Witness

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Esther 4:14 For A Purpose

Arrow on target

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 

Getting into a new position happens often for many people. Sometimes that new position is unexpected and of high honor. They were not seeking a high level position, but it appeared to come to them.

When a person is humble and this occurs, he will often ask himself as to why he got that position. There does not seem to be a logical reason for getting it, yet he is still there.

Mordecai had chosen to refuse to bow down and pay honor to Haman. Haman then got the king to sign a command to allow all the Jewish people to be killed, because of rebellion. Mordecai asked Esther, who was family and the king’s queen, to go before the king about it. She was nervous, because it could mean she could be killed. Mordecai told her that maybe it was for this very purpose that she was made queen.

Most people will never be in a position of queen or king over a nation, but they will be in other positions of different levels of influence. Regardless of what position a person is in, there is a purpose for it, and one more than just a title or paycheck.

God places people into positions to be His witness. At every level there are people who need to hear about Jesus. At every level, there are people who need a Godly influence in the decision making process. Believers can bring God’s wisdom into any decision made.

You may or may not be in some high level position, but you are in a position that can touch others and influence them for God’s eternal purpose. You can be the light in a dark place that may be what changes or protects others.

Do not be afraid to take a stand for God and His ways. The world may not like it and may kill you, but then again, the world may see it and change. This is not for you to decide, but to trust God and maybe be there for such a time as this.

Ask God to show you why you are where you are. It will be to be an eternal influence in a temporary world.

I pray today that you will see God’s purpose for your life; that you will not fear being God’s witness; that God will use you to touch many lives; and that you will be a light for Jesus to this dark world. 

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2 Chronicles 29:11 Don’t Be Negligent

Abandoned building

My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense. 2 Chronicles 29:11 

Negligence can happen very easily if one is not paying attention to all the details. It is looking closely at what one is doing that can prevent negligence.

Often people get busy with life or are just lazy and don’t want to do it, but leave something undone that needs to be done. They begin to neglect repairs and upgrades to something. If left untouched for long enough, it will break down and become worthless.

If one neglects to put fuel in a car, the car will run out of fuel and shut down in the middle of nowhere. If one neglects eat or drink, he will get weak and fall down.

Hezekiah had become king of Judah and was leading the people back to God. He told the Levites to work on restoring the temple. In the process, he told them to not be negligent in their work, because that is what God had chosen them to do. They were to stand before Him and serve Him.

Although most believers do not have the title of priest, every believer is called to stand before God and serve Him. The manner in which each person serves is different, but it is still serving. It is doing what God wants each person to do, to the best of his ability.

When a believer becomes negligent in standing before God, he begins to allow sin back into his life. He begins to forget what God has called him to do. He forgets the ways of God.

When a believer becomes negligent in serving God, he begins to live for the world. He begins to stop being the witness God has called him to be.

Take time today to look at your life and what God has called you to be and do. Are you paying attention to the little details in your life?

Take time to spend time with God each day, and even throughout the day. Put God and His mission as first priority in your life. You were called to stand before and serve God. The best way to serve God is to be His witness for Jesus and to make disciples everywhere you go.

Don’t be negligent in your duties today.

I pray today that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that you will know the work God has called you to do; that you will stand before God daily; that you will serve God faithfully; and that you will not neglect what God has for you.

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Joshua 22:34 Show That God IS Your God

Monument Valley

And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us–that the LORD is God. Joshua 22:34 

All over the world there are monuments erected to remind people of something. Often it is to remember a person who has died. They often want to remember the good things that the person had done.

Other monuments are made to remember some event that had occurred. Some of those events were good events, while others are not good memories, but do not want to be forgotten.

With the passing of time, it is easy to forget about a person or an event. It is even very common that people try to change what had actually occurred in the past.

When the tribes of Israel had crossed the Jordan River to take the land of Canaan, half of the tribes of Reuben and Gad wanted to stay on the other side of the Jordan. Moses had allowed this to happen. Once all the tribes were settled, those half tribes went back across the Jordan and began to live there.

They decided to build an altar as a witness that they still believed that the LORD is God, so that no one could say they were not a part of Israel.

This altar was a monument to let the world know who they really were. In the future, there would be no mistake that they were a part of Israel.

Although building physical monuments as a believer is no longer common, believers do need to have something in their lives that sets them apart. Something that shows others that Jesus is God.

Every believer is to live their lives separate from this world. Their love is their largest witness that Jesus is their God. That love is a love that loves friends, family and enemies, regardless of how the person acts. It is the altar that shows Jesus is God.

When people take a look at your life, how do they know that Jesus is your God? How can they tell that you are saved?

The best way for people to tell is by your words and actions. Do you tell people about Jesus? How do you treat others, with love or hate?

Take a moment today to examine your life and see if you are a monument in this world to let people know of Jesus. Allow there to be a witness today.

I pray today that Jesus will be your Savior and God; that you will live your life as Jesus lived His; that your life will be a witness of God; and that the world will know you follow Jesus. 

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Joshua 2:8-9 The World Will Be Afraid

Afraid

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.” Joshua 2:8-9

Joshua had sent some men into Jericho to spy out the city in order to take it over. They stayed with Rahab, a prostitute, who protects them. She tells them that everyone in the city has heard of the Israelites and that God is with them. Everyone was living in fear of the Israelites.

The people had reason to fear the Israelites. Word had been brought to them of the various battles that they had been in and won. Defeating Egypt and several other large nations and kings, they were a force to be reckoned with and feared.

In today’s society, Christians are also feared as the Israelites were. The world does not always understand or give the same reason, but they fear believers. It is very common for believers to be accused of hate crimes, because they are taking a stand against sinful acts that the world wants everyone to accept.

Judgments are brought against individual believers or churches, because they refuse to accept or participate in a sinful act.

These actions by the world, though seen as persecution (and it is), is also done out of fear. They fear that Christians will cause them to change their ways and beliefs, that they will no longer be able to live as they want to live. It is a threat against their lifestyle.

The world feared Jesus also, even though He never did anything harmful. Jesus just lived for God and did what God told Him to do.

When you are fully living for God, the world will begin to fear you. As they fear you, there will be some who fight back and bring on persecution. Others will try to bring judgments against you.

Do not be afraid of the world, but stand strong and true to God’s word. God is with you and will not leave you. God, who is in you, is stronger than the world. The world does have a reason to fear, God will change their lifestyle.

Be willing to be a witness of Jesus to this world. Be willing to change this world for God.

Does the world fear you? Or are you on their side?

I pray today that you will live your life for God; that you will be a witness to this world; that the world will see Jesus in you; and that God will remove fear of this world from you.

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Revelation 19:5 Praise Our God

 

Raised hands in praise

Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” Revelation 19:5

Praise is the giving an approval or admiration of to someone or something. It is something that people do all the time, though not always called praise. People praise others for their great work being done or success that they had. People praise an object that they really love and tell everyone about it. They praise their favorite restaurant or football team or college.

There is no one or anything that every person will praise at the same time. While one will praise a certain football team, another will despise it and praise another team. Praise is often given on the basis of one’s experience with the object or person. One person may have a great experience, while another may not have a good experience.

Believers in Jesus are told to praise God from the beginning of the Bible to the very end. In these final verses of the last book of the bible, every servant is called to praise God.

Every person that believes in Jesus has good reason to praise God, if for nothing else, than that they were saved from their sins. However, there are many reasons to praise God. Looking at the beauty in nature in this world is enough to praise God. He did a great job at designing this world and the skies.

The miracle of life and the design of the body is worthy of praise. The fact that God is in control of every situation is worthy of praise. And the list of why a person needs to praise God goes on.

There is also a great number of ways a person can praise God. Praising God does not have to be just inside a church building during a worship service. It can be a life of praise.

Praise is done when a person tells others about Jesus. Praise occurs when things are done for Him. Praise is done when you tell Him how great He is in your own words. You can praise Him by showing His love to others. You give Him praise when you turn from sin because of what Jesus has done for you.

When you think about how much God has done for you, you will not stop giving Him praise. Praise the Lord!

I pray today that you will know what God has done for you; that you will know reasons to praise God; that you will continually praise God; that your whole life will be one of praise to God; and that you will praise God to other people. 

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3 John 3 Faithfulness

 

Old Faithful

It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 3 John 3

Loyalty and faithfulness are some characteristics that are desired in people, but are rarely seen in the world. Going back forty years ago, it was common to hear of a person staying on one job for twenty years or more. He was faithful and loyal to his employer and the employer was faithful to him.

Today employers hire and remove people rapidly, regardless of how long a person has been there. People change jobs constantly. If a person stays on one job for more than five to six years, it has been a long time. People are no longer faithful to their employer.

People treat faithfulness to God in the same way. They do not always remain faithful to Him. One day a person is serving God, being a witness, turning from sin, and showing His love to others, then the next day, he is refusing to be a witness, living in sin, denying God and cursing others. There is no faithfulness in the person.

Many people have walked away from God, when struggles or trials came. They did not remain faithful as God does.

While many have become unfaithful, there are also many who have remained faithful to God. Their lives are a shining light of Jesus in this dark world. They stand out as foreigners in this world. They refuse to partake in the sin of this world. Seeing believers like this can bring great joy to other believers.

When a person is being faithful to God, it will encourage others to be and remain faithful to God. It is showing the truth that God has revealed in his life.

People are watching you every day. They are trying to find out who you really are. While the majority of the world is unfaithful in every area of life, you must remain faithful. Faithful to God and to other people.

Be willing to show and live out the truth that Jesus has revealed.

It brings me great joy to see another believer who is striving to remain faithful to God. It brings even greater joy when others testify to the faithfulness of another believer.

As you live your life, are you being faithful to God and His word?

Or are you living like the world and changing loyalty all the time?

I pray today that you will be faithful to God; that you will know God’s faithfulness to you; that you will be a witness of who Jesus is to this world; and that the world will know you serve God.