Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 GOOD NEWS FOR ALL HUMANITY

Romans 1:8-17

V16” For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes”.   
 

St John records the prayers of our Lord in his Gospel of St John chapter 17, which could be called as Gethsemane Prayer. I call this prayer “the seven longings of Jesus” as he prepares to take up the cross and face death. One of the longings of Jesus is revealed in verse 20, “My prayer is not for them alone. I also pray for those who will believe in me through their message”. We can see the longing of Jesus concerning His believers and those who will become believers because of the words of the believers. This is what Jesus is saying as “their message,” and St Paul is saying in Romans 1:16 as “Gospel,” which is the good news. 
 
So, we have a message as believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, directly given by Him, and it is about Him; he directly gave us the message as He said to his disciples before He was taken up in Mark 16:15-16, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.” We are called not to keep the message intact on our shelf but called to speak about it. Because this message could either give life to people if they believe or condemn them if they don’t, in other words, your words about Jesus could do that. Isn’t that magical? It is. Our words have power, and let us speak these words of hope and eternal life so that everyone will believe. Last week I received a personal invitation from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office to attend a media conference which I could not make due to church ministries. His desire is to spread the word about Israel as God’s nation. So, the gospel is already given to the Jews, and now it is the time to share it with everyone from every tongue and tribe.
 
So, the message is for all; the good news is for all. We are called to share this good news, and Jesus has already prayed for the message’s recipient. Whomever we choose to preach, our Lord Jesus has already prayed for them. We are invited to preach the gospel to everyone, as it is an inclusive gospel for all. What efforts could we make this year to share this gospel?   Amen. 
 “We do not have the right to hear the Gospel a second time. When there are millions who have not heard the gospel once”.
 

Prayer

                    Lord, thank you for trusting our church and us to take the Gospel to every human being in this world. Help us to be diligent in our calling so that your second advent will be soon (Matthew 24:141). This world needs a message about you more than anything else. May your message echo in our words and deeds. In His name we pray. Amen
 

               

Rev. Paul Rajan
CEO InterChristian Initiatives

 Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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