It really helps to know where you stand when you speak as a witness.
Acts 26:1 – Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:
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Let’s remove some misconceptions at the very beginning of today’s Second Miler. I grew up in the church, so often hearing of how Christians should be silent when persecutions, and especially verbal attacks come at them from the world. I believe the basis for that mind-set can be found in Isaiah 53:7. There the prophet Isaiah writes that Jesus went to the slaughter of the cross, like a lamb, silent, not opening his mouth. That is exactly what Jesus did, for if He had opened His mouth against what was happening to Him, because He was the only begotten Son of God, sinless and blameless before the world, His words would have stopped the proceedings against Him, just as His words stopped storms, opened blind eyes, cast out devils, and raised the dead. The reason for the silence of Jesus just prior to His crucifixion was that He knew He was to be the sacrifice for the sins of whosoever would believe on Him, and that includes you and me. Thank God He held His peace.
But dear reader, for the believer today, silence is NOT the answer. Quite the opposite. After Jesus was raised from the dead, He was seated as Savior and Lord on the right hand of the Father, and there He still sits as Head of the body of Christ. And if you will examine the actions of those of the early church, especially the apostles, when they were persecuted, arrested, and falsely charged, they did not keep their silence. Rather, they spoke up. They understood well that they had been sent to preach the Gospel to “all creatures.” They full-well understood that their ability to overcome arose in great part from their testimony, and of course, the blood of the Lamb. They clearly understood that the world that was against them was saturated in darkness, and that they were now the light of the world, and that the entrance of the Word they spoke, and the word of their testimony brought light. Therefore, they would not keep silent.
It is to that end today that I encourage you, urge you, even plead with you, that you study the Word of God, have it deeply engrained in your heart and mind, have your mind renewed through it, and allow your tongue to be the pen of a ready writer. While the Lord always knows what is before you, you do not. For that reason, fill your heart so full of His Word, that if bumped, jostled, or squeezed in any way, you overflow with that Word. You can taste the apple in the juice when the apple is squeezed. You can taste the orange in the juice when the orange is squeezed. You can taste the grape in the juice when the grape is squeezed. What will be tasted when you are squeezed. God is not looking for dried fruit.
Manna for Today – Acts 26:1-11; Isaiah 53:7; Revelation 12:11; Matthew 7:16-20
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 