Peace Through the Trial

James 5:16 says The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Pastor Pete’s wife Suzan’s favorite quote is that Joy is not the absence of pain, rather it is the presence of God. We’re joyful because of what Jesus said in John 16. This passage is about Jesus’ transition from his public ministry to his private ministry to the twelve. At the end of this passage in verse 31 he said, “do you now believe.” Jesus said that I need to leave but where I’m going you cannot come with me. But I will return. In verse 30 they said that they believed that he had come from God. Jesus warned them that the time will come when they would be scattered. Jesus said that peace is not of this world but peace is only in me.

Trials of life put us through changes that we could not have known in advance. After we have received the Holy Spirit, God will prepare us to endure the type of pain and suffering that the world deals us. However, as the Lord revealed to Paul, My grace is sufficient for thee. For My power is made perfect in thy weakness. According to Jehosaphat’s prayer, “We have no plan and we don’t know what to do. However, Lord, our eyes are upon you. God reminded Jehosaphat that the battle belongs to the Lord. The purpose of this life is to draw us closer into the Lord’s presence. As CS Lewis said in the Chronicles of Narnia, “the lion (of Judah) is loving but he’s not safe.” The theme of Oswald Chambers’ devotion from August 2 is: In this world you will have trouble, however be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. The peace is not the absence of the storm, rather it is the peace in the eye of the storm. He will give you the peace that passes understanding in the midst of the trial. Supernatural peace will overwhelm us in the midst of the storm. Personal abandonment means to get to the point where God leads us to die to self and to live according to the power of Christ’s resurrection…to say “Lord have thy way with us.”

When Jesus prepared his disciples, he said that they would be scattered and forsake him. However Jesus reminded them that even though they would forsake him, he would never be alone because his Father would still be with him.

Two weeks ago the oncologist said to Suzan, “we could give you Chemotherapy that would extend your life, but your cancer is “incurable.” After Pete and Suzan prayed, God answered Suzan’s prayer, “I’ve got this.” We need to get to the point that we say, “your will not my will, your mission and not mine.” Our lives are for his honor and glory not ours. He has called us into the body of Christ so that we can build up one another… To edify, exhort and comfort. To encourage one another to will and to do of His good pleasure. We all need the encouragement of our band of brothers within the body of Christ. Our life is not our own… Our life is hid with Christ in God. Our joy and rejoicing is in Him as we praise and glorify Him with one another in the household of faith.

The devil’s job is to put one little negative barb of a comment into our minds to “burst our bubble of happiness.” It’s easy to envision the “worst case scenario.” Death is the worst case scenario. Pete said to Suzan, “If you die, you’ll be home with God and will never miss me…. but I’ll grieve for you every day. Everyone fears cancer. It can end your life. However, cancer cannot do anything to us that God will not allow. Safety is allowing God to work things according to the good pleasure of his will.

According to Oswald Chambers, no evil can come into the place where you are one with God. In the world you will have tribulation. Jesus said, “be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” If there is no strain then there is no strength to overcome. When we spend ourselves spiritually God will give more strength. When we’re crushed with trial and tribulation, then His strength is made perfect in our weakness. There is glory to God in the fellowship of our suffering.

To look at others you’ll be stressed. To look at the world, you’ll be distressed. To look at yourself, you’ll be depressed. However, look unto Jesus and you’ll always be blessed. God has called us to the body of Christ so that we can accompany each other to another level of fellowship. For if we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We have been called unto the fellowship of the church of the living God. Because of the prayers of the saints we’re being carried to the place where he won’t forsake us. He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus said, “my peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Ministry is creating an environment where God can come and help himself to our lives. Our calling is to show that through the power of God in Christ in us we have the ultimate victory in all things. Therefore be of good cheer. Despite trials and tribulation, Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.”

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Praying for His Glory

Last week we examined the glory of God. This week we’ll look at why we should pray for God’s glory. Why are your sins forgiven? The reason is for His namesake…for his glory. If our Christianity rests on anything else, it’s Humanism not Christianity. The problems are not in the Church, the body and bride of Christ which God called to be spotless because of the perfect payment of Jesus Christ’s innocent blood. The problem is in the “perception of the so-called church.” Christianity cannot be understood in light of Humanism. The philosophy of Humanism is “the glory of Man.” The root of Humanism is the devil’s original lie that he told Eve in the Garden of Eden, “You shall be as God knowing good from evil.” The truth of the Word of God focuses on the glory of God rather than the glory of man. The glory of God must be understood in light of “substance” or weight according to the Word of God. The adversary’s job is to deceive the elect of God. If we see according to the eyes of the flesh instead of the eyes of the spirit of Christ in us we will be deceived. Because we pray doesn’t mean we’re doing the right thing. Prayer is aligning our heart with God’s heart, not vice versa. If we pray like the Pharisee, “I’m glad I’m not like those sinners over there,” our prayer is not a righteous prayer. Prayer must be according to the glory of God in order to be effective. The promises of God are an offer to accept the terms and conditions of His promise. Believing action according to the Word of God is the only way to accept the promise of God. Our righteousness is in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ…his strength is made perfect in our weakness.

When the Children of Israel refused to enter into the Promised Land because they did not believe that God would deliver their enemies into their hands, who did Moses pray for? Did he pray for the people? Moses did not pray for the people, rather he prayed that God would uphold the honor of his own glory. God revealed to Moses that he did not need to pray as a priest on behalf of the people to intercede for them. Rather he needed to understand that everything is insignificant compared to the glory of God. The glory is not to judge the unrighteousness people. Rather the glory is for God to judge according to His own righteousness glory. Paul prayed that “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know the hope of your calling…and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints. The understanding is to know the riches of God’s glory…His inheritance in us.

Our prayer needs to be that God sends his power at the right time and place for his honor and glory. Tribulation and trials are so that we can understand the glory of God to deliver and that we are but dust compared to the awesome power of His own glory.

According to Psalm 107: “O GIVE thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; 3. And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”

God has a different standard that we do. The good is the enemy of the best. The best is that we turn to God for deliverance. The best thing is that His people have such a longing for heaven that whether they live or die doesn’t matter but rather that the Glory of God be done. This is the prayer of the Apostle Paul who said that whether by death or by life, that God may be glorified. “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” Nothing in this life can be compared with the glory that shall follow. When that which is perfect is come then we shall know even as also as we are known. For we know that when He shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.

Each year around Easter, the culture presents stories about the “passion of the Christ” about the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some people are moved to tears but others are not. His death and resurrection was not about our glory but rather about the glory of God our Father. The significance of the suffering and death of our Lord is not the glory of God. Many unbelievers have suffered and died for their convictions. Even the terrorists who crashed the planes into the Twin Towers on 9/11 died deliberately for their convictions. Jesus was not your ordinary “martyr.” What’s the difference about Jesus’s death upon the cross? The “cup” that Jesus asked God to take from him in the Garden of Gethsemane was not the cup of pain and suffering and death. The “cup” rather, was the weight of the sin of the world that we inherited from Adam. The significance of his death was separation from his Heavenly Father. Surely he hath borne our griefs, upon him was laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He who was without sin became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. The significance of Jesus’s death is that he shed “innocent” blood. Jesus is the only one who lived a sinless life. The wages of sin is death. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way…….but upon him he hath laid the iniquity of us all.

They did not and could not kill Jesus Christ. He willingly laid down his life for the joy that was set before him. The strength of the gospel is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. The death of Jesus Christ was the propitiation, the full payment, the atoning sacrifice for our sins. When God raised him from the dead, the resurrection was to the glory of God the father.

Paul said, “I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He also said, “thy strength is made perfect in my weakness….thy grace is sufficient for me.” The Apostle Peter said, “I count it joy that I can suffer for my Lord.” In our lives filled with pain, pressure, and tribulation, our prayer should not be “Lord deliver me from the storm.” Rather, our prayer should be, “Lord deliver me through the storm.”

We cannot do anything to give God more glory. All we can do is reflect the glory of God. He is the source of all glory. For we all with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are changed from the glory of the flesh to the glory of God even by the spirit of the Lord.

Our goal is not to be “culturally relevant” but rather to be “heavenly relevant.” According to Phillipians 2:15., “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world…” It’s not about the glory of deliverance. Instead it’s about His glory… It’s not about who we are…. Rather, It’s about Whose we are.

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ.
Michael

Glory to God

Israel sent spies into the promised land to see if they would be able to enter into the land. Only two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb brought back a favorable report. The other ten spies gave a bad report that Israel would not be able to conquer the land. According to Numbers 14 the Children of Israel grumbled and complained that God had “called them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness.” They wanted to appoint leaders to lead them back to Egypt. When Joshua and Caleb said that God would prevail if they went into Canaan to take the land, the people wanted to stone them.

Here is the story from Numbers 14:10-19: But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The people were concerned with their own happiness. They were in pursuit of the blessing. Did Moses say, “your job, God, is to make the people happy?” What was Moses’ plea to God on behalf of the people? Moses didn’t argue whether the people should live or die for their rebellion and grumbling and complaining against God. Rather, Moses pleaded for the glory of God. When we seek the blessing instead of God’s glory, do we deserve anything less than what the children of Israel deserved? Moses reminded God that he is slow to anger and exceeding in love. He also reminded God that he will not let Israel’s injustice go unrequited. God is a righteous judge. Those who rebel against God will suffer the consequences unto the fourth generation.

The children of Israel subscribed to a “Humanistic” doctrine. They were in pursuit of the blessing instead of the Blessor. What makes something right or wrong according to “Humanism?” Humanists don’t think that God gives the standard for right and wrong. Rather they think about the effects of their choices on others and the “right” or kindest course of action that will “do the least harm” according to the probable consequences of their actions. They say that “morality” is something that comes from within: affection, cooperation, and social instincts that are a “natural” part of community. For a “humanist” the ultimate “morality” comes from within ourselves and not from an external God. The Humanist philosophy could be embraced by most so-called Christians. What is the fallacy of this “humanistic” doctrine? Humanism is the religion of the flesh. Humanism says I must worship myself for I am the master of my own destiny, I am the captain of my soul. Humanism reiterates the devil’s original lie, “I’m my own God… I shall be as God, knowing good from evil.”

The question is “do we deserve the promised land?” Do we deserve the promises of God? All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way. A Humanist’s decision point is “what’s the level of personal benefit?” If this is our decision criteria as Christians, then there is no difference between the actions of Christians and unbelievers. In order to be resurrected, we must first die to the God of self. The heart of Christianity as opposed to humanism is the death of our selfish sin nature so that we can be alive unto him.

For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

If we have not died to self, then we’re not Christians, we’re humanists. Christianity starts with “repentance” which means to turn around from worshiping self, to worshiping the true God because of Jesus’ supreme sacrifice at the cross on our behalf. On Good Friday, we must remember God’s goal for eternity. On Good Friday, the greatest good was done. For he who was without sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we should be made the righteousness of God in him. What was the purpose of Good Friday, of Jesus having died on our behalf? Jesus came not for us, but rather because of his love for us. When Jesus prayed, “Father, if it be thy will let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will but thy will be done,” what was God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer? The answer is in Hebrews: He for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and is set down at the right hand of God, for God’s glory. He died because of the joy that God revealed to him: Jesus’ love for those of us who would believe on him… those of us who would be saved because of his perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf to the glory of God the Father.

All men have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. We all deserve the righteous judgement of a holy God. From a Humanistic point of view, why would a loving God send anyone to hell and eternal death? Isn’t the end goal of Humanism happiness? However, From God’s perspective, our happiness doesn’t matter. From God’s perspective, sin and iniquity must be paid for by a righteous and just payment. Our happiness is immaterial. If our goal is happiness, then we are worshiping the God of self and not the one true God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message of salvation is not to rescue sinners from hell. Rather we spread the message of salvation because God loved them and gave his only begotten son on their behalf that they might be made the righteousness of God for the glory of God. It’s not about the glory of salvation and the saving of sinners, rather it’s about the glory of God through the saving power of his Son Jesus Christ. People are not judged for their sins, rather they are judged for their rejection of the Savior from sin, Jesus Christ.

Heaven is not about our happiness. The present sufferings are not to be compared with the glory that should follow. That’s why we endure, not because we’re promised “happiness” in this life but because of the Glory of God. Nothing else matters. All is vanity except for the glory of God. Vanity is emptiness. Only a few things have substance, weight, glory, and value. Glory means weight. There is substance in the glory of God. The reason for the cross is so that God himself would be glorified. That which is seen is temporal but that which is unseen is eternal. Only the things of the spirit of God will be of lasting glory, worth, value and substance.

To God be the glory, great things he hath done.
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son.
Who yielded his life an atonement for sin And opened the life-gate that all may come in.

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord
Let the earth hear his voice;
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord
Let the people rejoice.
Oh come to the Father through Jesus his son, And give him the glory, great things he hath done!

May God richly bless you!!!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Hide and Seek

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him (Jesus Christ) the iniquity of us all.”

In Luke 15:1-7 Jesus told a story about sheep:
“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Jesus was speaking to two groups of people. The first group is the tax gatherers and the sinners. These people were despised and rejected by the “politically correct” culture. The second group is the scribes and the Pharisees. These were the respected people of their culture. Jesus spent time and even ate with the publicans and the sinners, the outcasts of the normal mainstream of society. Zacchaeus was the chief tax gatherer with whom Jesus shared a meal. Jesus ministered to a woman caught in the act of adultery when he said to the crowd who was about to stone her, “he who is without sin may cast the first stone.” Jesus met with a Samaritan outcast woman at Soloman’s well. The Jews hated the Samaritans, whom they considered half-breeds and second class citizens. However, Jesus said to her, “whoever drinks of the living water shall never thirst.”

The Pharisees said that Jesus is “soft on sin.” The sinners he associated with would never be welcomed in their proper houses of worship. Jesus played a game of “hide and seek” with the Pharisees and the leaders of the church. The one who hides calls the shots. The seeker puts himself in the humble position of finding the one who is trying to evade him. The one who seeks is “it.” This is a position of humility and lowliness. The goal of hide and seek is to avoid being “it.” At the end of the game, “it” says, “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free, if you don’t come it you’ll be.” This means that it’s safe to come home. This is a cry of grace to those who were hiding. The story of the lost sheep is a story of hide and seek. Jesus himself is “it” looking for those who are hiding. Some churches are “seeker sensitive.” Seeker sensitive churches are focused on the human perspective. People are restless until they find their place in God. No one is satisfied without God. God created mankind to seek transcendence. When the seeker comes to the Lord, the irony is that the seeker wasn’t really seeking the Lord, rather the Lord was seeking him. Who is the one who hides from God? It’s the guy who is running from the truth. This is the man who seeks the pleasures of the flesh or the woman who is angry because her life is closing in on her. Hiding from God looks like apathy and moral laxity. According to John 3:20-21. “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

There are many old TV shows about smart animals who were the stars of their shows. Shows like Flipper, Lassie, and even Garfield the Cat featured animals who were smarter than their “masters.” However, there were no hero stories about great sheep. Sheep are notoriously stupid animals. If their shepherd didn’t move them to green pastures, the sheep would starve to death. Sheep will follow each other over a cliff to their death. However, sheep know one thing: they know when they are lost. A “cast” sheep is a sheep who falls over on its back and cannot get up. The sheep will die in this position if he can’t get off his back. This is a picture of the human condition. We cannot save ourselves. Men often say, “if I’m good enough to for me, then I’m good enough for God.” However the bible makes it clear that without God we’re like cast sheep: Hopeless and helpless. Unless the shepherd finds us we will die in our cast down position. However the shepherd himself saves us. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd, for he who knew no sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Salvation has two parts. First we must repent and turn from sin in to the Savior from sin. The second part of salvation his his “imputation” of His righteousness on our behalf. This “double transaction” results in salvation. The difference between the publicans and sinners and the Pharisees is that the first group knew that they were lost. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep he doesn’t say, “you stupid sheep, you got yourself lost.” The shepherd simply carries the sheep on his shoulders with love and compassion back to the safety of the sheep fold. He throws a party with goodwill and laughter for having found the sheep that was lost.

It’s easy to focus on guilt and sin-consciousness. However, Christianity is not about sin. Rather it’s about the Savior from sin. Jesus says I’ll keep all their rules for you. I’ll keep them on your behalf. He says allow me to carry you and I’ll take you to glory. The only thing that God asks is that we live in amazement and gratitude for what he’s done. As long as we live a life of thankfulness, everything else will fall into place. If we’re here today, it’s not because we found him. It’s because I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

What amazing Grace!!!

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Beautiful Feet Bring Good News

God often uses the least expected thing to do His best work. He used undistinguished fishermen and a ragtag team of Galileans to change the world.

According to Isaiah 52:6-7. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

These verses lead to the great gospel message in Isaiah 53:4-6 about the supreme sacrifice Jesus paid on our behalf. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

For he who knew no sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

In Nahum 1:15 the word says ““Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!”

Who delivers the Good News? According to Romans 10:14-17. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
…So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

How do they receive the word of God? Faith comes by hearing the Word. They won’t hear the word unless someone preaches it. As men of God and Ambassadors for Christ we have been called and commissioned with the mission of speaking and preaching or “heralding” the Word of Truth.

What are the credentials required to preach the Word? Do you need to go to seminary and earn a Doctorate of Theology before you can preach? 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 says, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament…”
God through the Holy Spirit will equip you when you speak forth His Word boldly and in love. That which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou unto faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.

Our culture has attempted to make “leadership” a dirty word. Most cultures look to the men in their culture for leadership. God designed godly authority within the church for men of God to lead the church. According to 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you (conduct yourselves) like men, be strong. Let all things be done with charity.”

According to 2 Corinthians 5, we have been called as ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador is the highest ranking government official sent by his Sovereign Lord to a foreign nation to represent his homeland. Our mission is to reconcile people back to God through his son Jesus Christ. Reconcile means to bring together that which has been separated. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation…”

As ambassadors our commission is to bring a peace treaty from our homeland in heaven to our host country. Part of the armor of God in Ephesians 6 is, “having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace. Peace is the result of reconciliation. Peace means the end of all strife and contention between God and man. There is no peace without the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. The ministry of reconciliation is our mission and our commission. Reconciliation is possible only when we meet each other at the foot of the cross.

What is the good news of the gospel? According to Mark 1:14, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” According to the Gospels, the good news is “Repent, turn away from yourself and to the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The good news is salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The good news of the gospel is that God’s salvation through Jesus Christ is at hand. The good news of salvation is that God is both just and loving. Our sins were justified and were paid for by the innocent blood of Jesus Christ. For he who knew no sin was mad the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. We are forgiven and have been redeemed by the precious blood of the lamb, not because we deserved it but because God loved us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He has called us as Ambassadors with beautiful feet to deliver this message from our homeland, the kingdom of heaven. We are called to reconcile God’s chosen people back to him. Therefore we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

In other words, preach it brother… Go Give ’em Heaven!!

May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael