Evidence
Explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and {saying,} "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." Acts 17:5
Lights flash. Sirens scream. The camera pans the area and than zooms in on the back of a jacket. CSI. I love to watch them solve baffling crimes based on evidence they collect. Suspects are caught and victims are avenged.
What about our lives? What is the evidence that we have been with Jesus? Let me suggest a few things. See if you could be convicted. People are often convicted because they are placed at the scene. Are we found in the places Jesus would be? I don't just mean in church either. Jesus tells the story of the people who come before God. One group he dismisses, saying depart from me, and I never knew you. The other group he welcomes, making mentions of the times that fed him, visited him, and gave him a drink. "When did we do these things?"They questioned him and he said, "As much as you have done it to the least of those you have done it to me." If we are about the business of ministry to the least of these, we may be convicted of being with Jesus.
Sometimes suspects are convicted because of clothes they have been wearing. What do we wear? In baptism we put on Christ. We also, according to Isaiah have received the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. To stand against the enemy we must put on the whole armor of God.
Many time the crimes is solved by blood found at the scene. There is nothing more powerful than the blood of Jesus. When we are “washed in the blood”, as the old song says, we needed forgiveness. Once we received forgiveness, we are able to pass it on to others. Once we receive love, we are able to give it. Love and forgiveness are not natural and stand out, evidence of blood splatter in our lives.
It is tempting to walk in fear and not show our faith. When we have been with God, though, it is evident. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, his face glowed. We need to stand against our fear and share Jesus. A lost world needs our conviction.
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