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

In the last Acts Articles, we discussed Jesus’ call to be his witnesses.  But we can’t be his witnesses on our own.  Nor are we meant to be.  The disciples were to wait for the coming of the Spirit who would empower them to be witnesses for Jesus.  As the Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism to empower him for ministry, so the Spirit came upon the disciples to empower them for ministry.  And still today, the Spirit dwells in his people to empower them for ministry – to be witnesses of Jesus, to be Jesus’ hands and tongue.

When your employer gives you a task, he or she enables you to do the task.  Your employer gives you the necessary materials to do the job.  In the same way, Jesus has given us a task to be his witnesses, and he has given us what we need to accomplish it – the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit empowers us to be the witnesses Jesus called us to be.  The Spirit empowers us to serve and speak as witnesses.  The Spirit leads and guides us as Jesus’ witnesses.  The Spirit helps us to use even our trials as opportunities to be witnesses.  The Spirit strengthens us in persecution that comes from being witnesses.  And it is the Spirit who enables people to believe in response to our witness.  It is the Spirit who changes people’s lives. 

May we have a growing awareness of the Spirit in our lives.  May we live in the power of the Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.