Friday — Power for Witness
New Testament Scripture – Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses…”
Old Testament Scripture – Zechariah 4:6
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
And Then — Power
We have spent all week in the upper room — waiting, praying, learning humility, learning unity. None of it flashy. None of it immediate. But all of it necessary.
Now Jesus tells them what is coming next: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
That word can make us nervous. Power has a way of exposing people. Give someone influence too early and it usually reveals what was already unstable.
Which may be why Jesus did not rush this moment.
The power would come — but only after they had learned to stay, to pray, to humble themselves, and to remain together. Formation first. Then sending.
Power Has a Direction
Acts 1:8 is not vague about the purpose of that power. “You will be my witnesses.”
A witness is not a strategist or a brand manager. A witness tells what he has seen and heard. That is both simpler and harder than we would like.
Simpler, because the message is not ours to invent. Harder, because it means we are not in control of the outcome.
The disciples are not being commissioned to build something impressive for Jesus. They are being entrusted to speak about Him — in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and outward from there.
And all of it under His authority!
Not By Our Strength
Zechariah’s words echo here: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.”
Which clarifies the kind of power Jesus is promising.
This is not human force. Not better organization. Not sharper messaging. It is the Spirit of God enabling ordinary people to bear faithful witness.
We default to what we can measure. We count. We track. (Yes, even when we pretend we do not.) But Acts keeps drawing our attention somewhere else — to the Spirit moving, convicting, empowering.
If the throne is already occupied, then the pressure is off. The mission does not rest on our creativity or stamina. It rests on the reign of Christ and the work of His Spirit.
Sent Without Anxiety
By the end of this week, the disciples are no longer just waiting. They are about to step into the streets of Jerusalem. But they step out as people who now understand something essential: the authority is His, the power is His, and the outcome is His. That steadies a person.
Witness is not frantic effort. It is faithful testimony. We speak what we know of Christ. We live in alignment with His reign. And we trust the Spirit to accomplish what we never could on our own.
That is not passive. I find it - deeply confident!
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for sending Your Spirit.
Keep us from relying on our own strength.
Make us steady and faithful witnesses to Your reign.
And let Your kingdom advance in ways that clearly come from You.
Amen.
New Testament Scripture – Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses…”
Old Testament Scripture – Zechariah 4:6
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
And Then — Power
We have spent all week in the upper room — waiting, praying, learning humility, learning unity. None of it flashy. None of it immediate. But all of it necessary.
Now Jesus tells them what is coming next: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
That word can make us nervous. Power has a way of exposing people. Give someone influence too early and it usually reveals what was already unstable.
Which may be why Jesus did not rush this moment.
The power would come — but only after they had learned to stay, to pray, to humble themselves, and to remain together. Formation first. Then sending.
Power Has a Direction
Acts 1:8 is not vague about the purpose of that power. “You will be my witnesses.”
A witness is not a strategist or a brand manager. A witness tells what he has seen and heard. That is both simpler and harder than we would like.
Simpler, because the message is not ours to invent. Harder, because it means we are not in control of the outcome.
The disciples are not being commissioned to build something impressive for Jesus. They are being entrusted to speak about Him — in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and outward from there.
And all of it under His authority!
Not By Our Strength
Zechariah’s words echo here: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.”
Which clarifies the kind of power Jesus is promising.
This is not human force. Not better organization. Not sharper messaging. It is the Spirit of God enabling ordinary people to bear faithful witness.
We default to what we can measure. We count. We track. (Yes, even when we pretend we do not.) But Acts keeps drawing our attention somewhere else — to the Spirit moving, convicting, empowering.
If the throne is already occupied, then the pressure is off. The mission does not rest on our creativity or stamina. It rests on the reign of Christ and the work of His Spirit.
Sent Without Anxiety
By the end of this week, the disciples are no longer just waiting. They are about to step into the streets of Jerusalem. But they step out as people who now understand something essential: the authority is His, the power is His, and the outcome is His. That steadies a person.
Witness is not frantic effort. It is faithful testimony. We speak what we know of Christ. We live in alignment with His reign. And we trust the Spirit to accomplish what we never could on our own.
That is not passive. I find it - deeply confident!
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for sending Your Spirit.
Keep us from relying on our own strength.
Make us steady and faithful witnesses to Your reign.
And let Your kingdom advance in ways that clearly come from You.
Amen.
Posted in Easter Season 2026
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