Not My Testimony.

Testimony....great.

Every time I hear someone say "Hey man, tell me your testimony" I freak out a little bit inside. Maybe that is because it seems like they just asked me for my life story, a detailed list of my failures and my flaws. Yes like every average christian testimony mine has some sweet redemption, but I have to be honest, I am often afraid of how my testimony will come across. It is almost comical how self-conscious I am about it. The person before me shares there story and I start thinking my story isn't as cool as theirs, or it is more shameful than theirs. As a result, I sadly often just keep it to myself. 

Then I realized what the problem is.

Turns out, I am looking at testimony totally wrong. I usually view it as my story, full of  my mistakes, my heartache, and  my pain. Consequently, because it is all about me, It's my rep that is on the line. Giving my testimony becomes a story about my performance. And I'll just let you all in on a secret....the story of my performance would not make a good read. When my testimony is a story about what I've done and how I've improved, I am probably making the right decision by keeping it to myself.

But that is not my testimony.

To make it simple: my testimony has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Jesus. 
It is not the story of my life.... It is the story of what happened when I met Jesus. 
Not the story of what I did when I met Jesus... It is the story of what Jesus did when he met me.
And then Luke 8:39 hit me.

"~Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.~ 

And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much 

Jesus had done for him"

Dude's got testimony skillz.

Or maybe he just understood. Understood that he had been demon possessed running around naked in the tombs (and I think my issues are embarrassing). Understood that he would never have gotten rid of them on his own. Understood that a man named Jesus walked up and healed him. A lot like me he was looking for the easy way out. "Just take me with you!" he pleaded. "No, go share your testimony." Jesus replied. This is where me and him are different. You see he understood. If this was me the last half of the verse would go something like this:

"And he went away, keeping the story to himself,

because he didn't think he had performed very well."

Did I mention this guy Understood? He didn't just "return home and declare it", he proclaimed it to the whole city. Not the story of what he had done, but what Jesus had done for him.

I still wince when I hear "testimony",

but at least now I can stop and remember this story. Forget about what I've done and get excited about what Jesus did for me. It will take time and I won't be perfect, but I am starting to understand. I hope and pray that we can stop thinking about how good our story sounds. That we can tell people about the miracles he has done DESPITE of our "best efforts." That we can go be his light, and stop worrying about how brightly ours is shining.

In, through, and by his love,

Josh

Two word testimony tool!

I don't know about you guys, but the whole "I need to tell you my life story!" testimony is kind of daunting. 

So here is a cool tool I picked up from the U of I Navigators:

Think of two words. The first word is something you were before Jesus. The second is something you are because of Jesus.

Classic Examples:                                   Dead----------Alive

                                                              Lost-----------Found

                                                            Hopeless-------Hopeful

                                                            Selfish----------Selfless

Think of your own! Take your time! Make it personal! Then when someone asks for your testimony or you get a chance to witness give them two words :)

It really makes them curious and it helps generate natural discussion!

My two word testimony:                        Alone---------Home

Ask me about it sometime :)

Feel free to comment with YOUR TWO WORDS!