Testimony

Readings for today: Acts 24-26

Felix. Festus. Agrippa. Bernice. Caesar. Religious leaders. Pagan governors. Roman emperors. The Apostle Paul testified before them all. On what charges? Was he stirring up violence? Was he an insurrectionist? Was he calling for rebellion? No, he simply was sharing the gospel. I love how Paul sums things up when the religious leaders accuse him of being a “plague” and an “agitator” and a “ringleader” of a new sect. Paul doesn’t get angry. Paul doesn’t throw a fit. Paul doesn’t lash out or respond with violence or seek to use his leverage to destroy his accusers. He simply says, “But I do admit this to you: I worship the God of my ancestors according to the Way, which they call a sect, believing everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the prophets. I have a hope in God, which these men themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the unrighteous. I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and men.” (Acts‬ ‭24‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The way of Jesus has always been a stumbling block to the Jewish religious leaders and absolute foolishness to pagan Gentiles. Why? Because literally no one believes a crucified Messiah makes any sense. The Jewish leaders reject it out of hand because they believed God’s Messiah would come to re-establish the Kingdom of Israel on earth. They believed He would kick out the Romans and sit on David’s throne and rule forever. They were looking for a political savior more than anything else so when Jesus is crucified by the Roman authorities, it effectively ended any claim He had to Messiahship in their minds. The pagan Gentiles rejected the cross because it was the ultimate sign of humiliation and defeat. It was the most shameful and painful way ever devised by humanity to execute another human being. It effectively made the victim a non-person. It de-humanized them in every way possible. Naked. Beaten and bloody. Slowly suffocating over hours if not days. All on public display. How in the world could anyone claim such a person to be the Savior of anything? Much less the world? The answer, of course, is resurrection. Only the resurrection makes sense of the cross. Only the resurrection sets Jesus apart from every other would-be messiah in the world. It was his encounter with the Risen Christ outside of Damascus that changed Paul forever and it’s why he became a follower of the Way and a proclaimer of the gospel.

Let me ask you an important question. If you were put on trial, like Paul, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian? The reality is that all of us find ourselves on the stand in the courtroom of public opinion every single day. The way we interact online. The way we relate to others at work or at school. Our reputation in our neighborhood. The love we show our family and friends. As you think about all the people God has placed in your life, do they know you are a Christian? Have they heard your testimony? Do they know why you believe the way you do? How can you pray for opportunities to share your faith with them today?

Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays

Testimony

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 1-3

Moses was an amazing man. He’s right up there with Abraham and David. He’s one of the most important and influential biblical leaders for God’s people. He’s the deliverer. He’s the Law-giver. He’s the one who shapes and forms Israel from a bunch of former slaves into a nation. Moses’ life was broken down into three stages, each lasting around forty years. The first forty years, he was a prince in Egypt. He grew up in Pharaoh’s household. The adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He enjoyed a life of privilege and power. The second forty years, he lived as a shepherd in Midian. He fled Egypt after murdering a man in an attempt to incite an insurrection. He got married. He had kids. He built a life for himself. Things were good. Then God showed up in a burning bush and everything changed yet again. The final forty years of his life was filled with miracle after miracle as well as hardship after hardship. He went back to Egypt. He confronted Pharaoh. He called down plagues. He delivered God’s people. He led them through the Red Sea. He brought them to Mt. Sinai and gave them the Law. He led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. He faced all kinds of rebellion. He fought wars. He survived death threats. He faced hunger and thirst. The burdens of leading God’s people were overwhelming. Finally, Moses died without experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Imagine you are Moses. 120 years old. Your eyesight has not dimmed. Your strength unabated. You’re standing on the border of the Promised Land. You know you are not allowed to go in. You have to say goodbye to the people you have led for decades. Men and women whom you have watched grow up and helped raise from birth. A generation who did not know Egypt. Did not walk through the waters of the Red Sea. Did not hear God’s voice at Mt. Sinai. What would you say to them as they prepare to take the next step in their journey without you? This is what the Book of Deuteronomy is all about. It is Moses’ final sermon to God’s people. It is his last will and testament. It is his final chance to encourage, challenge, confront, and comfort God’s people. Given one last chance to address those he loved, Moses points them to God. He points them to God’s faithfulness. Points them to God’s provision and protection. He wants them to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is with them and He is for them and He is going before them as they cross over into new territory under new leadership.

“The Lord your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt. And you saw in the wilderness how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬) 

“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you these past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.”(‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

“Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.”(Deuteronomy‬ ‭2‬:‭25‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

“Your own eyes have seen everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. Don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God fights for you.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Now consider your own life. Not many of us - or any of us - will live to be 120. However, in the years we are each given, where do we see God at work? What will our testimony be when our time comes to part from this world? What will we say to those we love and those we lead who will come after us? How can we point them to God?

Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 4-7

Testimony

Readings for today: Daniel 4-6, Psalms 56

Every single Christian has a testimony. The story of how they received Christ and trusted Him as Lord and Savior. For some, the testimony is of faithful parents who raised them in the faith from birth. For others, the testimony is how Christ saved them in the midst of great hardship and suffering. For still others, the testimony is how God confronted them in their sin and humbled them before His throne. No matter how you came to faith, each testimony is the story of God’s great faithfulness to reach those He loves with the gospel. Every Christian is a living, breathing example of God’s great desire to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation on the earth. No one is beyond His reach. No one is unworthy of His grace. No sin is so great that it cannot be forgiven. If you had any doubt about that, consider the testimony we read today from King Nebuchadnezzar.

King Nebuchadnezzar is one of the great tyrants in human history. The number of people he killed as his armies swept through the Middle East is astronomical. He brutally suppressed the nations he conquered. He drug hundreds of thousands into exile. He razed homes and temples and cities. He used terror and fear and torture and death as instruments to hold his growing empire together. He was prideful and arrogant, believing himself to be one of the gods. At the height of his power, God confronted him. He drove Nebuchadnezzar insane and he lost his kingdom. For seven years, he was lost, wandering in the labyrinth of his own crazed mind. He ate grass like cattle. He was exposed to the elements. He never cut his hair or nails. Finally, he looked up to heaven. He humbled himself before God. And his heart was changed. His mind was healed. His position and authority restored. Listen to how he describes it in his own words, “But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever: For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing, and he does what he wants with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can block his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” At that time my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and my nobles sought me out, I was reestablished over my kingdom, and even more greatness came to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” (Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭34‬-‭37‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

It’s an incredible story. One that gives all of us hope. If God can save a man like Nebuchadnezzar, He can save anyone. If God can confront and change the heart of one of the most brutal tyrants in human history, He can change the hearts of all those who look to heaven and turn to Him. The story of Nebuchadnezzar reinforces the unconditional nature of God’s love and amazing grace. Grace is God’s free gift to all who humble themselves before Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Daniel 7-9, Psalms 57