Spreading

the Gospel

   Brings

      Joy

And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by                   (Habakkuk 2:2 Amp.)

Prayer:  Thank-You, Father, for giving me opportunities to write and to witness in a plain manner upon the “tablet” we call the internet. Give me grace and strength as I spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all my email buddies and beyond. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Thanks to the World Wide Web, news circulates around the world in the matter of milliseconds. Even this Bible study has been read across the country and across the ocean. Imagine that! I praise God for the opportunity to spread the gospel in such an amazing way and in such perilous times.

However, not every word concerning my ministry expresses gratitude. When my web-design program decides it’s not a good day, emails bounce back, or readers contact me to inform me that words overlap, I forget my calling to spread the good news with a glad heart. Good thing, no one can see me at that point. Uh, it’s difficult to convince anyone that the news is good when a grumbling, discontented spirit consumes me. I am reminded, Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). (Ephesians 4:31 Amp.) With the word of God, I make the necessary corrections in my attitude as well as on the computer.

For Christians to bear the good news, we must mark our words as well as our actions with grace and joy. Thereby, we pave the way for others to cross to the other side much like the priests in Joshua chapter 3.

After waiting three days, Joshua received instruction from God to have the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant before the people. God promised that the Jordan waters would divide providing passage on dry land for the nation of Israel. This took a great deal of courage and faith on the part of the priests as they approached the flooded banks of the Jordan River. God didn’t promise to part the water first as He had for Moses at the Red Sea. They had to step into it in faith.

How far would they have gotten, if you were in the front of the ark? For me, it would have gone something like this: “on the count of three. One, Two, Two and one thirty-seconds, two and two thirty-seconds. Um, Joshua, are you sure this was God’s plan?”

Many times, we question God’s plan. Yet, the LORD’s instructions are clear. He commands all Christians to step out in faith, carrying the gospel to the lost and dying world. He never promised to pave the way with gold and roses, but He has promised that if we’re willing to take the risk, wonderful and amazing blessings will follow.

Paul realized that carrying the gospel into the world meant taking risks. To some, it may seem as though the “river” swallowed him up, but the apostle didn’t think so. He said that his calamity had furthered the gospel in ways that were not possible by other means. He rejoiced that even those who were attacking him caused the gospel to be spread among the cities. Paul found cause to praise God and continue the work despite his imprisonment.

Stressful circumstances breed depression, discouragement, or disillusionment in many of us. We wallow in self-pity waiting for the flood of despair to consume us. How different our outcome would be if we, like Paul, regarded our situations and life-stations as being appointed by God.

Not allowing his imprisonment to dampen his zeal for the gospel, Paul witnessed to the Roman soldiers, and through his letters, he encouraged other Christians. As a result, the good news of Jesus Christ reached the center of the Roman Empire. If he hadn’t been arrested and taken to Roman, Paul never would’ve had the opportunity to reach those people.

Has God given you opportunity to reach lost people through adverse circumstances? Perhaps you’re working in a loathsome environment, or you’re unemployed, or you’re suffering from an ongoing illness. Consider Paul’s circumstances and imitate his attitude. These situations are serious, but God can make good come from them, if you are willing to accept your life-station and be His witness.

When faced with uncertain futures, most of us find it difficult to place others’ needs ahead of our own. And many times that statement would denote physical needs. But Paul took it to a new level by claiming that people’s spiritual needs far exceeded his personal physical ones. In comparing our temporal earthly existence to our eternal existence, we begin to grasp Paul’s analysis.

However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair. We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:7-9 Amp.)

Therefore, let’s step out in faith with full confidence that God has paved the way for us. We will reap souls for the kingdom and our joy will be made complete in Jesus’ name.

* Communicating the accessibility of the joy of the Lord, which is our strength*

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