Always beholding

I have had some incredible time away the last two days. The lady and I left Sunday late afternoon to Lake Tahoe and came back early this afternoon, and it was some great thinking time. My mind and heart were in overload as I took in the word like never before and spent some great time walking through scipture that just seem to really come alive, like I had never seen it before. I've got to give an assist to Tahoe being one of the most beautiful places on the face of this earth and some of the art galleries I walked through left me mesmerized, silent, and inspired. The scripture I have been chewing on the most is found in Acts 1 when Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will come over them and they will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Witness is a noun, something you are, unlike witnessing which is something you do. To be His witnesses is to share from what you know and what you've seen and experienced, not a duty you perform (witnessing). I remember not too long ago I would wake up in the morning and it would be my goal to try witnessing to at least one person by the end of the day, not a bad thing. But it's not about something I go out and do, but something that I am, so then in Peter 3:15b-16, I can be prepared to be a witness with gentleness and respect, to those that ask about the good news (paraphrased obviously). Should we work on doing a better job of witnessing or should we fall more and more in love with Jesus Christ, so that "we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20)? When Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin the religious leaders were left with this reaction, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13) Because of our witness (who we are) can people tell that we've been with Jesus? Our God is an awesome God and there is no one like Him!!

then becoming
Wallace D.