True Good News

Shalom.

Today was another blessed and beautiful day at Open Hands Evangelistic Ministries. Today was an extra special day since our Minister Tony Smith was officially elevated to the office of Pastor. We thank God for him and his obedience to God.

The word was brought forth through Minister Tony Smith. He wasn't actually "Pastor" until after the 3pm ceremony. ^_^) The Lord used him to remind us to keep the truth in the Gospel. And the Gospel means Good News. It is the Good News that Jesus Christ was born, obeyed God, served the people, died on the cross for you and me and was risen to life on the third day after his death. The preacher demonstrated for us how the message of the Good News was initially distorted and how it remains distorted through the ages (see Matthew 28). The preacher also informed us of just how important of a message the Gospel is and how serious it is that the message not be given with distortions or with upgrades or modifications (see Galatians 1:6-9). He informed us just how far off base we have become as a church body. Our focus has so easily become lost. We have forgotten about the lost souls, the people that God wanted to bring back into right relationship with Himself.

Minister Tony so eloquently expressed to us the urgency of keeping the truth in the gospel. We were reminded that there are people's lives at stake. He reminded us of the sin sickness that is plaguing this country. He pointed out that this country is in dire need of the Gospel and that the Gospel can't be altered or doctored up because the end result will be something far less powerful than what God intended.

The preacher could not do enough to make it known that the lost souls should be our main priority as a body of believers. We should not be coming to church week after week just to pump each other up and not effect change in someone's life that doesn't know Christ as their personal savior. It was a reminder that we still have work to do. It was reminder that we have not completed our purpose on this earth. It was a reminder that we need to be ready to use whatever God placed in us to help direct the lost to Christ.

(It is no surprise that Minister Tony was elevated to Pastor.)

Blessings.