still witnesses

And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

Acts 10:39-41

One of the reasons I enjoy reading the book of Acts is the steady stream of new experiences it relays in its factual history of the earliest days of the Christian Church. And each new event has a strong common core thread: the reality of the gospel. Here, as Peter under the leadership of the Holy Spirit shares the good news with a Gentile household, the reality of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection takes center stage. The Roman centurion, Cornelius, must confront the truth of the gospel of the God He has come to worship. He must believe that Jesus died for his sins. He must accept that God raised Jesus back to life to rule now as both Lord and Savior.

And although this was the first time a disciple of Jesus spoke the gospel to a Gentile, it would certainly not be the last. In fact, this good news is still spreading around the globe to generation after generation. The eyewitness testimony of the apostles is still compelling as thousands of years later generations of men and women have been changed by believing in these encounters with Jesus as told by lives changed by Him! The Holy Spirit still falls on those who in faith trust Jesus. And we are still witnesses to the transforming power of the gospel!

Lord,

May I today, with the confidence of the call to testify about You, be Your witness as well. May the gospel go forward. Fill me with the confidence of Your life, death, and resurrection in what I do and what I say, I pray.

Amen