Good News is for Sharing

Who doesn't love to hear good news? I enjoy both receiving good news and
sharing it. How do we share the BEST news, and with whom should we share it?

Good News is for Sharing

"And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!'"

(Romans 10:15)

Who doesn't love to hear good news? I enjoy both receiving good news and sharing it. Unfortunately, many in our country focus on the negative and seek to divide rather than bring healing at a time when we need it the most. But as followers of Jesus, wow, do we have good news to share, or what?! We have the best news ever: God loves the world and gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins so we could be forgiven and live eternally with Him. Now can somebody say "Amen" to that?!

The phrase "preach the Gospel" is one word in Greek: euanggelizo. The prefix eu means "good", and angellos means "message", the same word from which we get the English word "angel". Interestingly, the same Greek word is used later in the verse and translated "bring glad tidings". The Gospel is the best news, and this great news is not meant to be kept to ourselves but to be shared every opportunity we get.

The title of today's devotional is from a book authored by Leighton Ford entitled, Good News Is for Sharing. It was the textbook for my evangelism class taught by Dr. Roy Fish while I was a student at Southwestern Seminary. Leighton Ford was the brother-in-law of Billy Graham and an excellent writer. We named our third child after him and spelled his name the same way.

How do we share the good news and with whom should we share it? The obvious answer is, we must share it with everyone, but the "how" requires a little more explanation. The two primary ways we proclaim the good news of Jesus is by the words we speak and the good deeds we perform in His name. We are to share and preach Christ, and we are to engage in good deeds, meet people's needs, and show them, not just tell them, about the love of God.

Pastor Gabe Kolstad does a good job explaining how we must do both, especially in a culture that is becoming increasingly dismissive of the Gospel of Jesus. He serves as the pastor of Westside Community Church in Portland, Oregon, and he writes:

"As we all know, the Coronavirus has only accelerated changes that were already in motion. Even in places formerly known as 'religious', mindsets about Christianity and Christ are shifting at an unprecedented rate. Sure, the Wild West and the Chilly Northeast have an edge. Still, we all need to understand how to navigate the new normal.

"I can assure you, the vast majority of people in my neighborhood are not looking for an online or in-person church service to attend this Sunday. Far from it. In fact, one of the troubling realities is that most people seem quite happy without Jesus. I'll bet it's not so different where you live.

"I wonder if that's why Jesus' weapons of love were a towel for washing our feet and a cross for giving His life? If we're looking for a way to regain influence in our communities—whether digital or physical—the place to begin is to add value to the people in our circles by serving their needs and pointing to Jesus as our reason for doing so."

(Source.)

Let us go today and show and share the love of Jesus and let everyone hear the good news!

Thanks to you, disciples are growing in their faith.

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Podcast of the Week

Readings and Homilies in Romans, Pt. 2

Pastor Danny continues his new series, reading through the book of Romans one chapter at a time and afterwards offering a homily (a brief commentary on the Scripture that was just read). In this episode, he reads and comments on Romans Chapter 2.

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