Here is the News......

‘Dance like there's nobody watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like there's nobody listening, and live like it's heaven on earth.’ (William W Purkey)

 

 

In 2 Samuel 16 we read of the story of King David dancing with uncontrollable joy before the Ark of the Covenant as the ‘presence of God’ rediscovered and brought back from captivity for the people of Israel. Clearly David was both excited before God and unashamed before the people at his discovery and all that it would mean for his people & their relationship with God!

 

Are you excited about your discovery of Jesus Christ and the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation? Can we truly say we are unashamed of the gospel? Do we share Paul’s eagerness to tell others that belief in Christ brings them salvation? So often we are hesitant and reluctant to even admit we are followers of Jesus. The church in the so-called ‘developed world’ seems to be marked by a reluctance to ‘stand up and be counted’.

 

In writing to the Christians in Rome, Paul is keen to establish a warm relationship with them. He has a purpose in this – that they might mutually encourage one another in order to grow stronger in their faith in Christ. More than that, he longs for the church to grow numerically as well as in depth.  For Paul, evangelism and discipleship go together. He is both eager to preach and unashamed of the gospel. He brims with excitement about the gospel being for all people.

 

No other philosophy or religion has a message like this – that God himself has done everything necessary to put us right with him, so that all who trust in Christ may receive eternal life (Romans 1:17). The gospel is fantastic news – let’s be excited by it and as eager to share it as Paul was! Paul would challenge us to consider whether we have so firmly grasped the gospel that we know we have a gift that must be passed on.