Gospel

The Power of the Gospel

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 ESV 

We often look at the telling of the story of Jesus’ life as if it were simply recounting one adventure after another. But when we look a bit deeper we discover that most of the Gospel is actually about the word of God revealed either through the teaching or ministry of Jesus.

John reminds us of this at the beginning of His account;  -In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and The Word was God.   John 1:1

For example think of how the parable of the sower teaches us to be careful how we listen to God’s word. Jesus tells us that its transforming power only works when if enters our hearts in a way that changes our behavior and attitudes. Then directly afterward Jesus heads off in a boat with his disciples and He falls asleep after a long day. But as they begin to sail away into the sunset a terrible storm comes up and in desperation His disciples shake him awake crying out in fear. Then Jesus gets up and commands the wind and waves and – what do they do? – They immediately obey His word.

grayscale photo of body of waves

Photo by Matt Hardy on Pexels.com

Today it is no different. God’s power in our lives occurs not by our reading, listening to or even watching films about the Bible. It only takes root when it comes in power; so that our believing and receiving forms a living connection with Him. When we get truly connected to Him then proclaiming His word to others will become more and more a natural outflow. Maybe one part of God’s purpose in this moment when we are shut in has been to give us opportunity to connect in a deeper way with the true Gospel. If we will treasure this time, then both in the middle of the storm and when it is over; His Gospel will work in power both in our hearts and around us on little patch of earth.

His Whispers

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They call her a child with a disability or sometimes more gently a child with a special need. But sometimes God chooses to send special messengers like my friend Laura to remind me of His whispered promises.

Her wordless smiles tell of a joy that cannot be spoken. Her quiet play reveals a peace greater than we can understand. But best of all is Laura’s unconditional acceptance of anyone shines a light of God’s love for us all. She tells all the gospel in a whisper that points me to the cross and the still small voice of God when He said, “It is finished!” and our hope of heaven was assured!

Catch Anything? Part One

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At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was.He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. John 21:4-5 NLT

Now the joke in my family is that I could save a lot of time in my fishing if I just tossed the worms in the water and then took my grand-kids out for ice cream! But Jesus’ disciples were not like me. They had been fishing the Sea of Galilee since they were children. They knew how deep the water was, where the fish lived and what to use for bait. But despite their professionalism and hard work they couldn’t catch a minnow!

Does that sound a little bit like our best efforts to reach people for Jesus? No matter how hard we try or what method we use we will continue to fail unless we find out how Jesus wants us to fish. 1552053155928_image.jpg

The good news is that Jesus gives free fishing lessons. Our first assignment is to follow Him. The mistake that Peter, James and John made was that they went fishing without Jesus. Fishing without Jesus means empty nets and sore backs.

Before we launch out today determine to listen and watch for what Jesus wants us to do. As we stick close to His side we will be amazed to learn that He knows where the fish are. He knows what side of the boat to cast the net on and He will wait all through the night for us to come home to Him!