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The ABCs of God's Love Letter: Testify

12/22/2020

14 Comments

 
The ABCs of God's Love Letter: Testify

Welcome to
​The ABCs of God's Love Letter
25 Weeks. 25 Writers!

We will use the alphabet as an acrostic and study topics like: Abide, Beloved, Calling, Delight, Endure, Faithful, Garment, Hunger, Increase, Justice, Kindness, Light, Manna, Name, Ordain, Path, Quench, Ransom, Salt, Testify, Upright, Vanity, Wait, Yield, and Zeal.

Every week, we’ll discover a different topic. Each topic is accompanied by five Scripture verses—one for each weekday. The FREE STUDY GUIDE has a page for each verse. Those spaces will invite you to write the verses out and journal what you’ve learned.

Every time I read God’s Word I learn something new. I also find that Scripture writing really helps me meditate, and as I meditate, God always shows me just what I need for that day—it’s AMAZING!​
​I pray you’ll join us and learn new and exciting things too from His Word.
The ABCs of God's Love Letter layout
DOWNLOAD MY FREE STUDY GUIDE

​This Week We're Looking at Testify

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." Revelation 12:11
As a writer, this is one of my favorite verses because it tells me that Jesus’ sacrifice and stories of God’s love in the lives of His faithful will defeat Satan once and for all in the end times.

Our words have power! Isn’t that exhilarating?
What is Our Testimony?
We all have a story to share, a testimony of what God has done in our lives. Over the years, I’ve written a lot about my life. It still always starts out about me, but I’m learning to shift the focus of my testimony because the Bible doesn’t tell us to testify about ourselves. John the disciple wrote that we “testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).​

So if we’re supposed to testify about Jesus, then what part of the story is ours, and how are we supposed to tell it?
​

I found clues in a few of the Bible’s most compelling and timeless testimonies.
A Testimony of Obedience
In his parting speech to the Israelites, Moses testified of God’s faithfulness to an unfaithful nation. He reminded them of all that God had done for them, despite their disobedience. He told them how to follow God’s law and warned them of what will happen when they don’t. Finally, Moses told the Israelites to “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do” (Deuteronomy 32:46).

Our role in God’s story is that of a hopelessly, disobedient sinner, and an undeserving recipient of His endless, unwavering love.
A Testimony of Sin
One moment, we’re clinging to the hope of what we want from Jesus, and the next we’re cursing His name—just like the Jews.

In fact, Jesus said we’re so saturated in sin, that we reject the very life-saving truth we need when confronted with our own evil.

“The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it that its works are evil” (John 7:7).
A Testimony of Circumstance
A testimony doesn’t have to be in words or even come from a human being at all.

According to Jeremiah, the broken state of our lives speaks for us.
​

“Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for Your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You” (Jeremiah 14:7).
Our Testimony
It’s always exciting to hear that my words helped another woman find hope and peace. But I’m learning that my influence has nothing to do with my literary prowess.

My testimony only has power when it’s about Jesus, and when the words come from Jesus.

So, over the last year, I’ve started a new writing habit. While I brainstorm and as I open my laptop, I begin by asking Jesus what He wants me to say. His answer is always the same.

“Just tell them about Me”
​
I am the Way, the Truth, and The Life—Jesus Christ
Valerie

​
​Valerie is a wife, mother, blogger, breast cancer survivor, and the co-director of Candidly Christian.

After suffering years of debilitating anxiety, she learned that victory over anxiety comes only through surrender to Jesus.

​Now she writes to help women overcome anxiety through faith. You can read more about Valerie's story here.
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​​FOLLOW HER HERE
​WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | PINTEREST

​The ABCs of God's Love Letter Scripture Memory Cards

The ABCs of God's Love Letter Bible Study is accompanied by a collection of 25 5 X 5 Scripture Memory Cards. We'll utilize this great tool to help us memorize a Scripture verse once a week that goes with the topic we're studying that week. Hiding God's Word in our heart is so important!
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These square press prints are printed on thick, high-quality, matte art paper and include a small white border. They are available here in our Etsy shop. But WAIT, there's more! Just for you —> ​Use code SAVE50 at checkout for 50% OFF your entire order. FREE SHIPPING on orders $35 or more, otherwise, shipping is just $2.00, as always! ​
CHECK OUT THESE SCRIPTURE MEMORY CARDS

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What does Testify mean to you?
Please Share
14 Comments
Barbara Harper link
12/22/2020 09:08:20 am

"My testimony only has power when it’s about Jesus, and when the words come from Jesus." Amen. That's what I want my testimony to be, too.

Reply
Valerie Riese link
12/22/2020 01:16:06 pm

Barbara, your words always point me to Jesus, so you must be leaning into Him already. I pray that we'll both lean into Him more as we write in 2021-no matter how many re-writes it takes to make Him increase and us decrease.

Reply
Michele Morin link
12/22/2020 09:10:22 am

Loved seeing Valerie 's bright smile and reading her beautiful story today!

Reply
Valerie Riese link
12/22/2020 01:12:46 pm

Michele, you're too sweet! Thanks for reading and saying "Hi" today. Always so nice to see you too :)

Reply
Susan Shipe link
12/22/2020 01:59:19 pm

Valerie, "Just tell them about Me." That sounds about right, doesn't it? I'd love to hear your story of deliverance from anxiety.

Reply
Valerie J Riese link
12/22/2020 02:08:02 pm

Thank you, Susan. It's a pleasure to meet you! If you scroll back up to my pic where the last sentence says "You can read more about Valerie's story here." Click on the word "here" and it will take you to my story on my author profile on Medium. I've been writing on Candidly Christian for 3 years now. I quit my own blog to dedicate myself completely to Candidly Christian earlier this spring, so that's where you'll find all my new content. And I write about finding peace through Jesus a lot.

I look forward to getting to know you, Susan! I hope you have a good day and a Merry Christmas!

Reply
Donna link
12/22/2020 03:28:42 pm

Valerie, it's such a good reminder of how much power our personal testimony has. I sometimes focus so much on getting Bible verses lined up, I forget to "tell my story" of deliverance. Thank you!

Reply
Valerie Riese link
12/22/2020 04:18:44 pm

Thanks, Donna! I've been guilty of that, too. There's certainly wonderful value in a post packed with scriptures. It took me a long time to learn that, if the goal is to relate the scriptures on a personal level, then a story backdrop can be very powerful -whether it's your own story, someone else, or even a fictional example.

Reply
Laurie link
12/22/2020 07:12:59 pm

What beautiful thoughts about testimony. Asking Jesus what He wants us to say is the perfect first step.

Reply
Valerie Riese link
12/22/2020 08:51:06 pm

Thank you, Laurie!

Reply
Lauren Renee Sparks link
12/23/2020 01:37:31 pm

As a storyteller, I love that God uses our stories for His ministry and purposes. Great job, Valerie!

Reply
Valerie Riese link
12/23/2020 01:48:47 pm

Me too! And thank you, Lauren, I appreciate it!.

Reply
Lesley link
12/23/2020 05:01:22 pm

I always love hearing people's testimonies, and this is a great reminder that the focus should always be Jesus and we should be telling stories of what he has done.

Reply
Valerie Riese link
12/27/2020 05:32:53 pm

Thank you, Lesley

Reply

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