Testifying

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’” Acts 23:11
In Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem that is recorded in the book of Acts, the religious Jews started to riot against him. The Roman authorities had to step in and put Paul in prison to protect him. In Acts 23 Paul appears before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body. He begins by saying to them, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6). He said this because he knew that some of those present were Pharisees and some were Sadducees (who deny the existence of any spiritual thing, including angels and the afterlife). Sure enough, they started arguing amongst themselves. Things again became so violent that the Roman commander had Paul taken back to the prison for his own safety.
We might look at these events, and think that what Paul said didn’t seem like much of a testimony. After all, he didn’t preach the gospel message of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. But in God’s sight, Paul was faithful. In fact, his testimony got the Pharisees thinking, and we know that many Pharisees did in fact come to faith in Christ during this time (see Acts 15:15).
For us, testifying about God doesn’t mean giving a sermon. It can simply mean having consistency of character that reflects God to the people around us. A life lived for God can have a great impact on people. It gets them thinking, and that’s where the Holy Spirit can start to work in them. Don’t give up.