Craig Clouston

Hometown Witness

And you will be my witnesses.

Acts 1:8

Rick had lived a rough life for over thirty years; he’d been a Christian for only a few months. Having lived in the same small town his entire life, everybody knew about his past. He sensed that some were skeptical about the changes they were seeing.

Kenny, one of his neighbors, questioned him about it, “Where you been lately, man? I never see you around anymore.”

‘Around’ meant the local bars. Rick hadn’t had a drink since that day three months ago. He started to tell Kenny about what had happened, but the words wouldn’t come. He’d never had trouble talking to Kenny before; but starting this conversation was harder than he’d figured.

He silently asked God to give him words that would make sense to Kenny…then he pressed forward. He told Kenny how Jesus had offered him a clean slate, and how getting to know Jesus had changed the way he thought and spoke. He explained how he looked at, and treated people differently…with respect and optimism. He did his best to explain how God’s forgiveness through Jesus makes us new and clean in God’s eyes. He realized with wonder that Kenny was actually listening. When he was finished he headed back to the house, leaving the rest up to God and Kenny.

As he walked back across the yard, Rick realized he’d just made a real difference in one of his neighbor’s lives. It was a good feeling.

†

Witnessing can be intimidating, especially to someone who has known ‘the old us!’ How do we approach the subject of what happened in our lives when they know intimate things from our past?

Satan wants us to believe that we have no right speaking into their lives since we’ve been such a bad influence in years past. But for that very reason, the fact that Jesus has wrought change in our lives, we should take each opportunity to be a hometown witness like Kenny, and leave the outcome up to God and those we witness to.

After all, it’s Jesus, not us, who will change them. He’s just asking us to introduce Him…He’ll do the rest.

Prayer

“Lord, help me be Your witness in my hometown. Crush the fear and negative thoughts that Satan brings to try and silence me. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”