The Good News!

This past Sunday we got to experience the Holy Spirit in a way I believe few of us ever have and I was fortunate enough to be a part of it.  I learned a lot preparing for that worship service and I learned even more in the hours and days following it, and I pray this evening that Christ has touched you as he has me by His presence with us in this Sunday’s worship.

I realized this Sunday that there is no greater joy, no greater blessing than proclaiming the Good News – The Gospel of Christ.  And, I remembered again the excitement of sharing with those who do not know the Good News nor Jesus as their savior.  Can you imagine anything more exciting, more energizing than God giving you the opportunity to represent His Kingdom, to be His spokesperson – and to be the person who gets to shout good news?  Isaiah proclaims “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

This week I got to experience that and I got to see many others experience it as well.  I’ve learned as well that when we let Jesus teach us how to fish and we let Him tell us where and when to fish the catch will be great – and amazingly so will the work itself.  Imagine planning days or weeks in advance to go fishing with Jesus and then the actual fishing trip itself, how exciting and how rewarding. 

This Sunday’s worship experience also confirmed something else – that the ninety and nine are also fed and comforted by the Good News, not just the lost one Jesus is seeking.  So often we forget that all of us who know Christ need to hear those reassuring words, the hope of an eternal heaven, the promise of forgiveness and redemption, the undeniable truth that Jesus is the real Messiah and is going to return – all of us need to hear the Good News and how great the Good News is!

And, finally, the Good News itself, clearly articulated, will not only bring redemption to the lost, but righteousness to the saved who struggle and wrestle with the world around them.  Preparing for this week’s service I was struck by the simplicity and the profoundness of Romans 4:5-8, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT."

As we celebrate with Christ the harvest that surely occurred this past Sunday let our prayer be that we’ll become fulltime fisherman, eager to go on another fishing trip with Jesus, ready to share the Good News and excited about each opportunity He gives us – Let’s proclaim the Good News and celebrate Christ’s faithfulness – what a blessing, what a joy!

Serving Him with you in Christ,

Wes