You Have Been Subpoenaed!!

By now, due to the maddening issues involving our Federal Government, many of us have become well versed in the use and understanding of the word “subpoena.”

Witnesses, committees, legal teams, and various elected officials have issued and received their share of subpoenas involving the affairs of various leaders within the Federal Government. It is quite challenging to keep it all straight.

As Christians, did you realize we have been subpoenaed? Yes! If you will just simply look throughout the book of Acts, the Lord repeatedly commands us to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 10:39; 13:31). In a spiritual context, we are being subpoenaed…we are being compelled to be a witness for Jesus Christ and the Gospel!

As we understand this context, I think it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we have obeyed the Lord's command to be His witnesses and have adjusted our commitments to allow room to live out this command daily. Hopefully, we are finding ways to do this more intentionally and with greater passion.

If you were subpoenaed as a witness by a human court, would you obey? If not, you would face contempt of court charges. Each Christian is subpoenaed daily and even more frequently to witness for Jesus. If we refuse to obey, we potentially face not contempt of court charges but contempt of God charges...and, one day, be held accountable for those decisions. We must obey and be witnesses.

Plain and simple….we are called to witness for Jesus and invite others to accept Jesus. Witnessing for Jesus is an essential part of God's plan. If we love Jesus and people, we must live as witnesses for Jesus. You have been subpoenaed! May you be compelled to respond and tell others this wonderful news of God’s love and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Cross of St. Peter

One of the strongest defenses of investigating any situation is making sure that we gather as many facts, witnesses, and information on the subject at hand. We don’t want to jump to any rash decisions or conclusions and find out, later, that we were wrong. The Bible has a very strong passage to support taking the time to gather facts to make a truth-filled decision. Proverbs 18:15 , “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” We cannot afford to jump to conclusions on unfounded rumors or quickly repeated gossip. I have witnessed one incident of such false information that has spread like a raging forest fire due to individuals not doing their homework on the subject matter. I am talking about some recent “observances” during the funeral of Pope Francis. During his funeral, several individuals noticed that there were “upside-down crosses” displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Many took to social media in a wild frenzy to associa...

Stay Focused!

Since the birth of social media and 24-hour news organizations, we have quickly seen that information (true or false) travels quickly. It reminds me of words from the infamous church camp song “Pass It On” which states “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” We have seen how quickly sparks of information can set our emotions into flame with the recent deaths of Charlie Kirk and Melissa Hortman. Their senseless deaths set off a blaze of responses due to their murders being categorized as assassinations. Sadly, this isn’t anything new. Just hearing the word “assassination,” we think of people such as John and Robert Kennedy, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. We can even go back in time to notable leaders as Abraham Lincoln and Julius Ceasar. Yes, it is true what Solomon remarked in Ecclesiastes 1:9 , “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Evil is doing what evil does. Therefore, since we (...

Faith of Epiphany

The first week of January, regardless of year, holds within the Church a celebration known as “ Epiphany .” The word means “manifestation” and refers to God revealing Himself “in the flesh” through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is also a time to mark the appearance of the Three Wise Men who were some of the first to recognize and worship Christ as King. The “Epiphany” revelation or “manifestation” is that God unveils Himself to the world. Through Jesus His Son, He shows Himself as fully human and fully divine. That He is real. That He is our Triune God. Epiphany, to our faith, is a powerful testimony of God’s unconditional love. His love for us compelled Him to send His Son into the world to save us from our sinfulness. God took the initiative. God made all the arrangements. God paid the price to make this happen. In other words, it was His idea and decision all along. He did everything to make reconciliation with Him possible. His desire to have a loving and personal relationshi...

Clever Free Methodist

Search This Blog