone had taken time at some point in your life to share with you the gospel message of salvation through Jesus. It did not matter if you were a really bad person or just a sinner with decent morals the message was shared and you believed.

In the same way, give everyone a chance to accept or reject Jesus by sharing the message with them. Do not look at the hardness of their heart, but how big God is and how He can change hearts.

Anyone can change, if given the chance.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that you will share the message of Jesus with all you meet and know; that God will draw many to Jesus through you; and that God’s kingdom will grow through your witness.

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Acts 5:42 Never Stop

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. Acts 5:42

In order to get something big accomplished a person must start and keep going. As he is going, there will often be some difficulties or troubles that attempt to stop him. Instead of allowing those troubles to stop him, he must push forward and keep doing what he wants, or else he will never accomplish his goal.

Most will give up, when they hit a mountain of troubles.

Peter and some other apostles had been preaching the gospel message, when they were caught and put in prison. Upon a warning and a release, they went back out and continued openly to proclaim the good news of Jesus everywhere.

When Jesus left the earth the last thing He told the disciples to do was preach the gospel in all of the world. At that time the world had a large population, spread across the entire world. Today that population has grown extremely exponentially to over seven billion people.

Along with the growth of the population, the need to spread the gospel message has also grown.

Every believer has an opportunity, every day to tell someone something about Jesus and the good news of salvation. Sadly, many will want to talk about the weather, sports, work or something else. They have chosen to stop telling people about Jesus, because they may be ridiculed or persecuted and hated.

Jesus and the disciples kept moving forward with the message, despite any troubles. In reality, the more trouble there was, the more they spread the gospel message.

Believers have the need and the mandate to spread the gospel message. The world needs this message and they cannot stop, until everyone has heard it.

Throughout your life you may have attempted some big projects. Some you may have accomplished, while others you stopped because of problems.

The largest and greatest project you have to work on is getting the gospel message out to everyone you can. As you accomplish this task, people will be saved and be given true, eternal life.

If you chose to stop spreading the gospel message, people will die in their sins, never having true, eternal life.

Despite the problems and troubles, don’t stop spreading the gospel message. Make it your highest priority to keep it going to all the world.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that God will give you the boldness to preach His gospel message; that you will tell everyone you meet about Jesus; that God will give you strength to keep going; and that God will strengthen you in times of trouble and persecution.

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John 17:4 Are You Finishing The Work Given To You?

I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. John 17:4

All around the world people have work to do each and every day. Many are in paid positions and are expected to do the required work. Others may be work that needs to be done in their homes or other places for free.

While many will complete the required or needed work to be done, there are many who will not do the work. Instead of working, they will play and do something different, not completing the work.

As Jesus is preparing to go to the cross He prays to His Father. He states that He brought glory to the Father by completing the work that was given to Him to do while on the earth.

Believers in Jesus are unique in this world in that they have a job to do that is outside the normal work of this world. They have a task of being a witness to others in this world and making disciples of people.

There is no one way to do this work for each and every believer. God has a different plan of work for each person to be able to reach the entire world. Some will be called into full time ministry, while many will be called to some vocation to be a witness there.

As a believer is living on this earth, he must focus on doing as much of God’s work as he can possibly do with God’s help. His focus must be to complete the work God has given him to do.

The work is not done for self glory, but for the glory of God. Each time he completes the required work, God is glorified in him.

In the same way that God had a work for Jesus to complete, He has some job for you to do. There is someone who needs to you to be a witness to, pray for, help or in some other way complete a work for God.

Allow God’s Holy Spirit to guide you in to what work He has for you to do. Then set your mind to complete that job so that the Father may be glorified.

Only God knows when He will be done with you on this earth and calls you to heaven. Until focus on completing His work.

Will He be glorified in you?

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that you will know the work God has for you to do; that God will give you strength to do His work; that you will do what God has called you to do each day; and that God will be glorified in you and your work for Him.

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Matthew 12:30 Are You For Or Against Jesus?

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Matthew 12:30

In order for any business to be successful, all of the workers must work in unity. If every worker does what he wants, the way he wants and when he wants, nothing will happen successfully. There will be division, which will cause a loss of production and eventual destruction.

Working together for a common goal can produce amazing results. Those who work together for the common goal and working in unity and not against each other.

After being accused of working by the power of demons, Jesus tells them that there must be unity and that anyone is not with Him is against Him and scatters.

When Jesus came to the earth, He did not come with ten thousand different goals on the agenda to be accomplished. He came with only one goal. That one goal was to seek and save those who are lost. Jesus came to gather together all who are lost in sin and give them eternal life.

Just as in the workplace, there are many who have their own individual agendas, people in the church have their own agendas. Some are just focused on building a large program, or the perfect worship service, or to have the fanciest building, or some other temporary goal.

Many churches and believers have lost focus of the one goal that Jesus had–to seek and save the lost. Believers who are not seeking to find the lost are against Jesus and just building their own temporary kingdom. They are not working with Jesus, but against Him.

The methods of reaching the lost are as numerous as the stars in the sky, but every believer must have that focus. Either they are gathering or they are scattering.

As you live your life with a belief in Jesus, you must ask yourself if you are with Jesus or against Jesus.

Look at your life and see whether your focus and goal will match up with the focus and goal of Jesus or not. Do not find yourself as the one who is against Jesus and scattering, even though you are claiming to be His follower.

Work in unity with Jesus to reach the lost in this world. At some point, someone took the time to reach you for Jesus, do the same for someone else as you work with Jesus.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that you will know the goal Jesus has for your life; that you will seek the lost with Jesus; and that you will be a witness for Jesus to all you meet.