Tag: Gospel

Posted in Advent devotions

When the world becomes a rage room

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by DANIEL BECERRA on Unsplash

One of the most asked questions is, “Why doesn’t God do something about the evil in the world?”

It’s a great question. God is all powerful. He’s holy and cannot tolerate anything less.

And yet evil exists. It exists because his own created people decided to listen to someone other than him. Evil exists because the very people he created decided to disobey the one command he gave.

Isn’t it interesting that we will pray, “God, please fix this,” when we have made a big mess?

Well, God does something. Here’s what he says:

And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”(Genesis 3:15 NIV)

The first gospel promise in scripture comes on the heel of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden of Eden. God speaks these words to the serpent who deceived Eve to eat from the tree of good and evil, the only tree in the garden that was off limits.

God could have been angry. God could have been furious. God could have been beside himself.

But God was slow to anger. God was rich in mercy. God abounded in steadfast love.

Enmity: they will know that you are an adversary. You are not looking out for their best interests. You are an enemy. Your are a liar. You are looking for someone to devour.

God doesn’t fool around. Even though the devil prowls around like a lion, the Lord is much more than a lion tamer. The devil might seem strong, but the Lord is going to more than tie him up and plunder his house. (Although he will do just that.) Jesus isn’t going to put the devil in his place with a commanding “Get behind me, Satan!”

Christ comes to crush the enemy. By the time Jesus is done, the adversary is going to look like the car crushed into a small cube of metal before being hauled off for scrap. The one who put enough pressure on carbon to make diamonds is going to put the squeeze on the devil. The pressure at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean? That’s nothing compared to the weight of God’s boot on the neck of Satan. Messiah comes to crush the enemy.

We’ve got a few “rage rooms” in the area. A rage room is “a place for individuals and families to release stress and tension by breaking various items, from dishes and knickknacks to TVs and furniture.” Sweet. They provide you with bats, axes, and sledges so you can smash and scream to your heart’s delight accompanied by blaring music.

For a moment, the temple was Jesus’s rage room, when he cleared out the money changers. But that was just the coming attraction. Just wait till the Christ goes to town on the forces of evil!

Posted in Gospel, Life

Yard sign evangelism?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

On a recent dog-walk around the block, a couple of yard signs caught my eye. A homeowner displayed two familiar (at least to me) scripture verses in front of his or her house.

“Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

“Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die'” (John 11:25).

Classic words filled with gospel truth. As I walked by and got a picture, I wondered, “Who will those signs affect?”

Well, for one, it affected me. That good news certainly resonates with me, a follower of Jesus Christ.

But what if you aren’t a believer? Would a typical non-Christian even know the meaning of the words repent, resurrection, and gospel?

This neighbor’s intentions were good. God’s Word is powerful, creating, saving, and changing people’s lives.

But Jesus never delivered that good news in sound bites. These sentences are part of a relationship Jesus had with people. These words are part of a longer conversation Jesus had with people who were questioning, grieving, struggling, and searching for hope. When Jesus said, “Love your neighbor,” he didn’t mean hand out a brochure, tweet a bible verse, or put up a billboard. He meant get to know them, find out what they need, and then help them with that need. Let them experience the gospel before you talk about it.

Scripture verse signs simply blend in with the For Sale signs, contractor signs, clean-up-after-your-dog signs, political signs, security system signs, no soliciting signs, and yard sale signs scattered throughout the neighborhood.

Let’s honor Jesus with something a little more substantial. God sent the good news in the form of a person. He still does. It’s you.

Posted in preaching

Refreshing

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Second worship service is over, it’s hot and I’m walking out to my car. When I get in, turn the key and fire up the AC, I quickly check my email, just to see if there’s anyone I need to get in touch with that afternoon. There is an email from someone I don’t know that begins, “My family and I worshiped with you this morning at your 8:15 service.” Hmm. I don’t remember meeting any guests this morning. In my mind survey the morning crowd and no one stands out.

The email continued, “How refreshing it was to hear the Gospel this morning.” I can’t think of any other sentence someone could write to me that would touch my heart in such a powerful way. The words of Paul to Christians in Corinth popped into my mind: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16)

There are far too many afternoons when I wonder if I preached the gospel clearly enough. Did I take my listeners to the cross? Did I get them to the empty tomb? Did I faithfully proclaim the death and resurrection of my Lord? Is that what people heard?

When someone comes out of church and says, “Thank you for preaching the gospel,” I am relieved, affirmed, encouraged and thankful. That’s my task. That’s my goal. In fact, That’s all I’ve got. I can’t convince people to trust God. I can’t move them to change their behavior. I can’t answer all their questions or objections. All I have is the gospel, filled with the power of God to inspire faith, create new hearts in us, and calm our worried souls. All I can do is tell them about Jesus.

I wasn’t especially thrilled about my sermon this morning. I think I tried too hard to say too many things. I think I could have done better. Most of the people coming out of church wanted me to have a safe trip to Israel this week or offered consolation because my father died three weeks ago. But this one little bit of feedback reminded me that God can work through someone like me to bring the best news of all to people like me who need to hear it early and often.

Posted in Gospel, Ministry

Sometimes, God opens a window or leaves a door ajar

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash

One of the hardest things to do is wait for an opportunity to proclaim the gospel. As a pastor, I have that opportunity every Sunday morning. But the rest of the week, I have to listen for what I can best describe as door left ajar, a question or a comment that immediately shouts, “Tell them the gospel!” I love it when God simply cracks a window or creates a moment. I had that happen two times in the last month.

The first was a conversation with Brad (not his real name) who was dying, hard to understand, but still hanging on to life. i don’t know if it was a test or a genuine inquiry: “How good do you have to be to get into heaven?” O boy, when I hear that question, I have to take a breath and pull myself together to give them some very good news: you don’t have to be good. Jesus was good enough for you. His righteousness is yours. Heaven is your eternal home because of him. Sentences that fill me with joy; sentences I hope filled him, too.

Moment number two. Visiting Andy, also dying, I asked, “Are you ready?” He said, “I’m scared.” I asked, “What are you afraid of?” He said, “The darkness.”

Once again, I had to take a deep breath and pace myself. I had so much to say, but most importantly, “In [Christ] there is no darkness.” He knew that. He had been faithful for ninety-plus years. He just needed to hear it again.

Short, simple conversations filled with gospel hope. Thank you, Jesus, for being the answer to so many worries, concerns and questions!