Witness the Crime

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

We all are called to be witnesses to "the crime" of Jesus Christ.  You may say, "I don't have a very strong testimony," or, "I'm not really sure how to witness to someone."  I've struggled with the same thoughts.  But what makes a "good" witness or a "powerful" testimony?

In a court of law, witnesses come forth to tell the courtroom what they've seen as it relates to the case.  The most valuable witness is not one who has the most dramatic tale of the crime seen, but the one who has seen the crime seen most clearly. 

My dad has a very powerful testimony.  Many would say that it is because of the dramatic turnaround in his life from drugs, alcohol, etc. to ministry.  Glory to God for those things.  But I would say that the strength of his testimony doesn't come from the dramatic turnaround, but from the fact that he has seen his Lord clearly.  His vision of God by the work of the Holy Spirit lead to the dramatic turnaround, not the other way around. 

We must see "the crime" clearly to be able to give accurate and effective testimony. For those of us who have been raised in a Christian home and have not had a huge turn of events to turn us to God, we must take drastic measures to ensure the truth of our testimony.  We must engage the Holy Spirit, for He will reveal Jesus to us (John 26).  It's not hard to be a witness for something that you've clearly seen; you just convey what you saw.  Have you seen Him clearly?