Flipbooks

Lutheran Life 3 Since the time of Jesus' instructions to His disciples before His ascension, up to this very moment, all who follow Jesus are called to be His witnesses by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is part of what it means to follow Jesus. In the last issue of Lutheran Life, we unpacked what it means to be called to something through our various vocations. Being a witness to Jesus is a vocation that every follower of Jesus has, starting with Jesus' first disciples. We know about our vocations, so now what does it mean to be a witness? Here is how the Merriam-Web- ster abridged dictionary defines witness: 1. attestation of a fact or event, . . . 2. one that gives evidence . . . 3. one asked to be present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place 4. one who has personal knowledge of something 5. a. something serving as evidence or proof . . . b. public affirmation by word or example of usu- ally religious faith or conviction Notice the two parts inherent to being a witness. First, a witness has seen or experienced something. Second, a witness speaks about it in either a legal setting or otherwise, giving a testimony of what he or she knows to be true based upon personal expe- rience. As the Early Church carried out Jesus' call to be His witnesses, to attest to His death and resurrection, the word for witness began to take on a different mean- ing. The word in Greek is martyr. Today, we recognize a martyr as someone who not only declares what he or she knows to be true (witness) but also willingly dies for such a conviction. Because of the Early Church's unwavering witness to Jesus even in the face of persecution, the very word for witness— martyr—is forever loaded with meaning. What a witness in and of itself that is! Christians around the world today continue to live out the definition of martyr, being so committed to their faith in Jesus that they are tortured and killed for it. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in these situations that they may be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to give unwavering witness. May the witness of these Christians around the world and throughout time give us conviction and boldness to speak ever more freely and confidently of what we know to be true: Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. Throughout this issue, we'll consider some prac- tical ways to follow Jesus' command to be His wit- nesses among the people and in the places we find ourselves so that we can winsomely and confidently attest to the fact that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. w Scripture: ESV ® 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) Begin witnessing to those in your life through our Lutheran evangelism program, Every One His Witness. The kit includes everything you need to get started in groups of 12: pens, journals, Experience Cards, DVD, workbooks, and access to a Leader's Guide. Understand the LASSIE approach to witnessing and start naturally sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ today. Find this title and others from this magazine at cph.org/llresources. EVERY ONE HIS WITNESS

• Cover