The Witness!

 The Witness!

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15 KJV

As we go through this earthly phase, there will be demands placed on our time, resources, possessions, and person. We will definitely have challenges, no matter how "spiritual" we think we are, or how influential we may think we are. The verse before today's extract talks about suffering for righteousness' sake, and emphasizes the fact that we should be glad in when these experiences come our way. Pray, how do you rejoice in the face of trials and difficulties? How do you maintain calm when everything around you is falling to pieces? How do you keep your equilibrium when the world and all its priorities are losing balance? Today's extract seeks to place in proper context how we can survive in the face of all that is happening all around us.

First of all, our inner man must be rightly connected to the right source for nourishment and sustenance. We have to hold God in the highest regard in our lives. If God is not held in high regard in my life, how can I expect other people to revere and respect him through my life? If I do not consider God's commands as important, and I do not pay attention to what He says at any time, how can I teach others to follow God? If my heart is not sanctified, and God cannot dwell in it, how would my life be a living witness for God? The state of my heart will determine the fullness of the impact that my life will make. No wonder the extract above emphasizes the need to sanctify the Lord God in my heart. Being Lord means He is all - Lord, Master, King. Nothing less than all 

Being the Lord God in my life means that His desires, commands, and instructions are my highest pursuits and ideals. Can that be said of me? Can that be said of you? I also note that the instruction to sanctify the Lord God in my heart is first and foremost a personal instruction: this is not a general call to everybody, but to those who seek a higher calling and a closer walk with God. This is not a call for general application, but be sure that the benefits of obeying that call will be felt all around the world. The men and women who changed the world first allowed God to change their hearts; after that, impacting the world became inevitable. It is when I have nailed the inner that I can manifest the outer. When God takes first place in my heart, everything else falls into place.

That is the other part of the extract above - being able to give an answer to every man that asks the reason for my hope. Is it not when I have hope that I can give you an explanation for that hope? Is it not when God is in charge that my life can truly impact? When a man holds God in the highest esteem, he will always have a message. John the Baptist was not attractive by the world's standards, but because he was willing to decrease so that God could increase in his life, people came from all over the country to listen to him. Interestingly, the King of Kings himself came to John for baptism. Do you have a message for the world? Has God given you something that is a solution to a problem in the world? I am not able to make a difference until God makes the difference in my life. I will not amount to much until God is all in all in me. God's time of favour is here.