“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;

with my mouth will I make known

Your faithfulness to all generations.”

~Psalm 89:1~

 

According to Par, the Felker ladies are doing okay this morning,

Momma will be coming home Wednesday after two months of hospitalization! Pray for the family as we plan to care for her.

My new medication is working very well.  The pain is almost gone.

Pray for the Conleay family as they celebrate the life of Mr. Bell this morning.

The Silent Witness

Devotional for Sunday, August 14, 2011 by Allan Smith

Ezekiel 3:18-19 – When I say to a wicked man, “You will surely die,” and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. (NIV)

I often hear from Christians that they are satisfied to be just a silent witness. But is that enough?

Let’s listen in on a court case involving the questioning of a witness.

Clerk: Mr. Jones, please take the Bible in your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Witness: Yes I do.
Attorney: Now, on the evening of the alleged crime, you were very close to the crime scene. Is that right, Mr. Jones?
Witness: Yes, sir, I was.
Attorney: And would you please describe to the court what you observed.
Witness: Well, I always take my dog for a walk in that area. I believe that it is important for upright citizens to walk their dogs regularly.
Attorney: True, Mr. Jones, but did you see anything of importance to this case?
Witness: Yes, but I’m not at liberty to share what I saw at this time.
Attorney: I see; you witnessed the crime and choose to remain silent about it?
Witness: Yes, that’s right.
Attorney: Then, you are of no use to this court. You may step down. My next witness, please!

It’s obvious from this court dialogue that the witness had valuable information for the case but was reluctant to share it.

If we are satisfied with just showing others around us what a good person we are, without sharing salvation through Jesus, I feel we miss the boat.

There are lots of unsaved people that we know who live good lives and serve their community well. But they are not required to share the gospel — we are.

Yes, we must exhibit a godly life in service to those around us and pray for the Holy Spirit to open their hearts. But let’s be sensitive to God’s leading and open our mouths to share Jesus with them. Let us not be silent witnesses.

Prayer: Father, many times, we reluctantly hold back from speaking to others about Jesus’ great salvation. We who have surrendered our lives to Him have the blessed assurance of heaven when we die; may we not keep it to ourselves. Holy Spirit, revive the desire in us to see souls saved so that their blood will not be on our hands. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Allan Smith
Innisfil, Ontario, Canada