Good News
It’s interesting that Jesus used the term “gospel AKA: good news” to classify His message to the world. Yet, if we are honest, most of the world gets a different message from Christians.
It would seem that many churches and church people are communicating through attitude, word, and deed that God hates the world, is angry with everyone, and is against them, but the Bible teaches something different.
According to Jesus, “God so LOVED THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son.” (John 3:16) In this most familiar verse of scripture in the whole world Jesus communicates God’s attitude toward the world. He loves us, all of us, with a love that initiated a pursuit and redemption of every human being.
Jesus took it a step further. Not only did he teach that God loved the world and was at work for their eternal good through Jesus Christ for the life to come, but is at work in our everyday life for the good of every person, not just the saint, but the sinner too! Jesus said it this way, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
God is at work in our world for good… for the good of every person. He’s at work in the life of each person for good; to draw them to himself and to help them experience life to the full being all God created them to be.
Most of us are blind to the works of God in our life. Most go unnoticed and the few we stop and recognize we quickly pass off as being the product of something else. We need to learn to see the unseen! Develop those spiritual eyes.
How will we experience this “goodness of God”? Two ways, 1) through the direct operations of God himself (God does things in our life that go unseen. Like stalling us in a traffic light to miss an accident, working healing in our body beyond what a doctor can do, and causing certain factors to line up that are favorable, to name a few) and 2) Through the avenue of Nature: This happens in two ways…A) God has established order in the world to our benefit and B) He works in the hearts of people to bless us at various times in various ways.
While we have little to no control over nature we do have control over ourselves. So, the question is… Am I open to being used by God to demonstrate His goodness to others?
What message, as a Christian, am I communicating? By attitudes, words, and deeds do people experience the good news/gospel or bad news?
It would seem that many churches and church people are communicating through attitude, word, and deed that God hates the world, is angry with everyone, and is against them, but the Bible teaches something different.
According to Jesus, “God so LOVED THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son.” (John 3:16) In this most familiar verse of scripture in the whole world Jesus communicates God’s attitude toward the world. He loves us, all of us, with a love that initiated a pursuit and redemption of every human being.
Jesus took it a step further. Not only did he teach that God loved the world and was at work for their eternal good through Jesus Christ for the life to come, but is at work in our everyday life for the good of every person, not just the saint, but the sinner too! Jesus said it this way, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
God is at work in our world for good… for the good of every person. He’s at work in the life of each person for good; to draw them to himself and to help them experience life to the full being all God created them to be.
Most of us are blind to the works of God in our life. Most go unnoticed and the few we stop and recognize we quickly pass off as being the product of something else. We need to learn to see the unseen! Develop those spiritual eyes.
How will we experience this “goodness of God”? Two ways, 1) through the direct operations of God himself (God does things in our life that go unseen. Like stalling us in a traffic light to miss an accident, working healing in our body beyond what a doctor can do, and causing certain factors to line up that are favorable, to name a few) and 2) Through the avenue of Nature: This happens in two ways…A) God has established order in the world to our benefit and B) He works in the hearts of people to bless us at various times in various ways.
While we have little to no control over nature we do have control over ourselves. So, the question is… Am I open to being used by God to demonstrate His goodness to others?
What message, as a Christian, am I communicating? By attitudes, words, and deeds do people experience the good news/gospel or bad news?
Labels: athiest, Christian, drugs, gay, God, good news, Gospel, Jesus
posted by Pastor Mike @ 1:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home