Are you ready for some Good News today? Who does not want some good news during their day? The truth is as Christians we have the best message to share: God loves us and has a plan for our lives. We’ve done things that have separated us from God, but he made a way for us to have a relationship with him through the death of Jesus on the cross. The Good News does not end there. God promises to live in us, to give his Holy Spirit as a deposit of things to come. There is even more Good News: God promises us his peace. John 14:27 says “I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
His love continues to pour out in other ways too. Philippians 4:6-7 says “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” and in Galatians 5 we are shown how the Holy Spirit will change our lives: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
For people who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus this Good News sound like crazy talk but when we know him personally we experience the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus calls us to go out and share this Good News with everyone. Matthew 28:19: Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
So the question for Christians becomes how do I share this Good News? I’d like to switch the question around. How can you not share the Good News? If Jesus has really changed your life how can you keep that inside of you? If you won 100 million dollars in the lottery but did not share any of it with your friends what would they think of you? The gift we’ve been given is far greater than 100 million dollars which can’t buy any of the gifts of the Spirit: peace, love, joy, self-control and won’t do anything for us eternally.
So why don’t most of us in America share our faith? We have the Good News but we keep it to ourselves. The greatest danger to our Christian faith in America is busyness. It robs us from time with God and stifles us from experiencing God’s life-changing spirit. God says be still and know that I am God but we get up early rushing through our day with more on our to-do list than we can possibly get done with more demands on our time than we can handle. After the day is through we fall into our bed totally exhausted and if we’re lucky to read a chapter in the Bible and say a quick prayer, then tomorrow the same grind.
It is time to get off this treadmill. Slow down! In Oprah Winfrey’s book, What I Know for Sure she says we need to take time to relax and rejuvenate. She spends Sundays unplugged from the phone and the internet. Spend time only on what matters: loving God and loving others. Yes, we have to work and earn a living but even there how much time do we really waste if we were honest with ourselves. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. If you want to experience God’s plans for your life you need to slow down and listen to him.
Busyness is an enemy to relationships. If you’re married with kids you know you start your life together close. You spent time together, talked to each other and did things together. After a while kids come and other things get in the way and pretty soon you can be living in the same house and not even remember who your spouse is. When was the last time you spent an evening together, no kids no distractions? Just the two of you? If you carve out time together time every day or at least every week will it make a difference in your relationship? If you make time to spend with God every day will that make a difference in your relationship with him?
The Good News that we are given and asked to share is that God wants us to have a wonderful life, not by doing our thing but by doing God’s thing. If you do this you’ll experience God’s spirit in your life and you’ll see opportunities every day to share your faith either online or offline.
If this is your first time on our blog you may not know that Memory Cross makes Gospel tracts that help you share your faith that people actually love. We have a very unique design, so unique in the fact that almost everyone will appreciate receiving it. The messages are always positive and encouraging. Since we talked about God’s Good News today I wanted to mention our Good News Tract.
On panel 1 it says Are you ready for some Good News today? Panel 2 says: God loves you and wants you to experience an amazing life. John 3:16 says “God loves the world so very, very much that he gave his only Son. Because he did that everyone who believes in him will not lose his life, but will live forever.” Panel 3 says: God’s Son, Jesus, offers a life filled with love, joy, patience, faithfulness, kindness, peace, goodness, gentleness and self-control. and panel four leads people who want to know more to NeedHim.org. You can find the tract on our website by clicking this link.
The video below shows how this card folds. If you have a relationship with Jesus then I hope you will make it a priority to spend time with Him every day. If you do you’ll experience his peace in your life and you’ll find doors open every day which allows you to share God’s love. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus yet but would like to know more, visit Peace with God.
If you are wanting to know more about allowing God to work in your everyday life, then check out the 10 Second Rule. I found this book to be very helpful in understanding how God can work in our lives.
Good News Tract
I decided to include the video below in this post. It is the story of a husband who wanted a divorce. The wife agrees but requests that he hug her every day for 30 days (think the movie Fireproof). After 30 days of remembering what they had, he decides he wants to work on the relationship and bring back what they once had. The story can also apply to our relationship with God. Try spending time every day with God for 30 days and see if your life is not changed.