Acts 1:8 (NIVUK)
8 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.’
Yesterday we thought about how a key aspect of the Spirit’s work is to help us be witnesses to Jesus – to give an account of our experiences of Jesus and what we believe about him. We don’t have to know it all, we simply say what we’ve experienced and what we think about it. But where are we to do that? For the first disciples, it was a case of Jerusalem, then all Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth, a series of ever wider circles. This is exactly what the book of Acts covers! But what about us? The disciples started in Jerusalem because that was where they were. They then moved to Judea and Samaria after persecution broke out in Jerusalem – again, these were simply the places they found themselves in. And the ends of the earth? Perhaps here it is a combination of where they found themselves and where God sent them on their missionary trips. I think much of it, to start with at least, was simply a case of making their case for Jesus wherever they were with whomever they were with.
Prayerfully consider the following questions. Where you are? What communities do you move in? What people do you know? Why is Jesus good news for them?
Holy Spirit, help us to be witnesses where we are and where you send us.
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