你要我到哪里作见证？

“‘你们 … 并要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地和撒玛利亚，直到地极，作我的见证。’” - 徒 1:8

你有没有收过一份你不知道应如何处理的礼物呢？我曾收过一些冷冻干躁的军粮，当时我并不需要立刻用它，它便长期躺在我的储物间中，等待合适的时候来用——可是这个时刻一直没有到来。有一天，我终于静静地丢掉了这份从未拆开过的礼物。

耶稣给我们的礼物却不是这样。衪赐圣灵给我们，并且解释这份礼物的用途和我们在什么地方会使用它。衪对跟随衪的人说：“你们 … 要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地和撒玛利亚，直到地极，作我的见证。”

对耶稣早期的门徒来说，这些地方有特别的含义。耶路撒冷是他们居住的地方，圣灵会差派他们向当地的人作见证。犹太是围绕耶路撒冷的地区，那里的人和他们很相似。撒玛利亚是附近的区域，有不同文化和种族背景的人住在那里。圣灵会差遣他们到那些地方，紧接着也会差遣他们“直到地极”，向住在远方的人分享耶稣的好消息。

耶稣也同样把圣灵赐给我们。谁是那些住在我们的“耶路撒冷”“犹太”和“撒玛利亚”，“地极”各国的人？我们可以怎样在以上每一个地方履行神的使命呢？

主耶稣，感谢你赐下你的灵，把衪浇灌在我们的生命中，又邀请我们每一个人与你同工，向我们社区和全世界的人分享这个好消息。阿们。

6他们聚集的时候，问耶稣说：“主啊，你复兴以色列国就在这时候吗？”
7耶稣对他们说：“父凭着自己的权柄所定的时候、日期，不是你们可以知道的。
8但圣灵降临在你们身上，你们就必得着能力，并要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地和撒马利亚，直到地极，作我的见证。”
9说了这话，他们正看的时候，他就被取上升，有一朵云彩把他接去，便看不见他了。
10当他往上去，他们定睛望天的时候，忽然有两个人身穿白衣站在旁边，说：
11“加利利人哪，你们为什么站着望天呢？这离开你们被接升天的耶稣，你们见他怎样往天上去，他还要怎样来。”

You Want Me to Witness Where?

". . . and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." - Acts 1:8

英语音频 English Audio

Have you ever received a gift but were not quite sure what to do with it? I once received some freeze-dried army food. I didn't need it right away, so it sat in my closet for a long time, waiting for the right moment to be used—which never came. One day I quietly got rid of that unopened gift.

Jesus' gift to us is not like that. He gives us the Holy Spirit, and he explains what this gift is for and where we will use it. "You will be my witnesses," he said to his followers, "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Those locations had specific meanings for Jesus' first disciples. Jerusalem was the place they were in, and the Spirit would send them to be witnesses to the people in that local area. Judea was the region around Jerusalem, where the people were a lot like them. Samaria was a neighboring region that included people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The Holy Spirit would send them to those places and then also to "the ends of the earth," to share the good news of Jesus with people who lived far away.

Jesus offers the same gift of the Spirit to us. Who are the people living in our "Jerusalem," "Judea," and "Samaria," and in all nations to the ends of the earth? How can we support God's mission in each of those places?

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for pouring out the gift of your Spirit in our lives, inviting each one of us to join you in sharing the good news in our neighborhoods and around the world. Amen.