Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Discipleship As Witness
Psalm 119:33-40
Mrs. Ann Philip
St. James MTC, NY
Psalm 119:36-37, “Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.”
A disciple is someone who accepts and follows a teacher or a doctrine. A witness is someone who is able to testify to what he or she has seen and experienced personally. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our life will change. We become a new person. Our lifestyle will change, our friends may change. Everything becomes new. We have responsibilities to share the Gospel as Christ’s disciple.
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” The word “nations” may refer to our home, or to our extended family, friends, schools, classmate, church, neighbors, senior citizen, etc. Do we need to have a degree from seminary in order to be a witness? No, absolutely not. However, we should know the Word of God. We need God’s wisdom. In Colossians 2:2-3, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
In Mark 5:42, the residents of Nazareth were deeply offended by Jesus because of His ordinary background, His limited formal education and His lack of an officially sanctioned religious position. In Matthew 13:57, it says, ““Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.”
What about us? It is not a bed of roses. Our family and friends may reject us. But Christ will work in us. God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our internal guide. Sometimes He nudges us to speak to someone. Sometimes He will speak for us. We don’t have to know all the answers but we can have faith that we are not alone.
The central core of Christianity is love that is unselfish and forgiving. This love should be our motivation when we witness to people. As it says in Psalm 199:36, sometimes we may have the wrong motivation. We should give all the glory to God. We should start with our home, with our spouse, children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends, and church members. Share our story as a Christian. Always find new opportunities. Share our burdens and worries with our Father in prayer. Pray for each other. Call and encourage a new believer. Introduce them to the church. Matthew 5:16says, “Let your light shine before others.” Let us not pay attention to worthless things, Let us start living to make God and His kingdom known. The world will pass away but our mansion is in heaven. This earth is our temporary home
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