Eyewitnesses by Lisa Burkhardt Worley
`”For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).
The disciples did not blindly follow Jesus. They were given proof that He was the Son of God. When Peter, James, and John scaled a mountain with Jesus, not only did they witness Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus but they heard the voice of God from a bright cloud saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” They couldn’t rub their eyes and say it did not happen; they couldn’t brush it off as a delusion. They were eyewitnesses to a supernatural confirmation that Jesus was, and still is the Son of God. That is why all but one disciple allowed themselves to be martyred for their faith. They could not discount what they had seen, so they defended their belief to their death.
While I have not seen an image of Jesus while awake, I have had two dreams about His return, and have heard the audible voice of God about five times. He has spoken to me through the Word or a sermon more times than I can count. In a sense, I too, am an eyewitness and I cannot refute what I have experienced. This is why I am all in—and ready and willing to go and do whatever my Heavenly Father asks of me.
In Acts 4, the religious leaders commanded Peter and John to quit speaking about Jesus, but they replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” For the disciples, seeing was believing.
What have you seen? What have you heard? Have you been an eyewitness of a miracle? Then remember these things anytime you have a faith crisis. Out of His goodness, God provides indisputable encounters so that we move forward knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the reality of His existence and presence.
#