To Advance the Gospel

I read with interest the introductory words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:12 when he talks of his own personal hardship and possible disappointments, sadness, and struggles. He said in verse 12, "Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."

I honestly don't know if I could say those words with full assurance while sitting in prison especially when I know I haven't committed any crime or broke any law. I wonder how many of us, when faced with a set-back, illness, job loss, or other life-challenging situation, would step back and happily exclaim "well, at least this will advance the gospel of Christ!"

Don't get me wrong, because as we know from the book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, there IS a season to mourn and to grieve loss, to weep because of disappointment and set-backs. There is also a season to be angry and to ask questions during these momentous times of great challenge.

But there also needs to be a time to allow God to not only use these challenging times in our life, but to use our response to these events to bring Glory to Himself and to show others how they can come to Him, through His Son Jesus, to experience a loving, close, personal and intimate relationship with Him.

Our issues are never isolated events “just for us”! What we go through…how we respond to what we go through….how we handle what we go through….are ways others learn more about God’s mercy, love, and grace. The various stages we go through in our lives are not ours alone! They can be used by God to be the stepping stones of awakening the soul of a non-Christian and it can end up being the answer to the prayers of other people simply because they “watched us” go through our event.

2 Corinthians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

Allow God to work through YOUR issues so that, in turn, you can use your experience to touch the lives of OTHERS going through the same thing (or something similar) as you went through. THAT is how you can allow your issues to “advance the Gospel”. Through your specific experiences in life, many other will be blessed and capable of finding comfort and peace in order to see that their "issue" too, can indeed, "advance the Gospel" as well.

Tetelestai!

Just before Jesus gives up His spirit on the cross, He utters a very powerful word. The word that He cries out is “ tetelestai” (tih-tellis-tie). When literally translated, this word means, “It is finished.” It can also refer to something completed or accomplished. The word occurs in John 19:28 and 19:30 and these are the only two places in all of the New Testament where it is found. In the John19:28 passage, it is translated, “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now completed , in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst.’” Two verses later, he utters the word himself: “Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘ It is finished ,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Did you know that the word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full? The Greek-English lexicon (by Moulton and Milligan) sa...

The 50-Days of Easter

Jesus rose from the dead. Period! He is alive. We are “easter people” and live daily as proof that He is risen from the dead. He did walk out of the grave. He conquered death. Jesus not only came back to life, but He stayed on earth to be seen by many witness. 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 , “ He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.” After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth before He ascended back to His rightful place (1 Peter 3:22), and then there were ten more days after that before the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). Jesus accomplished many things in this time between His resurrection and return to Heaven. One of the most important was actually a command to us. We refer to this impor...

Not Rejected

I think we could spend hours, if not days, in just the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. If there is one thing that is made clear in this writing is that God is passionately pursuing us and bidding us to have a relationship with Him that is restored by His Son, Jesus. There is one verse, in particular, that stands out to me. John 6:37 , “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.” Those that come to Jesus will never be rejected. If you come to Jesus, just as you are now, he will not turn you away. He gladly welcomes you to come to him. It is not God’s design or plan that we live separated from Him. He makes the way for that relationship to happen. He initiated the plan. He paid the price. He gives freely. He gives us free-will to choose or reject that offer of reconciliation through Jesus, His Son. God makes His intent clear: Ezekiel 33:11 , “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the ...

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