Preach Good News by Rod Parsley

Preach Good News He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor... Luke 4:18 "Jesus went through all the towns... teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom" (Matthew 9:35). Imagine Jesus walking from village to village and proclaiming the good news of His kingdom to anyone who would receive it. "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:2). Jesus came to bridge the gap between man and God. Today, we have the advantage of looking back to the cross. On Calvary, Jesus saved us from an eternity spent in Hell and brought us into the glorious kingdom of God... and that's good news. The message of the cross never changes. Because of sin, there was an enormous breach between God and His creation. But God built a bridge through the cross. Now, instead of being separated from God by the chasm, we can have a personal relationship with Him. Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law." When you share the good news, you are sharing truth already accomplished. God's love will never change. All you have to look for is God's anointed time for people to hear. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). It's the most wonderful gift anyone could hope for-share it! Further Reading Romans 8 Acts 8 Acts 26 God Bless,

Lessons from Jonah by Joe Stowell

[Written by Joe Stowell for Our Daily Bread.] Aug 07 2013 I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. —Jonah 2:2 The story of Jonah is one of the most discussed and fascinating accounts in the Bible. But for all the debate, one thing is sure: Jonah did a lot of soul-searching in that smelly underwater hotel. All of us can identify. Sometimes life just goes badly. When it does, like Jonah we need to ask ourselves some hard questions. Is there sin in my life? In light of Jonah’s blatant disobedience, God had to do something drastic to catch his attention and lead him to repentance. What can I learn from this situation? The wicked people of Nineveh were enemies of God’s people. Jonah thought they should be judged and not given a second chance. He obviously needed a lesson in sharing God’s compassion for the lost. “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster” (Jonah 3:10). Can I display God’s glory in this? Often our suffering is not about us but about people seeing the power of God working through our weakness. Jonah found himself in a helpless situation, yet God used him to lead a pagan nation to repentance. Next time you find yourself in a “belly-of-a-whale” problem, don’t forget to ask the hard questions. It could mean the difference between despair and deliverance. For Further Study For an in-depth study of the fascinating account of Jonah, read The Failure Of Success: The Story Of Jonah We learn lessons in the school of suffering that we can learn in no other way.