SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/24/2021 10:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “A clear Message”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 10:7
Message of the verse: “7 “And as you go,
preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
I
know that it has been a long time since I posted a Spiritual Diary and it was
because of going through Covid for the last three plus weeks. My wife has been in the hospital for the last
couple of days and seems to be doing much better as we hope she can come home
today. I am so thankful for my daughter
Kim who stayed with Sandy through thick and thin in the ER room to help her
through this difficult time. Many have
been praying for us at our church, especially Kim’s volleyball team which she
had to miss yesterday’s game because she was staying with her mom. I could not be there because I have it too
and they would have probably wanted to keep me too. I can say that in my mind Covid is a product
of the devil as when a person gets it they lose strength because they lose the
ability keep a good supply of O2 in their bodies and this are very tired and
cannot think straight so that is a reason that I have not kept up with my SD’s
over the last week. In the end God will
use this to bring glory to His Name and those who invented this to harm people
will one day have to sit at the Great White Throne Judgment where they will be
tried for the wrong that they have done to humanity. I look forward to watch that trial.
We
have been in the 10th chapter of Matthey for a very long time and we
begin a new section today with the following words “And as you go, preach, saying,
‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7). This is the third precept for effective
ministry illustrated here and it is that of having a clear message. Having a clear message is most important. Many people fail to understand and receive
the gospel because they have not heard it clearly presented. Having a good testimony as one understands
exactly what happened to them when they became a Christian is very
important. I have shared my testimony on
these pages many times as God certainly made things clear to me that I was a
sinner in need of salivation that came only through the life death and the
resurrection of Jesus Christ who took my place when He died for me.
I
will close this SD with a story from John MacArthur’s commentary to help
illustrated the need of having a clear message.
“Some
years ago a fellow pastor who was sitting next to me on a plane took a small
piece of paper and began writing on it until it was completely covered. When he handed it to me and asked me what it
said, I could hardly distinguish a single letter. ‘Well, what was the first word I wrote? He asked; and I had to confess again that I
had no idea. Then he showed me what he
had done. He gave me another small,
blank piece of paper and told me to write ‘Christ’ on it. On top of that first word and all over the
rest of the paper, I was then told to write ‘Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal,
Pentecostal, dispensational, fundamental, evangelical, liberal, Protestant,’
and perhaps a dozen more such terms. His
point was clear: the simple gospel of
Jesus Christ is sometimes so encumbered with secondary matters and human
interpretations that the world has no idea what its central message is.
“Not
only the world but many believers are confused about Christianity became
preachers and teachers digress from the gospel of the kingdom into every sort
of secondary cause and emphasis. Satan’s
surest way of making the gospel impotent is simply to keep it from being
understood. When the gospel is clouded
with political, cultural, social, economic, environmental, ecclesiastical, and
other such causes, its message is muddled and its power is diluted.”
I
totally have to agree with this quotation.
The gospel message is simple as long as one tries to make it simple.
9/24/2021 11:19 AM
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