Your Story

“Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me."
Acts 26:16 (NIV)

Do you know what makes an eyewitness different from everyone else in the room?

An old grandfather sits on his porch with his grandson when a rabbit darts out of a bush across the field. One dog sees it, yelps, and takes off running. Five more dogs explode off the porch, barking and chasing after him. Ten minutes later, five dogs slink back one by one, heads down, tongues out. Thirty minutes later, the first dog trots back with the rabbit in his mouth.

The grandson is amazed and the grandfather just smiles. "That first dog was the only one who actually saw the rabbit. The others were just running because there was some excitement."

That's the difference between excitement and witness. You can follow the noise without ever seeing anything yourself. But a witness can't share what they haven't experienced themselves.

In today’s verse, Jesus tells Paul he will be a witness. Jesus doesn't hand him a script or a theological outline. He says, "I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me." A witness testifies to what he personally experienced. 

In court, secondhand information is hearsay. It doesn't hold up. Your faith story holds up because you were there.

The world around you is full of people running after excitement, following the noise, chasing something they have never actually seen. You have seen it. Tell them what you know.

This week, think of one person who needs to hear, not a Bible fact, but your story. Write down two sentences about how Jesus changed your life specifically. Then find your moment.

Prayer: Lord, You didn't just save me and send me to sit and wait. You made me a witness. Give me the courage this week to share what I personally know about You, not what I've heard someone else say, but what You have done in my own life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.