Empowered to Witness

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness...’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” -Acts 4:29, 31

Where does the boldness to proclaim Christ come from? The believers in the book of Acts recognized that they did not have the power in themselves to be witnesses of the risen Jesus Christ, but that the power to witness came from the Holy Spirit. Before He ascended, Jesus had told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about” (Acts 1:4). Why were they to wait? They needed to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to be Jesus’ witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Boldness in witnessing comes when we learn to be confident in the almighty power of God to use us, His servants, mere earthen vessels.

At Bethel Free Lutheran, where I am serving my Seminary Internship, we have embarked as a congregation on a study of the book of Acts. Pastor Lloyd Quanbeck and I are preaching through the book, and the mid-week Bible studies also focus on Acts. I have been continually amazed at the boldness of the apostles to proclaim Jesus even in the face of suffering and death. They were convinced that this Jesus was truly the Savior of the world and that every human in all the world needed to hear about Him. Being a witness is not a matter of trying harder or setting your mind to it. Witnessing happens naturally when the Holy Spirit of God produces the fruit of love in your heart that overflows to those around you. Missions is rooted in a love for people and a concern for their souls.

Rhoda, Elijah, and I are very much enjoying this year of Internship in Minot, ND. We feel very loved by the folks at Bethel and are enjoying Minot. No one told us though that winter starts in early October up here... Elijah is looking forward to being a big brother in early December! We thank God for blessing us with another child. We will be completing our time in Minot and returning to Minneapolis at the end of May for the AFLTS Graduation. Lord willing, I will be ordained in June and we pray and hope to be in Uganda by this time next year. We do thank you so much for you prayers as we prepare to go. We have been encouraged so much by so many of you who are excited with us at this new step in AFLC World Missions. May the Gospel of Jesus Christ go forward with great power in your community and around the world.

Nate Jore

Seminary Intern, Bethel Free Lutheran, Minot, ND