A Great Story - Pt. 1

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1:14-20 ESV).

 

Today we are beginning a new “mini-series.” I’ve titled it “A Great Story.” I suppose the idea for the series comes as a result of the impending publishing of my latest book. We are in the last stages of development of the artwork for the cover and it will then go to print. I’m told that it will get more exposure through the electronic version of it rather than the actual printed version. Either is fine, though my preference is to actually hold a book that I’m reading. I guess that makes me old fashioned. It is a work of fiction, which is unusual for me. My other works were all devotional works. I am a bit anxious about the release and hope that it is entertaining. From the early reviews and editing, I have been told it is a “great story.”  When Mary finished reading the final edit, she simply said, “How did you think of all of that stuff?” It does have some twists and turns in the plot, which is the journey of Texas declaring independence.

 

Good story or not, time will tell; these devotionals are about a Great Story. The word we translate as “gospel” means “good news.” Good news is exciting; it normally triggers joyful responses like cheers and “high fives.” But we don’t always have good news in mind when we read the Bible. Often we read the Bible more like good advice than good news. Or it may seem more like a stern warning or an important restriction. When our reading of Scripture sounds like anything other than good news, it’s usually a sign that we’re not reading very carefully. The Bible tells us what God has done to fix a problem that we could never fix on our own. While the Bible describes what we should do in response to what God has done, the main point of the story isn’t what we need to do, but rather what God has already done. The burden of pleasing God has been taken off our shoulders and transferred to Christ’s.

 

There are really only two ways to respond to the Bible. One is to say, “I’ll try harder.” That’s how people often respond to good advice. The other is to say, “Thank you.” That’s how people often respond to good news. When you open the Bible, I hope you will find good news. It is indeed a GREAT story! It isn’t a wonder at all when the first disciples were told to leave what they were doing and follow Jesus that they dropped everything and did so. They saw the greatness of the gospel and were willing to abandon everything else in favor of following Him. That is the greatness of the Gospel. My hope for each of you is that same kind of abandonment in favor of the great journey He will lead you to take!