Day 7 – Lenten Devotional
LENTEN DEVOTIONAL – DAY 7 – WEDNESDAY, March 13, 2019
Jesus came to preach the Good News
Mark 1:14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
After Jesus baptism and 40 days of temptation in the desert we read in the gospels of Matthew 4:12-17, Mark 1:14-15, and Luke 4:14-21 that Jesus went to Galilee and began “proclaiming the good news of God.” The gospel of John 1:9 tells us that “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”
Jesus began His ministry by proclaiming the “good news” (Mk 1:15; Lk 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-2). When “good news” or “gospel” is used in the New Testament it comes from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον pronounced eu-an-gel-e-on, or, as we would commonly know the root meaning in English, evangel. The word is used as evangel (the good news or gospel message), evangelist (the one who brings good news or the gospel message), and evangelism (the act of proclaiming the good news or gospel message). The Bible is clear that Jesus was THE God anointed evangelist who proclaimed the good news of salvation to all!
So what does Jesus teach us? One major way of understanding His mission of evangelism in our lives as part of the body of Christ, the church, is this: we are to continue His mission as His body (the church…to be an evangelist who proclaims the evangel and does evangelism! Continue to spread the gospel message, belief in Jesus Christ.
Some (of many) gospel Scripture passages:
John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Acts 16:31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”
Rom 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
REFLECT: Do you truly, genuinely, authentically believe in the Gospel message? How have you been a willing servant of your Father in heaven? Consider your “mission field”; your family, work place, school, friends, etc. Are there circumstances in your life where God calls you to be an evangelist?
REPENT: Change your ways. Pour out to God the times you avoided the task He appointed you to. Ask Him to give you the courage to hear, obey and reflect the light of Jesus to a dark world.
RESTORE: As God works around you, be sensitive to the times He asks you to proclaim the joy of your faith in Jesus Christ to others. Maybe ask your church to print a gospel message weekly in their bulletin, talk to your family about the Lord, speak to that worker or friend who is suffering…let the Holy Spirit guide you, then GO!
John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Blessings,
Pastor Tom Bellhy
It is said that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, was on a mission to bring light to the Old Testament and reveal the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34); to reveal the hidden meaning behind the old covenant, to actually BE the great light that people who live in darkness can see (Matthew 4:16, Isaiah 9:1-2).