“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The verse of the day comes from the account of the ascension of Jesus. Before Jesus was taken up to heaven, Jesus tells the gathered disciples that the Holy Spirit will enable the disciples to be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Within a generation the disciples would bear witness to the risen Christ in all the known world.

“You will be my witnesses…”

What does it mean to be a witness?

There are several requirements for being a witness.

First, you have to have experienced, seen, tasted whatever it is you are bearing witness to. If you were not present, if you didn’t see, experience and you testified anyway, your testimony would be a lie. The first requirement for being a witness is that you had to be present for whatever it is you are bearing witness to. You have to have had a personal experience in seeing and experiencing for yourself.

This is why God invites us to “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).

Isn’t that great? Before God allows us to talk about how amazing and wonderful he is, he requires that we first experience God’s amazing grace and power. Love that!

Second, you have to testify. You have to speak. You can’t be a witness without bearing testimony. You have to share Christ. You have to talk about Christ. You have to talk about how amazing God is.

If you were a witness to a crime. You have to speak. You have to bear witness. You owe it to the victims, to justice, to truth. It would be a crime to keep silent.

Finally, the reality of having experienced God is so transformative that it is impossible to stay the same. Experiencing God changes us. What we experience of God is so awesome, so amazing that even in the face of opposition and persecution, you bear witness to God’s reality. No amount of opposition or persecution can ever change the reality that God is awesome, his love so amazing.

The Greek word for “witness” is martus. The Greek “u” is equivalent to the English “y”. Martus is where we get the English word, martyr.

The truth of what we experience with God changes us. It changes our entire world. So much so, no matter the opposition and persecution, you bear witness that God is God, and that God is great. And many have borne witness to God’s reality to their martyrdom. The early Christian witnesses and martyrs declared to the Roman Empire, “You can kill me. But that still doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is Lord.”

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

“Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him” (1 Samuel 16:14).

This is one of the most frightening verses in the Bible.

The context for this verse is God’s rejection of Saul as the king of Israel due to Saul’s rejection of God’s command and Saul’s disobedience.

The frightening part of this verse is that there is a threshold to God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. You see, I just assume that God will always be forgiving, merciful, and patient with me. But what this verse tells us is that there came a point in Saul’s life where God’s patience and grace toward Saul came to an end. When God’s patience and grace toward Saul came to an end, God’s presence left Saul. When God’s presence left Saul, Saul was tormented by an evil spirit.

God’s presence is God’s favor. God’s presence is shalom. God’s presence is everything!

I don’t know the exact point of the threshold for God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. What I do know is that there comes a point when God will absolutely honor our decision regarding God. God will honor our reception of God and his promises, and God will honor our rejection of his plans.

The threshold for God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness is not a one time rejection of God’s will and a one time act of disobedience. On the other hand, should we on an on-going basis reject God’s offer of salvation and grace in this lifetime God will absolutely honor that desire on the day of judgment.

There is a limit to God’s grace. Once that limit is reached, there is judgment and a fearful expectation of God’s wrath.

The safest bet, the wisest thing to do is to receive God’s grace and plan of salvation right now when you have the opportunity.

Secondly, if you are wrestling with and are bothered by the fact that you struggle with obedience to God’s will, you need not worry about reaching God’s threshold of mercy. The fact that you are bothered and are wrestling with obeying God is a sign that God is at work in you.

If you are content with the fact that you continue to reject God’s will, if you are perfectly fine with the reality that you are disobedient, be careful. Repent and get right with God.

Finally, if you haven’t ever received God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, do so right now.

“So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, ‘Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!’ But his sons-in-law thought he was joking” (Genesis 19:14).

The context for the verse of the day is God’s judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, God decides to utterly destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But before doing so, God sends two angels to warn Lot about the impending doom and judgment so they and their loved ones can escape God’s wrath and judgment. After hearing that God will destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot goes to his sons-in-law to warn them of the impending destruction.

Lot declares the news that his sons-in-law need to hear: “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” That message is clear and true.

However, what was fuzzy is Lot. Lot lived a life in such a way that his sons-in-law could not take him seriously. They thought he was joking. They thought he was a joke.

How could it be that someone is sharing news of the utmost matter, a matter of life and death, but because of the messenger, both the message and the messenger are thought to be a joke?

If God were to entrust you with a message of the utmost matter – a matter of eternal destinies of every human being – would people take your word seriously? Would they respond to save themselves and their families from the impending doom?

How we live our daily lives matter. Either our lives speak of how amazing God’s grace, love, justice, and mercy are, or our lives deny God.

The truth of the matter is, we do have a message of the utmost importance to share with our world. Jesus is coming again as the King, Judge, and Warrior. When Jesus comes again, unless people have received God’s gift of salvation through Jesus, what awaits all people is God’s wrath, judgment, and damnation. But all of this is totally avoidable because God has already made a way in and through Jesus for us to be saved.

How we live our lives bears witness and testimony to this reality or it discredits the message.

Are our lives a joke to others? Or does our life bear witness and testimony to the message about salvation in Jesus?