Testify

 This is for all of you who call yourself Christians. It is time for us to seriously begin to testify.

I don’t mean to testify as in court, although if you’re asked to do so, of course you should. I’m referring to testifying in daily conversations. Testifying to the times when you have seen God work in your life. Don’t panic. I’m not talking about standing on the street or on a stage, preaching to others. I’m talking about sharing with others, when the occasion arises, about times when you knew God was with you.

 

It might be when you prayed for healing or your finances or a difficult relationship and it all worked out. It might be looking back to times when you made bad choices that should have landed you in big trouble but, somehow, you were spared.

 

I can personally recall several times in my teens and twenties when I was not walking with God and made horrible choices. I see, now, that He protected me from myself. He kept me safe when I wasn’t in a safe situation. He kept me out of trouble when it was what my behavior deserved.

 

I remember a time when my husband led my young children in nightly prayers over a weird rash on my legs that was spreading rapidly. The doctors had no idea what it was and the next steps of testing were going to be very unpleasant and uncertain. God healed that mysterious skin disease with only our prayers.

 

I recall many, many others. Times I’ve prayed and He’s given me what I needed. Not necessarily what I wanted, but what I needed. Those are the things I want to let others know about.

 

Why is that important?

 

First, it lets others know that I place my faith in a God who can do all things – in the natural and in the supernatural. Others need that kind of faith, too.

 

Secondly, it encourages those who may be in a really tough situation. We can share our ‘down in the valley’ moment with them so they can see that we don’t stay there forever. We can help them turn to, and pray to, God who can help when no one and nothing else can. This is so very helpful when someone’s situation seems hopeless and they feel helpless.

 

Lastly, it reminds me! It reminds me of His faithfulness when the next trauma or crisis rears its ugly head. It reminds me when I’m in a pit of discouragement or a valley of doubt that life is a series of hilltops and valleys and that no matter where I am at the moment, He is with me.

The word testimony in Hebrew is 'Aydooth' which means 'do it again with the same power and authority'. Every time we speak out, or read a testimony, we are saying ‘Lord, do it again with the same power and authority’.

 

When we testify, it builds us up to weather the storm, to remind ourselves Who God is and what He can do. It brings to our remembrance that God loves us and has helped us out before and He can and will do it again.

 

The Bible says:

“The LORD’S loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” -Lamentations 3:22-23 

 

The difficulty is this . . . when you are in the valley, it can be hard to remember the hilltop moments and your testimonies. Sometimes the crisis is so big, we find ourselves paralyzed. That is when it’s so valuable to have them written down. Start now to recall and record the beautiful moments when you saw that God had His hand on your head. When He held your hand in comfort or had your outcome in the palm of His hand.

 

I encourage you to write down your testimonies – large and small – to read at a future date when you desperately need them. Add to them, encouraging Bible verses that speak to God’s truths, promises, and faithfulness.

 

Whether it is for someone else or for yourself, be ready at all times to testify!

 

“We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what He promised.” – Hebrews 10:23 (ERV)

  

Sylvia Gaston

Family Ministry Pastor

Bible Prophecy and our Times

 “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and He blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” – Revelation 1:3 (NLT)

What do you think when your pastor starts a sermon with, “Today, we’re going to dive deep into Bible prophecy?” Do you say to yourself, “Oh joy! This’ll be fun!...NOT!” Do your eyes roll into the back of your head when he starts analyzing the book of Daniel, verse by verse? Or do you find it fascinating?

 

Jesus is found throughout the Bible, and He has fulfilled many, many prophecies (at least 300, by most scholarly estimates). Studying Bible prophecy is fascinating! When you have good resources for interpretation, the Bible can come alive for you in ways it never has before.

 

My first foray into Bible prophecy was through the classic book by Hal Lindsay, “The Late, Great Planet Earth.” It was published in 1970 and my mom picked up a copy of it a few years later in a thrift store when I was about 11 years old. An avid reader, I devoured the whole thing over a weekend and she and I had many interesting conversations about what it could all mean. That started me on a journey to find out for myself what God had to say about His plans for me, the world, and the whole of Creation.

 

For someone who has never studied prophecy, it can seem overwhelming and confusing; some might even say it is downright weird! Flaming clouds with strange beings in the sky (Ezekiel 1), locusts that look like horses (Revelation 9), a seven-headed beast with ten horns (Revelation 13). When you put it all together, though, Bible prophecy paints a picture of the evil of this world, the need for Jesus to redeem it, and the ultimate victory that God will have over the universe.

 

What is prophecy? Simply put, Bible prophecy is God revealing history in advance.

 

Why is Bible prophecy important for you? Fulfilled Bible prophecy is the most compelling evidence that the Bible is from God.

 

How will Bible prophecy help me today? In these chaotic times, so much is changing and not for the better. It is more important than ever that we keep our focus on Jesus and His Word. By reading the entirety of the Bible, including prophecy, we can be reassured that God is in control and He has the ultimate plan for our deliverance.

 

In chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew, Jesus speaks at great length about the “end of the age” or “the end times”, a phrase often used today. It is important to study His words, but at the same time, we are not to speculate about the details and, certainly, we aren’t to be doing any date setting based on what we see in the news today. As soon as Jesus finished speaking to the disciples about the signs of the end of the age, He told the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), ending with these words, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

 

Since Jesus walked the earth, was crucified, died, and resurrected in glory, the Church has been waiting for His promised return. As Jesus ascended into Heaven in front of the apostles, two white-robed men (angels) stood among them, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday He will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” Acts 1:11 (NLT) When the early Church greeted each other, they would say, “Maranatha!” which meant “The Lord is coming!” or “Come, O Lord!”. They were waiting with great anticipation for His return and so, today, we also continue to wait for Him because He promised.

 

As you study Bible prophecy, you will inevitably come to the Book of Revelation. There is a special blessing for anyone who reads, listens and studies it. “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and He blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3 NLT). As you read through Revelation, you might be horrified! Terrifying beasts, plagues, armies, blood, a star falling from the sky, Christians persecuted and killed, and eternal judgement are all included in this book.

 

If the Book of Revelation paints this picture of our future, where is the hope in that? There is hope because, if we happen to be the generation who lives through the “end of the age”, God has an escape plan for His beloved, the Church. We are the bride of Christ, and Jesus is not going to let us get beat up during the end of the age. As with Noah and his family protected during the flood, and the Israelites delivered from captivity in Egypt, God will rescue believers from the Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6-18. This is often referred to as The Rapture and is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18…”For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up on the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So, encourage each other with these words.”

 

After the Rapture, or rescue, of the Church, the rest of the world will experience a time of Tribulation never before seen on the earth. Satan and the Antichrist will try their best to rule the world but, in the end, God wins. There was never any doubt of that, but it is reassuring in this day and age of so much pain, heartache and cruelty, to know that God is in charge, and He will judge the world. In Revelation 20:10, it is summed up this way, “Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

 

Finally, in chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation, the triumphal return of Jesus Christ, His defeat of Satan and His establishment of His kingdom on earth are clearly described and showcase God’s mighty plan. Evil will not prevail. In chapter 22, Jesus says three times that He is coming soon!

 

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.” (vs 7)

 

“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (vs 12-13)

 

 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” (vs 20)

 

What should we be doing as we wait for God’s plan to be unveiled? In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins of Matthew 25:1-13, half of the virgins were prepared while waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. They had trimmed the wicks of their lamps and had plenty of oil to keep them burning. The foolish virgins didn’t have enough oil and left to go purchase more. As a result, they weren’t ready and waiting when the bridegroom returned. We want to be people who are ready, waiting for Jesus’ return, whether that’s through his rescue before the Tribulation, or our natural death after a long life. We are to continue working and loving others as Jesus would expect us to do. In Matthew 24:40-42, Jesus is speaking about what will happen when the Church is delivered before the Tribulation…”Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So, you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.” Please note that the people Jesus described here aren’t hiding in a bunker in the hills. They are working. We should be keeping our hands and minds busy with the things of God right up to the end.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about Bible prophecy, here are some very good resources. I especially recommend The Prophecy Pros podcast for a start on your journey to learning more about what God has to say about our future:

 

Podcasts and Website Resources:

The Prophecy Pros with Jeff Kinley and Todd Hampson

Behold Israel with Amir Tsarfati (excellent perspective from a Christian Jew who lives in Israel)

Understanding the Times with Jan Markell (Olive Tree Ministries)

 

Book Suggestions:

The Non-Prophet’s Guide to the End Times – written and illustrated by Todd Hampson

The Book of Signs - Dr. David Jeremiah (also his website at davidjeremiah.org)

 

 

Paula Aiton is a member of Koinonia Church and a freelance writer, musician and artist. Her blog, God’s Glory Girl, can be found at godsglorygirl.com

 

The Quiet Place

If you’ve hung around church long enough, you have probably heard of “the quiet place”, “prayer closet”, “devotional time”, and so on. Pragmatically speaking, this means to set time aside to practice your spiritual disciplines such as prayer, reading Scripture, meditating, etc. But if you are a practicing Christian, you know it’s much deeper than that. It’s not just an external discipline but an internal place we go. It’s a place where we access and connect with the presence of God. 

There are similar practices in the world and within other religions that also practice these types of things but they are all rooted in something different. The Christian practice is rooted in the understanding that God’s temple is now our bodies. His presence, because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and our committed confession of that, now dwells inside of us. 

 

This place is available to all Christians but not everyone goes there. To be honest, many Christians fall into the “religion” of it all. They become satisfied with weekly Bible plans on the Youversion app and daily 5-minute prayers on the way to work. I’m not making fun of those things because they have their place but I’d like to submit that there is more. 

 

This practice of the quiet place is seen throughout the Bible but the most impactful, in my mind, is when Jesus practices it. In the gospels, we often see Jesus going off to a secluded place where He connects with the Father. I’m sure He had scriptures He read and prayers that He said but it seemed deeper than that. We see Him connecting with God. 

 

Jesus states multiple times in the gospels that He only does and says what the Father tells Him to do and say. That means that God was giving Jesus real time direction and commands - not just encouraging thoughts and a stamp of approval because of his prayer discipline.  

 

In Matthew 6, the disciples (people who followed Jesus) finally asked him, “Lord, will you teach us how to pray?” Why did they ask Him that? The guys following him were good Jewish boys and knew all the same prayers Jesus did. Is it possible that there was something different about what Jesus prayed? It didn’t seem religious but authentic. They weren’t memorized, rehearsed prayers. They were filled with power from the relationship He had with God. 

 

So, Jesus begins to teach them. He starts by giving them an example, “This is how you should pray”, ‘Our Father in heaven’”. Did you know this wasn’t a common practice until Jesus? You often heard ‘Lord’, ‘God’, or ‘Yahweh’, but ‘Father’ wasn’t common. Jesus was letting His disciples know that this isn’t just some prescription on how to say a good prayer. He was showing them that prayer was supposed to be an intimate time with your Father. 

 

He tells them not to pray like the pagans or Pharisees. Pagans repeat the same prayers and chants mindlessly. This was similar to today's practices of manifesting thoughts or incantations. This practice is often rooted in the same ideology as birthday wishes - in a selfish want and not in the hope to connect to the entity you're praying to. The Pharisees, who were religious leaders of the day, prayed out in front of everyone to look holy. They knew how to play the religious/church games to look as if they knew God. The truth is they were dead inside. At one point Jesus calls them “whitewashed tombs' '. They look good on the outside but only death is on the inside. 

 

My hope is that you would practice visiting the quiet place, prayer closet, or unseen place in the right way. My hope is that you would know how to internally access the presence of God and hear from Him. My hope is that your Christian practices would be real and fruitful, not just a moral obligations. 

 

On Sunday, October 31st, I will be kicking off our Koinonia’s Missions Month series called, “Unseen”. I will be talking about the “unseen place”, what it is, and how to access it. If you would like to know more about going further with God, I’d encourage you to join us. 

 

Blessings, 

Pastor Chad

 

 

Chad Fagundes

Men’s and Outreach Pastor