TESTIFY
Every Sunday that I am able, I sink into the same pew where the truth first sunk into my heart.
Little me sat here, perched on the edge of my seat, as God’s Word washed over me in a baptism of hymns, amens, and hand-waving hallelujah.
It was here, surrounded by God’s people, where I received the unshakeable foundation on which my wobbly legs still stand.
And though there were times I was tempted to wander, Testimony Night brought me back and anchored me spellbound to my chair because that is when the living, breathing truth of the Gospel raised a hand, stood up, and spoke.
Even then, I needed to know that the Jesus I learned about didn’t just show up when His people were dressed in their Sunday best but came down and walked among them in the muddy trenches of a battle-torn life.
I heard how Jesus appeared in the check-out line behind Mrs. Evans and set down a twenty-dollar bill when she was forced to decide between milk or bread. I learned that Jesus left a flower on Mr. Price’s doorstep within minutes of his son’s unexpected diagnosis and then later walked right into Miss Smith’s first-grade classroom and held her hand when she got the news from Vietnam.
As these people's hearts poured over the hush of the congregation, others closed their eyes brimming with tears, nodding with conviction. They had stories, too.
For these spoken words held a sacred power that my little heart could feel- a power to stop the steel-pointed lie that kicks at the fallen- the lie that says we are unloved, unnoticed, and unseen by our God.
They silence the evil smirking voice that says, “You have been left behind.”
Because God's Word declares that the great accuser of God’s people has been defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.
That is why we cannot remain silent.
Please come sit beside me on the pew for the next few weeks for “Testify” - a series of modern-day eyewitness accounts of a loving God who still lives among His people.
They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death.
Revelations 12:11 HCSB