YOUR WITNESS BEGINS WITH YOUR PEOPLE

Acts 7:2a"To this he replied: 'Brothers and fathers, listen to me!'"

Stephen stood before the chief priest and Sanhedrin to answer the charge of "speaking against this holy place and against the law." As he began his testimony he addressed them in the familiar terms of brothers and fathers as he pleaded with them to open their minds, and "listen to me!" I really can relate to Stephen's frustration. After all, these were his people (brothers and fathers), yet they missed the Messiah -- the same Messiah they anticipated for hundreds of years and over many generations.

How often do we feel that same way as we listen to a family member or a close friend talk about their life or a crisis they have experienced? We have the solution -- Jesus -- but will they listen? I would suggest that your words will have more impact when your life is an example (testimony) of those words.

Stephen could command: "Listen to me!" -- because his life was a testimony of his words. This is what the Bible says about Stephen: a servant (waited on tables serving food to the Greek widows); full of wisdom; full of the Spirit; full of faith; full of God's grace; full of God's power; did great wonders and miraculous signs; and he spoke and taught about Jesus. You will notice the speaking came after everything else and it began in service. Stephen's heart was in the place God could use it -- committed to His will as expressed through a willingness to serve.

If you want people to pay attention to your words, you must first be willing to humbly and quietly serve them. Do you seek an audience or do you look for opportunities to serve? Your family and friends are watching, is your life a witness to your words? What could you do today to serve others?

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