Mark Daniels Christian Blog and Commentary

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Just Preach It

OK, this one will seem a bit blunt. But for as much as this message lacks in verbal acuity, I hope it more than compensates in sincerity.

 

My "blog" today is as much for me as it is for you. Indeed if you, too, are a person that is called to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ...be it from a pulpit, a pen, or a parabolic microphone...you need to hear this exhortation every once in a while. Seems it's my turn to deliver the goods.

 

The message is, quite simply, this: it's not about me, and it's not about you. It's about Him, and what He needs the world to hear so desperately today. Don't get me wrong: your personal testimony, and those of others transformed by the saving grace of Christ and the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit, is a vital part of communicating the Truth. He made you as you are for His purposes, so I wouldn't want to change you at all. But it is just as vital that we don't put ourselves in His way.

 

How do we get in His way? By placing style over substance. By developing our own conclusions, then "cherry-picking" Scripture to fit our constructions. By worrying more about how we compare to other Gospel messengers, than we do about the message, and who will ultimately receive it. And by purposing to advance our agenda further than we do His Kingdom.

 

If your own child were drowning, you would toss him a lifeline, not a safety lecture. You wouldn't casually teach him about water safety, using just the right number of Powerpoint slides and witty asides. You would shout, "Hang on!"  You would risk everything--even your status and reputation--to save that beautiful boy. You would pray with all that's in you that God would intervene. And when he's safely ashore, you would melt unashamedly in a puddle of grateful tears.

 

My friend, our nation...our neighborhoods, our families, and yes--sadly--even our churches...are being swept away in a vicious riptide of sin and apathy. Let's cast aside our pride, our personal brilliance, or anything else that would set itself up in opposition to the clear communication of God's Word, and let's do so ongoingly. We'll have plenty of time to rearrange those deck chairs later. Instead, let's "lower the lifeboats" and passionately share the clear, concise directions each passenger on this sinking planet needs to hear, that he might be saved. That is precisely why God has placed us exactly where we are, for such a time as this. So just preach it.