“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”Acts 1:8
Each of us are called to walk the path of the pilgrim, and yet no two of us have exactly the same path in life. For some, the path includes living with an unbelieving spouse, yearning and praying for their salvation, and wondering if it will ever happen. For some, the path includes financial difficulty. For others, it may include physical sickness, or even mental or emotional sickness. But one thing is certain, along the path of life, you will encounter troubles and struggles. We live in a very broken world that is under the curse of sin, and the evidence of that is all around us, and even within us!
And yet, God comes to us this morning, and He reminds us that he designs to use us to be His witnesses in the midst of the brokenness of our lives. We may well feel that our lives are too messed up for Him to use, but it is then that we need to realize that the above verse is not so much a command, as it is a promise. Jesus said to the disciples, and he says to us, “you will be my witnesses.” And what Jesus promises, he accomplishes! The power operative in the witnessing and in the changing of lives is that of the Holy Spirit, and His power is able to overcome all of our weakness! He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!!!
So dear struggling believer, rest assured that the Lord is with you at all times and through every struggle, and he is determined, in spite of your weakness, to use your life for His glory! Congregation, please pray for safety for the mission team that has gone down to Jamaica. Please pray also that God would use this team as His witness there, and pray that as they come face to face with their own weakness, that God would be pleased to fill them with His Holy Spirit and use them for His glory!
(It is our intent to include “The Pilgrim’s Path” section in your bulletin on a regular basis for your encouragement.)