Deuteronomy 32:5-6 New King James Version (NKJV)
5 “They have corrupted themselves;
They are not His children,
Because of their blemish:
A perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do you thus deal[a] with the Lord,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your Father, who bought you?
Has He not made you and established you?
Psalm 38:15-16 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 For [a]in You, O Lord, I hope;
You will [b]hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”
Proverbs 17:26 New King James Version (NKJV)
26 Also, to punish the righteous is not good,
Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.
John 20:19-23 New King James Version (NKJV)
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were [a]assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Isaiah 53:4-6 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Surely He has borne our [a]griefs
And carried our [b]sorrows;
Yet we [c]esteemed Him stricken,
[d]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded[e] for our transgressions,
He was [f]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes[g] we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [h]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Psalm 38:13-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.
Proverbs 17:25 New King James Version (NKJV)
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father,
And bitterness to her who bore him.
1 Peter 3:18-22 New King James Version (NKJV)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring [a]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, [b]when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
John 19:25-27 New King James Version (NKJV)
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
Psalm 38:11-12 New King James Version (NKJV)
11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.
Proverbs 17:24 New King James Version (NKJV)
24 Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Ecclesiastes 2:14 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That the same event happens to them all.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control [a]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [b]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
As I reflected on those moments, I quickly realized that the story and words were right there in front of me, but I was trying to create a literary masterpiece. When I try to use flowery language and impress others with my command of the English language, that is where things begin to bog down and cause me to experience “writer’s block”.
Many years ago, I was asked to write down my testimony and deliver it to the congregation. I thought about the request and figured that I could easily put into words what had happened in my life that led me to my relationship with the Lord. Well, it was harder than I expected.
I sat quietly in my study staring at a blank computer screen with a flashing cursor waiting for my first word. Each time I started to write, I immediately deleted the few words that I managed to type. They just didn’t seem right. I even tried using the standard children’s book approach and started with “Once upon a time”. To make matters even worse, I added, “in a galaxy far, far away”. Yes. I tried everything. I walked around the house, went outside, put it aside for awhile and used all of the tricks and techniques of writers to take that first step in writing my story.
As I sat, once again, in front of my computer, I thought of the other times when I had to write my story. Everyone has, while in school, been given the opportunity to write about himself or herself. Think back a bit. There was that one assignment given to you by your teacher to write your autobiography. To make matters even worse, you had to read it aloud to the rest of the class. Remember how you felt about it?
I felt the same way about writing my testimony and reading it to the entire congregation. We all want our stories to be exciting and filled with great moments and events. We imagine that our stories would be turned into a movie of epic proportion sort of like “The Ten Commandments”.
As we begin to think about the events in our lives, we soon realize that not all events are dramatic and full of fireworks and marching bands. We, for the most part, have very simple lives that don’t have a lot of pomp and circumstance. We do experience moments of turmoil and ordeal, but when you average all of the ups and downs, our lives are uneventful. Most of the time, we lead very simple and smooth lives.
If we were to compare our lives to flying, we would soon realize that most of it is boring, but there would be moments of terror.
The great American military pilot, Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, said this about flying, “Flying is hours and hours of boredom sprinkled with a few seconds of sheer terror.”
When you think about what he said about flying and compare it to life you begin to see that there are moments in our lives that are filled with sheer terror. It is during those moments that our faith comes into play and helps us cope. Those moments are the ones we need to share. Because of them, our relationship with the Lord is strengthened and we begin to realize that God’s grace is truly sufficient in all cases.
When I thought about my life in that context, I began to tell my story of how I had lost my way because of anger with God and how I didn’t want to have a relationship with Him. As I relived those moments, I realized that my testimony is special not only to me but also to others who are or were going through a similar situation. By sharing those moments of sheer terror with others, we help strengthen them and build stronger relationships with God the Father. It is not enough to just share the great moments. We must share all the moments, good or bad, that make up our lives.
As believers we are called upon to share our testimonies with others in order to tell them about God’s love and plan of salvation for all. We must, at a moment's notice, be prepared to share our stories and how we faced those moments of terror.
Peter, in chapter three of his first epistle, writes, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
There are a couple of key elements that we need to use when we give our stories to those who ask about our faith. The first is to be ready. I encourage each of you to think about your faith and write down your reason for accepting Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord of your life. The other is to be gentle and respectful. Remember, no one saves another. God is the only one who gives salvation freely to those who accept His son as their Savior. All you need to do is plant the seed. If the ground is fertile, the seed will sprout and grow. If someone doesn’t want to hear what you have to say, that is fine as well. All you can do is be respectful. If they speak out against you, don’t return evil with evil. Let your good life speak for itself.
It might take a little time for the seed to sprout and grow, but you, at least, sowed the seed by sharing your story of love and salvation and how you were able to overcome your moments of sheer terror.
By being ready to share your testimony in a gentle and respectful way, Father God will provide you with the opportunities to share it with others. He will see your work and reward you for it. Just be ready and always stand firm in His grace.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
23 A wicked man accepts a bribe [a]behind the back
To pervert the ways of justice.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [a]principalities or [b]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
