We have been centered on the need for Christians to be those who “Come and See then Go and Tell!” This is the call for each of us to Come and See Jesus and to Go and Tell others about Him.  We heard this on Easter Morning from the women who came to Jesus’ tomb, in particular Mary Magdalene.  That theme continues as we witness Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances as described by John. 

The mandate of coming to see is an invitation not only to witness the biblical accounts of the resurrected Jesus but to share in the experience of our encounters with the Holy Spirit as we worship together and witness to one another.  To be sure, the biblical accounts are primary, but the movement of the Holy Spirit within our lives gives us a personal experience with God.  These experiences will always be in harmony with the witness of the scripture and always point to Christ; if they don’t, then they are suspect. 

Encounters with the Holy Spirit are often in the “still soft voice” that follows the big events. 

1 Kings 19:11–13  Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Testimonies about extreme life change as people come to Christ often impress, and too often those who have lived tamer lives and come to Christ feel their stories are inferior or not worth celebration.  Yet each of us has a story of the difference that Christ has made in our lives. 

Your story may be similar to mine. 

I grew up in a family on my mother’s side that were faithful church-going disciples of Jesus.  My father had grown up in church, but until I was in my mid-twenties did not come to church with us and was a little hostile towards the church but not overly so.  My experience was one where I was not too rebellious.  I didn’t do drugs nor was I promiscuous sexually.  I came to believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at an early age and have tried to walk faithfully since with varying degrees of success and failure.  Yet from the beginning, I was convinced that I needed forgiveness for my sin, and I needed a conversion of my nature.  As I grew in faith I realized that my sins were just as wicked as other sins. Sin does not separate us from God by degrees, but completely. The idea that some sins are more acceptable than others is in our view of them, not God’s. 

But all sinfulness on our part first requires recognition and remorse then forgiveness.  Forgiveness comes from our laying our sin before Christ and sanctification comes from our willingness to allow Christ to reform us so that we do not continually fall to the same sin again and again. 

As we experience Christ’s forgiveness and His reformation in our lives these become the basis for our witness to others.  Our testimony is that Christ can forgive the sin of anyone because we are convinced that He has forgiven our own.  We can offer the comfort that Christ has come to save us and not to condemn us (John 3:16 and surrounding).  We stand as sentinels pointing the way to the one who forgives and as witnesses that His mercy is boundless. 

While you walk through the wildness of the world filled with threatening sounds, know that God speaks in the silence of a whisper inviting us to come out of hiding and walk in the security of His love.

Peace,

Burt