But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
- Acts 1:8

Here is your mission, should you choose to accept it.

“Be witnesses.”

A witness testifies to what they’ve heard or seen. They don’t have to have every answer. They don’t have to convince. They just have to testify.

Whose witnesses are we? Jesus’ witnesses. We testify on his behalf about the things we have seen and heard of him. We witness through our words and through our lives – even when we’re not noticed or appreciated or believed - because we’re his witnesses.

Where will we be his witnesses? In Jerusalem: the nearest place of power we can reach, our place of danger, the place that’s already been prepared to hear about Jesus. In Judea and Samaria: in the area around Jerusalem, where they’ve heard about Jesus but haven’t heard the whole story, where we have roots and where people are more relaxed. To the ends of the earth: and everywhere else, so that there’s no corner of earth that hasn’t heard a witness.

This sounds like an impossible mission.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Without the Spirit’s power, this mission won’t get of the ground. We don’t have what it takes to pull it off. We’ll get in the way. We need him to transform us and to open doors for us and for our mission.

As you step into the new year, where is God calling you to step into his mission? Where do you need his power?