Preach the Gospel to yourself - Daily
1 Corinthians 15:1,2 tells us this:
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
Why do we, Christians, need to be reminded of what the gospel is?
Don't we already know it?
When I first heard this some years back - it really bewildered me, but the more I considered this statement - the more it made sense.
I need to remind myself - daily - if not hourly - of the most incredible Love ever displayed in the history of mankind -
God's one and only Son - came to earth - put on human flesh and died in our place - Jesus died the sinners death.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1 Peter 3:17-19, "For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit..."
1 Corinthians 15:3-8, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."
So, preaching the gospel to myself slowly became a daily meditation.
Tiffany, because God is so rich in mercy and because of the great love with which he loves us, even when you were dead in your trespasses, He made you alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved!
Tiffany, Jesus came and destroyed the power of the devil through His death. Jesus did this to make you free from the fear of death. You no longer need to be in chains.
Tiffany, remember this love - He was pierced for your offenses, He was crushed for your wrongdoings; The punishment for your well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds you are healed!
(Isaiah 53:5)
Tiffany, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bear with another, and forgive just as the Lord forgave you, and above all - put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity!
Tiffany, stand firm and be rooted and established in love today so that you can have power, together with all the God's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, oh so that you do not forget His great love and that you get to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!
Preaching the gospel to ourselves helps us recenter our focus, our desires,our priorites, and it reminds us of Jesus' love, kindness, goodness, mercy, forgiveness, and purpose for our lives.
It can also help us when we go through seasons of life when discouragenment, fear. and doubt hit us.
Preaching the gospel to ourselves reminds of the promises of God and His faithfulness in all seasons of life.
Preaching the gospel to yourself comes with mindfulness and discipline.
I find having a running conversation with the Lord throughout the day is helpful while meditating on Scripture.
I pray this blesses you today - and always.