Whatever you’re going through – whatever impossible you’re facing – whatever struggle you’re in the middle of – whatever it is, you will find your personal and specific answer here this morning. I promise you, it will be exactly what you need. That’s the best news I can share with you – your answer is here!
If I have something good, I want to share it. If I know of something that works, I want to tell everyone who needs it. If I hear good news, it’s like I’m bursting from within to spread that goodness.
Example – I use the deodorant brand Native (seriously, best deodorant ever). I’m currently wearing a new scent called ‘Holiday Gumdrop’ and y’all, I smell absolutely delicious. I can’t keep this to myself because I know you will benefit from it too. If it’s good, I have a deep need within to share it with you.
That’s the way Paul felt about Jesus. Paul had spent years of his life being so wrong about Jesus, but when he finally came to understand the truth of God’s plan of redemption, he absolutely had to tell everyone about it. Paul called it the GOOD NEWS and sharing it was his mission from God. He had something so good that absolutely everyone needed and he was bursting from within to spread this goodness.
Remember yesterday as we studied Romans 1:1, Paul identifies himself with this statement of identity: “I am a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.” Now in verse 2 & 3, he writes, “God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy scriptures. The Good News is about his Son.”
Jesus was the Good News then, and he’s still the best news now. He is the one who can radically change your life. He is the one who can save you in this struggle. He is the one who can rescue you in this battle. He is the one who can tear down those walls, break those chains, move that mountain, and make a way where there has been no way. He is the one who can make you new. Jesus is GOOD NEWS!
I received a message over the weekend from a podcast listener. She shared with me how she had been stuck in addiction for many years, in and out of rehabs, treatment facilities, and mental hospitals. She had tried everything, yet continued to struggle. Then she took the simple step of listening to devotionals. She began hearing the Good News. She began believing that maybe this savior could save her too. Save her from addiction. Save her from destruction. Save her from the only thing she had known for so long. AND HE DID. Jesus absolutely rescued her. Jesus did for her what absolutely nothing else could. He changed her heart. He changed her mind. He changed her cravings and her desires. She’s now completely clean, living a fullness of life she had never known before.
What she needed was this Good News. The good news is all about Jesus. There’s absolutely no need to complicate it. It’s all Jesus.
Two days ago, I was sitting in the passenger seat of our truck while my husband was getting gas. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman approach my husband, engage in a short conversation, then she tried to get my attention. I could tell she was struggling in life. She was unkept with sores covering her body, twitchy and rapid. And do you know what I did – I’m ashamed to tell you that I pretended not to see her. I turned my head. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about her, it was that I felt helpless to help her. I told myself she needed more than I could offer her. A few dollars would likely only buy the next high.
I failed. I failed to share the absolute best thing I have with her. I failed to tell her the Good News. Jesus could save her. Jesus could heal her. Jesus could show her the way out of that life of addiction.