As these things happen I was thinking about Revelation 12:11 and I thought I would share.

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

I understand the people being addressed in this verse are those in Heaven who have been martyred for their faith. I also understand that by and large most of us will not have to die for our faith but the question I was thinking about was “what is the power of our testimony?” According to Revelation 12:11 those who were martyred understood that the blood of the lamb and their testimony had the power to triumph over the devil. You could think that maybe they did not triumph because they died but those who die in Christ are not harmed by the second death so all that was accomplished by the devil was the children of God went home. So what is the power of your testimony?

Well, your testimony in and of Christ is extremely powerful. By confessing Jesus as Lord, you get the Holy Spirit. You also get Christ in you the hope of glory. You also get seated at the right hand of God in Christ. I could go on but those pretty much sum up what you get. To put it another way, you get everything (see Ephesians ch 1). When you accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus you become a new creation and old things are gone. There is nothing better than having Jesus. I should know.

The power of your testimony is inherently linked to the power of the Gospel because it is a testimony that the Gospel is true. The power in your testimony comes not from your ability to save yourself but confessing that God saved you. Some might argue that Jesus did not exist, that God is a myth or anything else they want but what is hard to argue is how your life has been changed by the message and power of the Gospel. That is something that cannot be taken away, and you are the only one who has your testimony. You should embrace your testimony and the Gospel because Paul says in Romans 1:16 that it is power.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Which brings me to my other point; don’t negate the power of your testimony. Your testimony whatever it might be is how God has worked in your life. If you were a crack addict, a murder, a cheat, a porn star, a self-hating self-abuser, or a faithful child of God who has not wandered far off the path that is your testimony of how God has called or kept you. Don’t think for a second that a testimony that is ripe with love towards God and how you have not ever had to deal with a lot of horrible things is a bad testimony. That is just as wonderful as the story of a drug addict who saw Jesus as they overdosed. It means you listened and obeyed which more people should. My prayer for our youngest child is that she will have that kind of testimony. That she would always walk with Him and not have to come running home to Him. I don’t want her to live the same life I lived before seeing Him as good, great, and loving. So share that testimony of faith.

We each have a story to tell about Jesus. Some are G, PG, R, and some X but that is your story. Share it proudly because it testifies of how good God is that He kept you or saved you from a life of misery. If people cannot accept your testimony about how God saved you after a failed marriage, drug use, self-injury, and attempted suicide then don’t worry about them. They might need to check their testimony.

When I first got saved I couldn’t stop myself from telling people about it. I wanted them to experience the same joy, life, and love I now had. My boss on the construction site used to call me a holy roller. I had no idea what that meant but he knew I loved Jesus, and that I wanted him to love Jesus. He could see the power of the Gospel in my life. I was a mess before Christ. I was on drugs, cutting, and tried to kill myself. My story is a little different than most but that is because it is my story. You have yours and sharing it should be done because you want others to feel the same awesome feeling you have. I’ll end with this thought. Jesus is worth it. Whatever it is…He is worth it.

Just a thought,

Mike