All photos courtesy of Unsplash
Some people love talking, sometimes they have something that they are desperate to tell you and actually it is not very interesting at all!
However, some news is really worth telling and can be exciting or even life-changing to hear.
The Lord Jesus told His disciples to go from town to town preaching the Gospel, the Good News, of the Kingdom of God. He told them not to worry about what they would need, or what they should take but that He would provide for them. The disciples went through the towns and cities preaching the message that they had been given and displaying the power of God.
Some people just would not believe! The Lord Jesus told His disciples that if people would not believe then they had to shake the dust from off their sandals as a sign of the city’s unbelief! It was as if the disciples were saying I have told you this astounding news and if you will not accept it, we are off to preach it to others who will embrace this message of love from God.
It is a fearful thing to reject God’s message! The Good News that God has for us is that even though we are sinners who have offended God with our sin, He still loves us. The Bible tells us that God has demonstrated this love to us in giving His perfect Son, Jesus Christ to die on a cross taking our punishment!
This message deserves our response!
God requires that we turn from our sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and in what He has done on the cross for us.
What is your response, do you embrace God’s love through faith?
Or do you reject the message or maybe put it off to another time! Well, we are not promised tomorrow, we do not know what a day will bring forth! When the message was rejected, the disciples were told to shake the dust from their feet and move on, the people would not hear it again.
The Jewish people knew what this meant. When they visited a Gentile village, they literally shook the dust from their sandals and clothes so as not to bring the heathen soil back to their village. It was a gesture of disgust and disapproval. God loves us and wants us to have our sins forgiven and He longs for that!
However, if we reject the message of God, we are in fact rejecting His Son Jesus Christ and God will be disapproving of our unbelief! The shaking off of the dust reflected that God’s character is righteous and loving, but He cannot tolerate or excuse our unbelief and rejection of the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is interesting that the disciples of the Lord were sent in His day and are also sent today. If by God’s grace you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, then, in Mark 16, He has left you a commission. ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel!’
This will prove the reality of you being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not all will be great public preachers, but if we know the greatest news we can ever hear, then we will want to tell our family and friends. As we tell others, they may not listen, they may reject the message, but the Lord Jesus Himself said, ‘He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.’ We must present the most wonderful message of love that can change not just our lives but change our eternal destiny.
What is your opinion of the Good News of Jesus Christ, is it the greatest news you have ever heard?
Written by Stuart Scammell for Messages with Meaning (14/07/21) & Your542Day
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