Few things in life are as powerful as a testimony. This is true in conversation about earthly matters, as well as a spiritual reality. Let me explain. Suppose I share with you information I obtained from an encyclopedia about a person, place, or topic–the information I share could be helpful. But what if I begin to share with you based upon my personal experience and personal encounter of that person, place, or topic? If I do that, suddenly our conversation rises to a different level and takes on a new dimension—suddenly it becomes much more meaningful than before. Why? It has life on it because I’ve shared my testimony. If this is true in relational dynamics and everyday conversation about natural matters, how much more is it true for sons and daughters born into the Kingdom of God?

Beloved, the Father’s heart for us is that we would know Him, and then share our experience of Him with others. And because this is so important to Him, it has become a major arena of warfare for Satan, His archenemy. The enemy is raging all around us to destroy our testimony. We must hold fast. Jesus promises in the book of Revelation that there are eternal rewards for those who overcome by the word of their testimony. God has equipped us to be successful and to overcome. If you are going through a test right now, the Lord wants to strengthen you and turn your experience into a testimony of victory.

Let me pray for you right now:

“Father, I pray for my friend reading this blog that You would give grace right now in the place of trial and testing. I ask that You would encourage his/her heart, pour out Your love, and strengthen my friend to overcome current challenges in the power of Your Spirit and for Your glory. In Jesus’ Name.”

As the book of John tells us, the glory of the gospel is that God the Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). As awesome as this truth is, experiencing the depths of Jesus Christ in salvation is about much more than obtaining “fire insurance” and stopping there. The mystery and glory of the gospel is that God desires to BECOME ONE with you. This is why He left heaven and came to earth–not so that we could access Him from some distance place, but to make a way for us to become one with Him and demonstrate Him through our personalities, physical appearance, gifts and callings. He designed you to be a living, breathing house of prayer, a tabernacle of flesh for Him to live and dwell in. He built you for Himself as a dwelling place. His presence, the very glory of God, lives on the inside of you.

Paul also referred to the mystery of our glory and union with Christ in the book of Ephesians. In chapter five, he tells us that marriage between a man and a woman is a picture of the union Christ desires with His Church. He calls the glory of two becoming one, “a great mystery” (Eph 5:32). This passage is one of the most remarkable and exalted statements of the Bride’s relationship to Jesus in all of Scripture. I encourage you to look at this passage today and, as you read it, insert your name wherever it refers to the Church, so that you personalize the passage—it’s for you! Picture yourself with this future and include these truths in your conversations with Jesus by thanking Him for each aspect of your destiny described here. This passage is the ultimate statement of your glory and value.