April 6, 2019 -- Revelation 1:4-6 -- Reminders of Good News
/John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 1:4-6 English Standard Version
One of the great joys of sharing our faith is the response of those around us. Recently I saw a movie with a young friend. It was an action and adventure movie. An alien died in a sequence of particularly intense action. On the way home my 12-year-old friend asked me: “When we die, do we have 5 minutes to remember all the good things that happened to us?”
Gently, and directly I told him, “No, I don’t believe it works that way at all.” And as I spoke I realized I had his full attention, “When we die we will face judgment for our sins.“
My young friend interrupted asking: “What if we have sinned so much we can’t be saved?”
It was a great joy to share the Good News: “At the cross, Jesus was punished for all our sins. Every. single. one. And His perfect life is credited to us. All we need to do is believe and follow Him.”
This young one let out a long breath and said: “That is really awesome.”
At that moment once again I realized how precious it is to share our faith. We see the glory of the salvation that is ours and we see from a fresh perspective.
Go ahead. Witness boldly. Remember it is God Himself Who has prepared the way by His Holy Spirit. Even if someone rejects the Good News, for now, you don’t know if the Spirit is working on a long game with the purpose of bringing that person to salvation. Retelling the story of salvation does indeed, refresh our own souls in the Good News of Jesus Christ!
King Jesus, Who is like You!?! Thank You for the greatness of the salvation that is available to all who believe in You. Thank You for the riches of the Word which spells out the great and wonderful promises of God. Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who teaches us and leads us in all truth. Forgive us for the times we wanted to tell someone about Jesus and hesitated or were afraid. Forgive us for our prayerlessness. Renew in us the joy of our salvation. Reopen the lines of communication between us and Your glorious Self. You have promised, Jesus, that heaven is open to all who believe, so with this in mind, bring us to our knees in prayer. Let this joyful knowledge of Jesus fill our thoughts and spill out into many conversations. Thank You for the times we can join with other believers in worship. Bless Your preachers and teachers, evangelists and missionaries who bring Good News. Amen.
