Verse of the week

'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth' Acts 1:8

Famous last words are often quite funny (like the general who, on being told he was too close to the enemy's guns, said 'Nonsense. They'll never hit us from over th...'); rarely are they as significant as these, for verse 8 of Acts 1 are Jesus' last words on earth before he ascended into heaven.
And it must have been pretty scary for his disciples, around a hundred of them in a world of millions who did not know who Jesus was. Especially as Jesus told them that they were his witnesses; that his followers were to stand in the courtrooms of the marketplaces, the shops, the meal tables, the schools, and to witness to the truth about Jesus. That is the job of the follower of Christ; to witness to him. It was hard then (as the execution of 11 of the 12 apostles proves), it has been hard through history, and it is hard today - hard for us to tell people of Jesus Christ, God's Son, who has died to save them from judgement and for eternal life with God. And yet that is the job that Son of God charges us with today and every day. Whether you are a school pupil, a plumber, a politician or a policeman, if you're a Christian you have a job; to tell others the truth about Jesus. When was the last time you did that? When was the last time you prayed for an opportunity to tell your friends? When was the last time you risked laughter and rejection to be a witness for Christ?
That's the challenge; but we're not alone. 'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you', Jesus told those first Christians; and as Christians today we all have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. If we let him, he will give us the courage; give us the chances; give us the right words; and then, wonderfully, he will use our humbling, stuttering efforts at telling our friends and families about Christ and use them for God's glory. Perhaps he will even give us the privilege of being used to bring someone else to trust in Christ and become his witness. I think that's such a relief, to understand that my job is to witness about Christ, and the Spirit's job is to use my witness for God's glory. It's not my responsibility to convert someone, only to tell them; not my responsibility to use long words and fancy arguments, only to explain the gospel message.
And yet so often we don't witness, so often we don't tell others. Let's resolve this week to do our part in God's plan; to tell others about his Son, and then trust in the Holy Spirit to do his part, and work through our words to enable them to come to Christ. Who are you going to witness to this week?