Witness Protection

I have always loved watching crime shows! I find them utterly fascinating… Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, Psych, Bones, Monk, Criminal Minds…. Okay yes, I have apparently watched way too many! 😂 So, every now and then while watching these shows, you’ll see a person being placed in the “Witness Protection Program.” They may have been an eye-witness to a crime, have vital information to help convict a criminal, or they may be a criminal themselves, and have accepted a plea deal if they turn in someone else even worse or higher up in the organization. Whatever the case, their life is in danger because of what they know, so they have to go into hiding.

Something about the Witness Protection Program always intrigued me… The thought of being handed a brand new identity on a moment’s notice, and having to start a whole new life completely from scratch… There was something extremely terrifying about that thought, yet it seemed a bit intriguing and even kind of exhilarating at the same time… And that person’s testimony was absolutely crucial! They witnessed something significant, or they had critical information. They were being protected, so that they could eventually be called to testify before a judge and jury in order to solidify a conviction.

Y’all, that happened to me in real life! No, I didn’t witness a murder or some heinous crime, and I’m not on the inside of some mob ring here in G-vegas, but I did witness something absolutely UNBELIEVABLE, and I was given a brand new identity! I was given a whole new life, and my past was completely erased!

Romans 6:4-11 “We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways]. For if we have become one with Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection. We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For the person who has died [with Christ] has been freed from [the power of] sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with Him, because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him]. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin [and your relationship to it broken], but alive to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” (Amplified)

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Ahhhh!!!!!! How unbelievable is that?!? Because Christ died for me, and because the Holy Spirit called me to make Jesus the Lord of my life, I have not only participated in Christ’s death so that the old, sinful, selfish Kaytie is nailed to the cross and buried with Christ, but He also allows me to participate in His resurrection!!!! Because He defeated death, I don’t have to fear it! I get to live FOREVER with Him! I mean, what?!?! 🤯

I think too often, we as Christians live our new lives as if we’ve been placed in the actual “Witness Protection Program.” See when someone in this program is given a new life, they can’t tell anyone about their old life, or the new identity they’ve been given. They have to live that new life, in complete secrecy. The way to stay alive, is to blend in and not be noticed. No one gets to know what happened to them. No one gets to hear about the things they know. They have to hide their past, their truth, their story, from anyone and everyone they come into contact with…

Don’t we tend to live our Christian lives this way?! As if what we have witnessed is supposed to be kept a secret? As if blending in is the “way to live?” But as believers, we aren’t called to secrecy… We’re called to spill! When Christ gives us a new identity, HIS identity, we get to shout all about it at the top of our lungs, sing it from the rooftops, jump up and down, pump our fists in the air, spin in circles with our hands raised, and tell the WHOLE WORLD what Jesus did for us!

Luke 11:33 – “No one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar nor under a basket (hiding the light) but (instead it is put) on the lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.” (Amplified)

Deuteronomy 32:3 – “For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!” (ESV)

Psalm 66:1 – “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing of the honor and glory and magnificence of His name; Make His praise glorious!” (Amplified)

1 John 1:3 – “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ!” (NKJV)

1 Samuel 2:1-2 – “Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord; My horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord, My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation!
There is no one holy like the Lord, There is no one besides You, There is no Rock like our God!'” (Amplified)

Acts 16:34 – “Then he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, since he had believed in God with his entire family [accepting with joy what had been made known to them about the Christ].” (Amplified)

Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (ESV)

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I am 100% speaking this truth into my own life right now. It’s so scary to be a bold witness for Christ, and at times it could even end up being dangerous. We currently have the freedom to speak the name of Jesus boldly and unashamed, while others in the world are put to death for the very same. Jesus said, “Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God’s love] are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever]. Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of [your association with] Me. Be glad and exceedingly joyful, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12 (Amplified)

Our testimony is absolutely vital, crucial, life changing even… The things we have witnessed of Christ, the “insider information” we have has to be shared. The Holy Spirit may choose to use our testimony to bring conviction to the heart of an unbeliever. We are being called on to come out of the Witness Protection Program, to come out of hiding, and to be a bold witness for Christ to the world around us.