Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

This verse should be engraved on the heart of every believer in the world. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be. Far too many Christians seem to be embarrassed, or at least apologetic, for the Gospel. Not understanding that it is “the power of God for the salvation of all who believe,” they fail to proclaim it, or even to stand firm on it when pressed by those who follow one lie or another of the devil. Not only do they fail to win converts that way, they lose much of the joy and victory of being a child of God themselves. We have a strong tendency to take what we see as “the easy way out” of any situation, not realizing that it is seldom if ever the way to joy peace, fruitfulness, and blessing. In the letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus repeatedly refers to “him who overcomes.” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5,12, 21) You don’t overcome by hiding or running away! Anyone who says, “If the Gospel was powerful enough to save me, it can save anybody,” is a long way down the road to overcoming. We need to discard the nonsense of “political correctness” and call sin, sin, and call Jesus Lord, speaking the truth in love so that people will be set free from the deceptive traps of the devil.

I think I’m personally on fairly firm ground here, but as a pastor, I want every believer to join me! In America, social Christianity makes it very easy to say one thing and do another, and that has hobbled many Christians and churches. In Japan, the ideas of “don’t rock the boat” and “don’t intrude into someone’s personal space” have combined to make personal evangelism a rare thing indeed. God doesn’t like either of those situations! I need to speak the truth in love, but the difficulty is, because I’m a Caucasian, I am seen as “other,” and thus not a valid example to be followed. On top of that, I’m a “professional Christian,” and that makes people of all racial backgrounds put me in a separate category. I can’t change that myself, but God can work in people’s hearts and minds to change how they perceive me and perceive themselves, and that’s what I need to pray and work for. I know that God desires a bold, vibrant, loving Church even more than I do, so I can pray with assurance that I am in His will, offering myself as His instrument toward that goal.

Father, You are continuing to do very good things among us. Thank You for all the lessons You are teaching us along the way. Thank You for the recent change to written prayer requests every Sunday, prayed over generally at the time and specifically at Wednesday prayer meeting. There are more changes we need to make. Help us recognize them and be willing to grow as You direct. May we indeed walk in the assurance that the Gospel is Your power for salvation, rejoicing not only to receive it ourselves but to communicate it to those around us, for a massive harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!