Mess to Message

Acts 26:1-3 -  Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:  "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

This is actually the third time recorded in Acts that Paul has been given the opportunity to share his testimony. In Acts 9:26-30…he shares his testimony to relieve the fears of those he had been persecuting…they could not believe he had become a disciple! Then in Acts 22:1-12  he used Aramaic to speak his testimony to a large crowd in Jerusalem….just after he had been arrested…as he was worshiping at the temple!

Our testimony is a powerful tool to use when we are witnessing to others. Your personal pilgrimage to God…your story of how he is developing your faith…the declaration of your love for God…the facts about what he has brought you through… speak a message of hope to the ones who hear it. They can see and relate to your mess…which has become your message.

My testimony…truly can’t be condensed to one paragraph.  God has done so much for me…and continues to bless me beyond my imagination.  I believed  who he was from birth…blessed by great Christian parents….was dunked in a big baptistery at 7…became a fake person who knew who God was…. who worked her fingers to the bone and whined if she did not get any praise for all her work…and finally asked him to be a part of my life personally when I was 14.  I  ran from total commitment for many years…continuing to be very fake and surface….so God allowed tragedies like a divorce…and the death of my second husband…to draw me close and teach me that I must surrender to his will and  begin to focus more on him than me.  Well I guess that is the highlights…maybe the workings of another book if I went into detail!

Paul was our model of how to love God more that we do our own life.  His statement in Acts 26:29 leaves us with the only reason we should ever give our testimony… “Paul replied, "Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."” After reading his story…I sure want to …and might even consider those chains …if that is what God has planned for me.

Father …my prayer this morning is that you continue to mold me into someone that loves you more than I love my own life.  Like Paul…I want to be ready to speak my story at a moments notice….telling everyone what you have done for me!  I thank you for what you have done and will do in the continued time you allow me life on this Earth. Please continue to teach me how to become fully committed to your perfect will for my life and recognize the training sessions you send my way. Allow my steps to cross pathways with all the people who have been through storms like mine…so I can share with them the great story of your love and care for me…so they might believe and ask you to be a part of their lives too! Amen.