How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news....

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”.  Romans 10:13-15

There is so much that can be said about this passage of scripture, but this is what the Lord gave to me to share as I meditated on it........

What is the good news? It is the very word of God.  The word of God is absolute and synonymous with truth.  Hebrews 4:12 says of the Word:  For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. It is definitive, as clearly illustrated by this Hebrews scripture.  If it is able to divide soul and spirit, joint and marrow then it is precise, exact, definitive.  It stands alone as the very word of God.  All of us who are born again believers in Christ Jesus are called to bring the good news to all who do not believe and to encourage those who do believe.  The word of God speaks to every situation, every hurt, pain and sorrow - every need.  Those who carry the Gospel to those who are lost - how beautiful are their feet.  Those of us who are believers in Christ Jesus must teach, preach and share the authentic word of God to the world - unashamed of it's message.  I truly believe that the reason many people reject Christ is because they have come into contact with people professing to be a follower of Christ, but have either presented a convoluted version of the Gospel or are living completely contrary to what it commands.

What an awesome responsibility it is to preach the Gospel.  What a burden it is to preach the Gospel - to know that when you get up to proclaim the god news, depending on what you say, it will either lead people to Christ and all of the freedom that is found in Him or send them away confused with a word that is not authentic.  I cannot imagine the personal sacrifice that pastors make in order to preach the Gospel and I lift them up in prayer continually.  I was talking to a very close friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, who happens to be a preacher.  I shot him a text one Sunday morning and said that I was praying for him as he proclaimed the Gospel that morning. He responded asking me to pray because he was not sure what the end of his sermon was going to be.  I responded by saying "good, total dependence on God" .  His last text was yes, I like that - total dependence on God.  This is indicative of the struggles that preachers of the Gospel go through.  That deep desire for the flesh to decrease and for God to be glorified, and say to His people what He wants them to hear.  That is a great burden that I can only in part, understand.

I was listening to a preacher of the Gospel a while ago who preached a very good sermon.  I learned some things from that sermon that enhanced my growth and Biblical knowledge, and was blessed by that.  There was one statement,  however, that the preacher made that troubled me.  He said that the pastor is our covering - he or she can get a prayer through when we can't.  I found this statement to be a dangerous one because if  those hearing it actually believe that statement is true, then they will put their trust in the pastor or a preacher, and when that person falls or disappoints or does not come through for them - it may cause them to fall away from God.  All because of a distorted word.  Jesus is our covering.  He is the only one qualified to cover because of His sinless life and sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.  Because of that sacrifice we can go beyond the veil into the very presence of God and commune with Him without assistance from man.  We should call on one another to pray for each other, but the freedom comes in knowing that if we cannot communicate with anyone else;  if we cannot get to the telephone or the internet is down, or our text messaging system is down - we can go directly to God through Jesus Christ and make our petitions known to the One who already knows all about us and our situation.  I bring up this example not to say anything bad about the one who made the statement, but rather to let it serve as an example of how careful we all have to be when proclaiming the Word of God.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.  To those who share the Gospel in grocery stores, on the bus, on the job, on the street, at the gas station, in our homes.  We have to take the Gospel to the world and show those who do not know Him who He is.  The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation of everyone who believes.   And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard - it is a charge for the preacher, yes.  But it is also a charge for all believers in Jesus Christ to bring the good news to those who are lost.

Be blessed....and let's continue to grow together in Him