For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…..
While talking to a new acquaintance recently, I was very disturbed to find out that this person not only does not believe that God or the Bible is real, but this person also believes that everything that is here in this world, in our universe, and everything that happens to us and around us is merely coincidental and happenstance.
As I began to really let those words sink into my brain that has been inundated with Scripture and Biblical doctrine from the day I was born, I truly found it difficult to even comprehend how someone could possibly believe in NOTHING. Even knowing the very little I know about science and the world around me, it is so evident to me that all that we do know HAS to point to some Higher Power that was the Mastermind and Creator of all things. The human body alone is such an amazing machine that it simply HAD to have been created by a Creator. Seriously, the body is the only thing in this world that when injured or broken can, given enough time, heal itself completely. If I drop my iPhone and crack the screen, the screen will remain cracked forever unless I take it to a repair shop to have the screen replaced, yet in the late ‘90s when I was in a car accident and broke my right leg, the bones in my leg grew back together allowing me to walk and run now, almost twenty years later, as if nothing had ever happened to it. How could that possibly be happenstance? I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have eyes that see the truth around me and a soul that knoweth right well that He is God and Creator of this universe.
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:14
Moving past what I believe is a fundamental acceptance that everything HAD to have been created at some point, my mind then began to ponder the amazing story of the Gospel. Jesus Christ, who was 100% God and 100% man, was born of a virgin and lived a life of utter perfection for 33 years until He was crucified on a cross so that His blood would cover my sins, and then He went even further by resurrecting from the dead three days later and ascending into Heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father, my God, until the day of His second coming. WOW!!!! What an amazing thing to put my faith in!! What peace I have on any given day because I know that my Redeemer lives, and I know that I am bound for Heaven some day. God, in His goodness and mercy, allowed me to be born in America, born to Christian parents, raised in church, and surrounded by some of the greatest Christian pastors and laymen of our time, all so that I would know Him and accept Him as my Abba Father. I am so blessed beyond all measure and comprehension to be His child, and I know that my Father in Heaven would not that ANY should perish. He WANTS all to believe and accept Him as God in their lives. What a mighty, amazing, and wonderful God we serve!
“For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord, SHALL BE SAVED.” Romans 10:13
However, in all my joy and peace over my own security in the Lord, I am still greatly troubled that my new friend does not accept and believe as I do. I am burdened for this soul that is lost and wandering through life searching for answers that are often left up to faith to find, yet faith is the one thing that is missing. My heart is heavy as I search my brain and limited knowledge for answers that might turn the opinion of such a person to Christ. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day. I know that God knows, and I pray that God will use me in some way everyday to help guide others to Him, FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16