#14 - Herd
Luke 2:15-18 CSB, “ When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
I wanted that scripture to be set apart for this blog because I will always be amazed that after all these years…Jesus and The Good News of His birth, life, death, resurrection, and unconditional love continues to perfectly impact us. Once again, I didn’t know what I was going to write about this week and it is now Friday morning; yet when I woke up on Thanksgiving morning yesterday…I didn’t even get a chance to yawn…Holy Spirit said, “You are to write about the power of testimony.” My response, “Okay! Though I thought I did when I wrote “Go Tell It On The Mountain but okay!” I wasn’t responding from an argumentative stance but rather acknowledgment and obedience. When a sore and knotted up muscle gets massaged it needs repetitive motion to work it out…so this won’t even be the last time that I write about the power of testimony…but I can guarantee you that it will be different each time due to its unique connection that Holy Spirit gives me. Even as of this morning…that was all that I knew that I was writing about until…I was eating breakfast (cold leftover pizza from Wednesday night-don’t ask-it just sounded good LOL). So here I am in the quiet of the morning…eating leftover cold pizza…watching the pretty snow fall (that is the ONLY time I like snow is when I am inside watching it fall) after doing morning chores and getting ready with MGST to go see our family…Holy Spirit said, “Now when you write today…think about this: “How did word get around about the birth of Jesus?” I said, “The angel of The Lord came to the shepherds.” He said, “Yes, but what happened after that?” And here I am…once again in awe. The scripture above literally states, “17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” THEY REPORTED. Even though they were sharing a prophecy given to them by the angel of The Lord they had an extraordinary experience encountering the angel of The Lord yet…let us lean into the fact, “and all who heard it were amazed”. They could have been afraid to share such an experience with others (especially at the risk of “being crazy”)…but they weren’t…they knew exactly what had happened and testified to the fullest that the very real and only Son of God had been born.
According to Merriam Webster, the word “testimony” is defined as:
1
a: a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official
b: firsthand authentication of a fact : evidence
c: an outward sign
2
a: an open acknowledgment
b: a public profession of religious experience
3
a: the tablets inscribed with the Mosaic law
b: the ark containing the tablets
c: a divine decree attested in the Scriptures
The shepherds were testifying a first hand authentic fact, giving an outward sign, sharing an open acknowledgement, declared a public profession of religious experience (the angel), and revealed a divine decree that would be attested in God’s Truth (scriptures in The Bible). So in the end…what did the shepherds do? They shared testimony but also revealed the power of testimony. “All who heard it were amazed”...but WHY?” First and foremost…JESUS! Secondly, GOD’S WORD IS PROVING THE POWER OF TESTIMONY HERE (this isn’t the only place that The Bible does this either but since we are getting into Christmas, I feel Holy Spirit gave me this solid connection). The power of Jesus should have positive impact!!! And for this blog’s purposes…lastly…the term “good news” Jesus IS THE GOOD NEWS for us! I researched how “good news” came about because in my opinion it was GOOD NEWS that the shepherds had heard about Jesus and His birth AND SHARED IT (this goes back to…TESTIMONY). The Bible Odyssey (run by The Society of Biblical Literature) gives helpful context to good news, “The good news” (or “gospel” = “good spiel”) is a literal translation of the Greek word euangelion. New Testament authors use this term to mean the news of salvation, or liberation from sin, brokenness, and estrangement from God. God reveals this good news through Jesus’ (life/birth) ministry, death, and resurrection (Mark 1:1; Rom 1:1-4), as in Matt 11:4-5: “Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” Gospel = GOOD NEWS. And the explanation of Matthew 11:4-5 states, “Go and tell…” and adds “good news brought to them”. Wait…Gospel isn’t just a genre of music? ;) Gospel sounds A LOT LIKE TESTIMONY and INDEED GOOD NEWS FOR YOU & FOR ME.
There is good news in your testimony if God has done a great work in your life. Ultimately, Jesus is GOOD NEWS for those that accept Him into our hearts and as our Lord and Savior. His birth was miraculous, His life was miraculous, His death was miraculous, His resurrection is miraculous, His unconditional love for us is miraculous…and through that love…we are given the opportunity to share the power of testimony through HIM!!! YOU are priceless, your testimony matters, your voice matters…so go into the world and share it because you never know who you are going to impact. I encourage you to lean into Holy Spirit and submit in holy obedience because God has a plan for your life and it isn’t to stay quiet. The enemy would love for you to be quiet and to not share your testimony because your testimony has the power to impact others…which means the power of Jesus is spread out onto others…but we are not called to be quiet…we are called to “go and tell”.
I am going to end this blog with an impromptu message given to me by Holy Spirit. We know our fingerprints are unique. We know our DNA is unique. We know our personalities are unique. The fact that we made it here is unique. The fact we are alive is unique. Everything about us is unique…even our relationship with Abba…UNIQUE. No one’s relationship with Him is the same even if we practice the same discipleship God’s truth (The Bible) calls us to…this means…EVERYONE’S testimony is unique and will impact others differently. Some people won’t be phased at all by your unique testimony. Some people won’t believe your unique testimony. Some people will be touched by your unique testimony. Some people will be deeply moved by your unique testimony. The common denominator with your testimony should always be centered around Jesus…because without Him…you have no unique testimony. You are called to be “set apart” (holy) and being holy is to be unique; we must live a different life than the culture we live in. Don’t be afraid to share the GOOD NEWS of your UNIQUE TESTIMONY. Jesus clearly impacted THE WHOLE WORLD and changed EVERYTHING…literallly altered LIFE itself all for Abba’s children. I once read on Toby Mac’s Facebook page, “Your ministry is found where you've been broken; your testimony is found where you've been restored.” If you are a child of God, you’ve been restored and called by Jesus which is why your testimony should always be centered around Him…but that story you’re sharing with others…should be authentic and called to be unique (holy/set apart). Isaiah 41:10 shares with us, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” In other words, God is always with us (especially when we share our testimonies because it’s helping God’s plan); Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
As I am helping navigate The Alpha Course at church, I encouraged the class to write a one page testimony to share this upcoming week. The saying goes, “What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”. That being said, I am going to challenge and encourage you to share your testimony with AT LEAST ONE PERSON this week. Pray about this challenge and then go out into the world as Holy Spirit guides you to share Jesus with others. I pray that you encounter how it not only impacts others but how telling your testimony continues to transform your own life even after living through it! It’s powerful, it’s unique, it’s miraculous, and it’s all because of Jesus Christ.
For Abba, for Jesus, for Holy Spirit, for the power of testimony, for the Psalm 139:14 life, for the snow (from indoors), for cold pizza breakfasts, for being “herd”…I am…
#Satisfied
