Be. My. Witnesses.

Acts 1:8
"but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

At church our pastor is preaching through Acts... I can't seem to get his message from a few weeks ago out of my mind.  He preached on Acts 1:3-11.

 My heart wants to share my "take aways"...  sometimes it is good to get things down on paper... or rather on a computer screen.

In Acts 1:8 we see 2 things.  We see POWER... and we see PURPOSE...

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  That power is given for a purpose, that purpose is so that we shall be His witnesses.

Be.  (not do)

Being involves the totality of our lives.  It is not about doing but about being - the rule of Christ is to BE over everything.  Being a follower of Christ should change everything in our lives, it is not something that we add to our to do list or check off our bucket list.  It is not something that we turn on or off.  Once we have a personal, real, private relationship with Christ He begins to change every area of our life.  He infiltrates everything that we are... and we start to BE different.  We become His witnesses...

Our pastor shared quite a list of things that he can personally bear witness to.  His list prompted me to think about what things I can bear witness to, so I decided to come up with my own list...

What can I bear witness to??

I can bear witness to:

• The power of Christ to redeem me from a life of sin.
• The love of Christ which meets the deepest needs of my heart.
• The comfort of God which brings peace and hope to a broken and hurting heart.
• The healing power of God to physically heal me completely from debilitating pain and sickness.
• The power of God to safely bring twin boys into this world, 8 weeks early and with a battle with pre-term labor for 2 1/2 weeks prior.
• The joy that Christ can give, even in the hardest and darkest of times.
• The strength that Christ provides when I am so very weak.
• The wisdom that can come only from God that enables me to be a wife, mom, and homeschool teacher.
• My Lord's faithfulness that all seasons and times.
• The power of forgiveness to wash a heart clean.
• The mighty power of the hand of God, which has provided protection and provision for our family.
• The shelter to be found in Christ in the midst of a raging storm.
• The help that God provides when I lift my eyes up to Him.

If you would like to listen to his sermon, you can find it here (click on the word here and it will take you there.)   If you do not have time to listen to the entire sermon, yet want to hear what he can bear witness to, which I would encourage as I found it very moving and very heartfelt, go to about 29 minutes in...


What about you?  What can you bear witness to?  Will you??  He gives us the power, for that very purpose.


 

A day of lasts...

Today is a day of  lots of lasts... So I am trying to slow time down, savor every moment, and linger and enjoy these boys the Lord has entrusted to us.

• The last morning to get Good Morning hugs from a couple of 9 year olds...
• The last day to hear 9 year old little boys giggle and laugh...
• The last day to fix breakfast, lunch and dinner for 9 year old appetites...
• The last day to snuggle and read with my 9 year old boys...
• The last day to teach these 9 year old boys, through all the wiggles and questions that interrupt our days...
• The last day to get a picture of them being 9....
• The last day to savor 9 year old smiles, hugs, and grins...
• The last day to "ooo" and "ahhh" over 9 year old Lego creations....
• The last day to tuck in my 9 year olds and say their bedtime prayers...

For tomorrow they will be 10!  I do look forward to all the new beginnings that come with 10, but where has the time gone? We have passed the halfway mark... I have less time with them now than I have already had with them... Less time before they can leave our nest and go where the Lord directs them. It makes my heart ache a bit and my eyes a bit watery.  It truly is overwhelming... so much we want them to know and to learn, and time is slipping away.  We must be diligent, we must be intentional, we must live with purpose and passion to raise them as our Lord would have us to...


Lord, I thank you for one more day with the blessings you have given us... I ask for many more days with them.  Help us to disciple them for Your glory and for Your purposes.  May they grow up to be mighty men of God, mighty in prayer, mighty in the Word, mighty warriors for Your Kingdom.  I am humbled and in need of your abundant grace to be their mom...

Decrease... Increase...

I know many who seek the Lord for their "word" for the year.  Something for them to focus on and strive towards as they go through the new year laid bare before them...  Something like JOY, HOPE, ENDURANCE, PEACE... something good and spiritual sounding...

This has never really been something that I have done, or pursued...  I didn't want to "force" myself to come up with a word.  Maybe I was afraid that I would not get a word, and then I would be left feeling left out...

However, in my lack of pursuit for a word for the year the Lord has laid one, or rather two, on my heart anyway!  Here they are...

Decrease...

Increase...

Real exciting aren't they??!

There are things in my life I feel my Lord would like me to decrease this year...  
For one, time spent on facebook... I have really become convicted of what a time waster fb is.  It causes me to waste time on trivial things; it can cause feelings of discontentment, jealousy, pride, and selfishness; it can lead me to be judgmental; and it can even cause me to feel offended.  So time spent in the fb world will be decreasing significantly! 

Less time on facebook means more time to read the Word, to pray, and to read spiritually nourishing books.  It means more time for real one on one fellowship, whether that is through a phone call to a friend or a visit.  It means more time to minister to my family, friends, and neighbors.  It means more time to get things accomplished around the house, more time to exercise, more time to cook for my family... and maybe more time to blog again!!

There are other things I will be decreasing... the amount of clutter in my life, the amount of "stuff" I spend money on, the "stuff" stored away in closets and drawers...  Through the power of His Spirit I hope to decrease selfishness, decrease self-sufficiency, and decrease the desire for the approval of others...

And then there are things I feel the Lord would like for me to increase:

More time in the Word and in prayer...
More time reading spiritually nourishing and encouraging books...
More time actually discipling my children...  (Less time getting frustrated and irritated,  hopefully!)
More quality time with my husband...
More time spent on His purposes, His plans, and His agenda...
More dependence on Him...



So hopefully this year I will be decreasing and increasing... in the right areas... in the power of the Lord...

John 3:30
"He must increase, but I must decrease."