2-23-26<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChristian-Speak.\u201d Followers of Jesus do not have a code-language, or mysterious signs and passwords. In fact we try to be easily understood, not secretive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet there are terms that are common to our conversations that have slightly different meanings from the World\u2019s everyday vocabulary. Saved. Convicted. Confession. Revival. Testimony. Witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of these terms overlap into apparent courtroom jargon or legal lingo, but all of them express very different spiritual meanings too. Witness<\/em>, for instance. In \u201cChristianese,\u201d we mean bearing witness to the truth \u2013 that is, not so much recounting something one has seen, like an accident report, but describing the truth and consequential meaning behind an experience. And the effect on one’s life. The Bible can be appreciated as a collection of stories about average people and how God intervened in their lives, interacted, and how those people were changed by coming to know Him. In that regard, we have inherited testimonies of folks in the Bible getting saved (and all those other words) to receive blessings; to their benefits, and our profit, generations later. We hear their stories, and we pass them on. Beyond the Bible stories, we share stories of others who have been transformed. But.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The greatest impact you can make is not sharing the experiences of others \u2013 no offense to Confucius, Aesop, or even Jesus with His parables. Stories about others can make clever points or have intense effects. But they cannot approach stories about yourself<\/em>. Witnessing about your very own experience. Sharing your own \u201ctestimony,\u201d not someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People will be moved \u2013 and sometimes be changed \u2013 when they see into your eyes, when they hear the sincerity in your voice, when they can feel what you feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you share your own witness<\/em> of how and when your life was changed\u2026 when you yourself experienced a miracle like healing\u2026 when you were saved from a lifestyle of self-destruction\u2026 when you can share exactly how you encountered the Master\u2026 how you overcame your reluctance to read the Word of God to earnestly pray or choose a life of faith\u2026 about how you <\/em>accepted Jesus, and not a story about someone else you heard about \u2013 that is being an effective witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You cannot be such a witness or have such a testimony unless you actually have experienced these things yourself. A personal testimony is more powerful than an anecdote about somebody else. God blesses us in so many ways, the first priority I believe is to individually address our lives, our salvation, our souls. But close behind is to empower us \u2013 to equip us, really \u2013 to effectively share the Good News with others. And sharing our own testimonies is more powerful than passing along stories and gossip (no matter how holy) about other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t want to be wonky about words here (well\u2026 actually I do; I love the art of communication) but witnessing and sharing impactful testimonies in spiritual contexts is more important than going through the plot of a courtroom drama. Except that a \u201clife sentence\u201d is involved, for real. + + +<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Christian\u2019s witness<\/em> shares a truth one has learned. It is an attempt to convey a profound lesson, something personal that deserves to be shared and adopted by others. You can be<\/em> a witness in various natural and supernatural ways, but Believers also have <\/em>a \u201cwitness\u201d (or a testimony). We witness to what God has done. In a sanctified context, it is tattling on God, which can only be a positive thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Profound spiritual truths are most powerfully communicated by stories. Postmoderns think they have discovered the power of story, but throughout humankind\u2019s history, writers and poets have been storytellers. Tales are spun not to entertain but often to make important points or to present a moral. A story about someone\u2019s experience can be used to convey an impactful lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Live in such a way that you can experience God for yourself… but more powerfully share that experience with others. It might be why He let you have these experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n