News

"'Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.' His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."

--Acts 5:38-42 

Today at church the sermon was about getting outside our comfort zones.  It made me start thinking about a class I went to last summer where a seminary student intern we had on staff made the point that when we share the "good news," it has to be good, and it has to be news.


Somehow I connected these two thoughts today, and I realized we'll never really have news, not good enough to be front-page material anyway, if we fail to abandon our comfy chairs and our fuzzy slippers and follow the direction of the Spirit regardless of where it takes us.  We're not here to be comfortable.  We're not here to watch TV and play Angry Birds.  We're here to share the good news about what Jesus has done for us with everyone we possibly can.  Anything less is disobedience by inertia.  


What has God done in your life lately that would qualify as a personal testimony to the the redeeming power of Jesus' death and resurrection?  If you can't think of anything, you're too comfortable.  You're not living.  God has no opportunities to do amazing things in your life because you're not willing to be uncomfortable and then trust Him to show up.  "I was saved and then I went home and sat in my living room for the next 10 years" is neither news, nor is it good.  "I was saved, and then I was never the same again.  Let me tell you about it."  That sounds like the start of some stop-the-presses, dramatic news that deserves to be told.  


I've heard people ask, "What do you want to be doing when Jesus comes back?"  I've thought about that question dozens of times, until tonight, when I threw it out the window and decided the real question is: "What do you want to be doing now, while Jesus is watching your every move from His seat at the right hand of the Father in heaven?"  Do you want to be a newsmaker? Or would you rather sit in your chair at home and watch the news other people are making instead?


In His service,


Stephanie