September 9, 2010 Good News 4

"The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, just beautiful. Fall seems to be coming on, and I love fall. Maybe I love fall because I am in the fall of my life and fast coming into winter. Praise God, that means it will soon be time to live not just for Jesus but face to face with Him...

Today, Thursday, it is families and schools day on this line, and remember as we pray for those, please pray for the family of God and please pray for my family as I pray for yours. Other prayers needed for Vicki and again I ask, please keep this lady covered in prayer as she readies for surgery on Monday. Also and I am getting more information on this. Please pray for Zach whose eyes have opened yesterday. Zach must have been in an accident, he has 42 broken bones, his pelvis and bladder are shattered and one arm also, and his brain is bleeding. Pray for Dallas (the person) who had brain surgery. And also pray for Dallas (the city) where twisters touched down yesterday, and you do see the s on twisters? Also pray for Carry The Light Ministries as we get ready for our annual push for the food bank. We only send out one letter for support. If your church or business would like to gather food for us, please let me know. Last year we helped 101 families at Christmas and many throughout this year, stocking complete kitchens with food after fires. This year we are asking the Lord for a number again. Will it go over 101, that will be all up to God, but whatever He gives us, we will get done, for He never gives us a job and does not supply the tools to get it done.

Good News 4: Mark 1:14 - After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come." He said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (NIV)

Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (NIV)

Let's take a look at the first scripture first. (Makes sense to me.) John the Baptist had been placed in jail and that is a message for another day, but that did not stop Jesus who went on proclaiming the good news. What this is telling me, is regardless of what happens to a friend or a family member along the way, we must not stop preaching and teaching the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. If you notice Jesus does not just tell us or command us to do things, He, Himself also teaches us by example, but doing those things. As we we move to verse 15 of Mark 1 - "The time has come," He said. "The kingdom of God is near." On that part of the scripture Jesus is telling us that it is indeed time we get to work telling the good news and He even gives us the reason, what is the reason. "The Kingdom of God is near." Now some people laugh at that I guess, I don't, for I know the Kingdom of God is near. I think Jesus was telling us that one day soon this world will get that recall notice, but until that day, and listen to me on this. The kingdom of God arrives for some people, and others, well they have missed it. None of us knows the hour or the day when Jesus will return, not even Jesus knows that, and we also do not know the day or hour that we might get the one on one call home. Think about that real hard. The Kingdom of God is near and today it might arrive for all of us, or just a few of us. Heart attack, stroke, cancer, accidents, floods, fires, Jesus is telling us the Kingdom of God is near and I am telling you right now, it could be today and it will be today for a lot of people. Am I wrong? So with that said, let's look at the rest of that verse. "Repent and believe the good news!" Folks, we can read about the good news, and if you really want to read good news go to your Bible, but wait a minute, what good is that good news, if indeed you do not repent (turn from sin) and believe it?

I know of people who say they are Christians, and folks, that word is used so wrong and I ask this from my heart. How can anyone be a Christian if they do not follow the footsteps of Jesus? Will we slip and fall once in a while, I have, but with the help of Jesus I have gotten up, dusted off and went right back on following Him. I have repented from my sins, but still mess up once in a while, and I believe the good news of Christ found in our Bibles and I believe the Bible from front to back, and yes, I do believe creation took six 24 hour days and God rested on the seventh. If you don't believe one part of the Bible, how can you believe any of it? IT IS THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD. It says to repent and believe. I again find it hard when people say they are Christians, like our president does, and yet he still believes in the killing of OUR UNBORN BABIES. How can anyone say they are Christ-like, which is what being a Christian means, if they believe in abortion, or in gay marriages or living outside of marriage? And I could go on and on... How can people say they are Christians and use His name in vain or cut open prayer out of meetings? Jesus prayed in the open and also had quiet time.

So let's look at those words of Jesus one more time... REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS. Don't just believe it, REPENT AND BELIEVE IT.

And that final scripture. of today... Mark 16:15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." We should do just that, if we are indeed a Christian, then we need to be taking that good news, the same good news that Jesus preached about, and tell it far and wide. Tell it to all creation, and remember this, and a lot of people just might not think about it, all the world, includes your next door neighbors and those in your neighborhood. And sometimes we cannot go to those far off lands but we can support with dollars and prayer those who do.

Dear Father in Heaven, we really want to be like Jesus, in our hearts, so today help us to repent and believe that good news, for Lord, what good is good news if we fail to believe it? Most of what our governments call good news is lies, but we believe You, 100% of the time. Lord. bless our schools and our families and I pray today for the family of God that it grows. Be with Zack, dear Lord, and heal all those broken bones, we know that doctors cannot mend broken bones, but You can, Lord. Heal broken hearts today, and Lord, look after Vicki. Lord, thanks for our Bibles and the Word from You in them and thanks, Lord, for hearing our prayers. Thanks for running this line and using me to help. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Go forth, repent, believing the good news and sharing it and your blessings with others. Love ya, Pastor Dan.