Thought for Today March 6, 2018: Topic - Witnessing in Precise Detail
Witnessing in Precise Detail
Acts 11:4-14
"Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened. 'I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
"The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 'Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'"
Thoughts for Today:
Peter had returned to Jerusalem from Caesarea only to be confronted by his fellow Jewish believers (verses 1-3) -- the "circumcised" group. Up until this time the thinking was that in order to be a follower of Jesus you must first convert to Judaism which involved circumcision. So when the "circumcised believers" heard that Gentiles had received the Word of God -- they wanted an explanation -- and they weren't exactly nice when they asked for one.
I think we can learn a lot from the way Peter handled this sharp criticism, especially because it wasn't as if it was Peter's decision to offer God's Word to the Gentiles; he was just doing what God told him to do.
As you will note, the account Peter gives in verses 5-14 is almost exactly the same as Acts 10:9-16. As in a legal matter (judge and jury), no one has asked for Peter's personal opinion; they just wanted to know what happened. So staying strictly with the facts is extremely important when being called to witness. This is such an important point that I wanted to repeat it one more time: To be an effective witness you must report the facts clearly and concisely.
Too often when we are called to witness for Jesus -- we spend a lot of time telling people what we think they need to hear -- that's not witnessing it's preaching (and there are pastors who are paid to preach). Instead when we witness -- our testimony must be accurate and truthful -- sticking strictly with the facts. For example: "This is who I was before I met Jesus; this is how I met Jesus; and this is how my life was changed after I met Jesus." Make sure you know and can recite your own experience -- just like Peter.
Questions to Ponder:
What was your life like before you met Jesus? How did you meet Jesus? In what ways did your life change after you met Jesus? Jesus is about changing lives -- Has your life been changed? Can you tell your story? Write it down making sure it is accurate and concise -- leave the fluff out -- like Joe Friday from the old Dragnet television series -- "Just the facts."
Witnessing in Precise Detail
Acts 11:4-14
"Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened. 'I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
"The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 'Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'"
Thoughts for Today:
Peter had returned to Jerusalem from Caesarea only to be confronted by his fellow Jewish believers (verses 1-3) -- the "circumcised" group. Up until this time the thinking was that in order to be a follower of Jesus you must first convert to Judaism which involved circumcision. So when the "circumcised believers" heard that Gentiles had received the Word of God -- they wanted an explanation -- and they weren't exactly nice when they asked for one.
I think we can learn a lot from the way Peter handled this sharp criticism, especially because it wasn't as if it was Peter's decision to offer God's Word to the Gentiles; he was just doing what God told him to do.
As you will note, the account Peter gives in verses 5-14 is almost exactly the same as Acts 10:9-16. As in a legal matter (judge and jury), no one has asked for Peter's personal opinion; they just wanted to know what happened. So staying strictly with the facts is extremely important when being called to witness. This is such an important point that I wanted to repeat it one more time: To be an effective witness you must report the facts clearly and concisely.
Too often when we are called to witness for Jesus -- we spend a lot of time telling people what we think they need to hear -- that's not witnessing it's preaching (and there are pastors who are paid to preach). Instead when we witness -- our testimony must be accurate and truthful -- sticking strictly with the facts. For example: "This is who I was before I met Jesus; this is how I met Jesus; and this is how my life was changed after I met Jesus." Make sure you know and can recite your own experience -- just like Peter.
Questions to Ponder:
What was your life like before you met Jesus? How did you meet Jesus? In what ways did your life change after you met Jesus? Jesus is about changing lives -- Has your life been changed? Can you tell your story? Write it down making sure it is accurate and concise -- leave the fluff out -- like Joe Friday from the old Dragnet television series -- "Just the facts."
Thought for Today March 6, 2018: Topic - Witnessing in Precise Detail
Reviewed by Muyiwa Abodunrin (Muyilight)
on
March 06, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Muyiwa Abodunrin (Muyilight)
on
March 06, 2018
Rating:
No comments: