I have a friend who is always reminding me that believers need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day because it's not only has the power to save us but the power to transform our lives.
This got me thinking about the house I grew up in. It was
a big old farm house with a wood burning stove in the basement and in the winter the heat only reached the main floor. The second floor where we slept was frigid cold so every evening the only place to be was in the warm “big room” on the main floor. I remember the rest of the house being dark in the evenings because everyone was in that big room. The room held enough chairs for everyone and since we didn’t have a TV, we were entertained by reading, games, music, listening to my mom read to us or wrestling around on the big rug in the center of the room. There was a sameness about each evening spent there but the warmth, fellowship and light played a part in shaping who I am. It was necessary for me to be in that big room each night but it was also very good for me.
I’m beginning to learn the necessity and goodness that comes from spending some time with the gospel every day. As I go through the practice of “preaching” it to myself each day I'm always surprised with what I come away with. No matter what it's wrapped in, the result is always more freedom! I need more of that and it's so good for me! As I walk up to that empty cross today I remember that it brought about my spiritual birth and it will continue to raise me up into the person God’s created me to be. So today I preach it to myself….
I need to remember that before Christ, I was on the throne of my life, serving myself and celebrating my freedom from God’s authority in my life but unaware that sin was my only choice.
I need to remember that I was unable to do anything about the ocean of sin, guilt and wrath that separated me from God.
I need to remember how God came to me in my rebellion and blindness with his unconditional, eternal love by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to live the sinless life I couldn’t live.
I need to remember that God asked Jesus to go to the cross and drink up that ocean of my sin, my guilt and eternal wrath and that Jesus responded and went willingly to the cross for me.
I need to remember that God accepted Jesus suffering and death in place of my own and he raised Jesus from that eternal death to his rightful place in heaven.
I need to remember that Jesus’ death and resurrection has made a way for me to be in fellowship with God as I believe in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross that ransoms me.
I need to remember that I am now free to worship God who is on the throne and glorify him, for I am his for all eternity, bought with the greatest price.
This is how I “preached” the gospel to myself today. It’s a little different every day as I meditate on it and ask God to help me understand and express it.
So, start preaching it to yourself! Just like the big room, go there every day and let the gospel transform your life!
