Daily Devotional: August 11, 2023
BE THE LORD’S WITNESS

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!”

Psalm 100:1

Being a witness in any legal proceeding could be taxing, inconvenient, and sometimes even life threatening. But there are people who are willing to stand for the truth, and fight for what’s right.

In the early days, being a witness to Jesus’ as the messiah could have life-altering consequences too. But testifying to something that could save souls from eternal damnation was worth it for the early Christians who responded to the call to make disciples of all nations.

This marching order still applies to us, present-day Christians. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, he quoted Jesus saying that we should tell everyone about the good news of our salvation. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) 

We should not have excuses that we cannot share the gospel because we have a dark past, or because we do not know much yet about Jesus and the bible. As long as we have accepted the Lord as our savior, and repented for our sins we can share how we have been saved by His grace. In the Gospel of Luke, he told us the story of the Gerasene Man who was possessed with a legion of demons. Upon being healed by Jesus Christ, the man wanted to go with Jesus, but He told him instead to spread the word about how the Lord has helped him, ‘“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:39).
The Gerasene man has not memorized any scripture, nor has he talked to Jesus for a long time, yet he was commanded to tell everyone about his healing experience.

It is the same with the Samaritan Woman in the well, who had five husbands. After realizing that she was talking to the Messiah, she went back right away to her townsmen and shared what she knew about Jesus. “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”(John 4:39)

We can take a cue from these two stories and start sharing about how God has changed our lives. That no matter our background, we too can share the Good News of Jesus to our children, and to everyone around us.     

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read 2 Timothy 4:2-8 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Have you ever shared the good news about how Jesus Christ is present in your life? If not, what are the steps you would like to take to start spreading the Word?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, empower me to start sharing the good news of your salvation. Allow me to seek you and your words, and create opportunities to talk to others about You. I want to help them get to know you, so that we can all be part of your eternal kingdom. Amen