Wednesday,
March 2, 2011
“Repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things” Acts 3:19-21 (NLT)
In Your Own Words, What is the Gospel????
“If someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way." 1 Peter 3: 15, 16 (NLT)
Pastor’s Reflection
My definition of the Good News is very simple. It is this;
“God is setting the world to rights and will finish the task”.
Or “God is healing the world and will finish the job”.
Or “God is putting and will have put Humpty Dumpty back together again”.
Or, “God is working all things together for good, and those who trust him get in on it”.
Peter said in verse 21, “until the restoration of all things”. The destiny for all of creation and all people who allow it for themselves is a new, renewed, restored, recreated, creation.
Between now and then Jesus provides forgiveness of sin and times of refreshment for all who trust Him.
If someone asks you what the Good News is, what would you say?
Before the "good news", there is the "bad news" that every rational, truthful person knows - everyone has a "sin problem" and there is no way we can "undo" our sins or their adverse consequences. The first part of the "good news" is John 3:16 and if we repent of our sin-full ways and return to God, He will take care of all our sins (through Christ's sacrificial death, which is why faith in Him is the "only Way") and infuse us with enough of His righteousness so that we can live a life of peace and joy that will contine forever after our "earthly death" in a fashion that we cannot even wildly imagine. This begins when Christ returns to earth "a second time, apart from dealing with our sins" and will bring restoration-salvation to all of earth's "damaged goods". (Heb 9:28) The second part of the "good news" is that this "offer" is open to everyone, no matter how "bad" we have been and that only a tiny bit of trust in God is required.
ReplyDeleteOnce my body reaches it's "expires on" date, my spirit will be free to fly away to a place that will be strange and spectactular, a place that I can not even begin to imagine what it will be like. I pray that God will give me an opportunity and unction today to share this good news with my friend who has yet to grasp this reality.
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