By Dora Pop
“Every tribe, every tongue, every nation will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!â€
Where to next?!?
Acts 1:8 says, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Often, we read this verse and look at it from a geographical standpoint. This says we are to reach our Jerusalem (our community), Judea (our state), Samaria (our nation) and ends of the earth (the rest of the world). But who are all those people and how do I get to them? The thought is intimidating enough that it paralyzes us from witnessing at all.
Did you catch that? Did you catch what Scripture said in regards of how we are to witness? It says, “you shall!†Do you know what that means? It means, it’s NOT AN OPTION! The word of God is clearly saying this is a non-negotiable!
Maybe if we didn’t think of those four witnessing areas as geographical locations but as people who need to hear the gospel, we’d think differently about it. For example, think of it like this:
Jerusalem is the people you know! This includes your family, co-workers, friends, neighbors.
Judea is the people like you that you don’t know! This includes co-workers you might be acquaintances with, neighbors you’ve waved hello to while you pick up your mail, or the person who always checks you out in the grocery store.
Samaria is the people you don’t like! Yup, I said it! There are people you don’t like! In the Bible, the Samaritans were the untouchables, the ones no one liked. Guess what? They need Jesus too! And Scripture says witnessing to them, is NOT an option!
The ends of the earth is all those people not like you! I live in Nashville, which is a canvas of numerous ethnicities. I don’t have to buy a plane ticket to a country on the other end of the planet to fulfill this commandment! I can just drive east on Old Hickory Blvd and eat at any restaurant and look around, it’s full of people who are not from here.
You don’t have to GO to TELL! You just start telling! I close telling you the same thing I tell you each month, only because it’s true and it’s a non-negotiable. Tell someone the story of Jesus. Lives will be changed and your will be one of them.
~
Dora Pop
