“But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations.”  (Mark 13:10  GW)

I have been a Christian for about 40 years, and I have some thoughts about people that are Christians. Most of the Christians, including me, are doing something right, or at least trying to do right. Unless you murdered someone on the way to work, or you’re planning to rob a bank, or something like that. You, and me, we could all do better if we tried. But that’s not what I am talking about today.

Jesus was talking to His disciples about the end times and how they should ‘Be on their guard.’ And then He stopped to say, “But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations.” Then He continued talking about the end-times.   

Let’s break this verse down…

It starts with, “But first, “  

IF we heard Jesus say, “But first…“ we would find out what He wants and do it first! Not second and not third, but FIRST. So, the “But first…” is what He wants, which is,  “… Good News must be spread to all nations.”   

Then Jesus said, “Good News”  

Anything about Jesus is Good News. Jesus teaches us about the Father, and the Holy Spirit carries out the message to the Christians, IF they are willing to listen.  And it all comes down to “a relationship with God and His Kingdom.”     

And this is the one we need to work on, “… must be spread to all nations.”

Remember, Jesus paid a HUGE price for us when He died on the cross. I’m pretty sure Jesus wants to use us so everyone can hear this Good News. Think about it,  “… must be spread to ALL nations.” How could we do that knowing there are 195 countries and 7.7 Billion People in the world. That is quite a lot to think about. Let me give you some tips before you go and sell your house and grab your passport heading out for some distant country. Some of you might be called to do that, but most of you could do this… 

If you have a computer, iPad, iPhone or anything that can get you on the Internet. Why? Like I said, you probably won’t go to all 195 countries, but YOU can still go using your story. Yes, you have a story. EVERYONE who has a way to get their story online can reach around the world. When I first learned how to use a computer (Thanks to Mr. Allen Baker and Rod Anderson) I made sure my story was going to be my first project. 

So, I asked a few people in our youth group if they would be willing to read a ‘letter’ I was going to send out. And I was shocked when people started asking me how they could get this ‘letter.’ It’s funny because I didn’t have any idea how to “put these people” on my list. 

Now, let’s see what that “letter” has done for the Kingdom of God. After 20 years, I’m still writing my ‘letter’ in the form of a blog (a blog is typically one run by an individual or a small group). I call it, The E-quip Devotion and right now it has 565 subscribers and 2,100 on Facebook from around the world. And that doesn’t include Twitter and Linked-In.

The best thing about this is what God does when you post your testimony. Just a few things are… A person was sitting in their home about to commit suicide. She was ready to pull the trigger when my website just appeared on her computer. She didn’t find it, but IT found her. She typed in big letters, CAN YOU HELP ME? We responded back and forth, sent her a Bible, she got saved and her family. The last time I talked to her she was working at her church and opening a place where people can get Biblical help in their time of crisis. 

Tell me how awesome that is! When God uses my website to do His work, it makes me so grateful that I had my little website in the mix of the 7.7 Billion people in the world. Now, tell me, when are YOU going to  allow God to use the testimony He gave to you… so He can reach someone else?

Remember, “But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations.”  (Mark 13:10  GW) 

In my next “letter“ I will give you some tips to writing your testimony. 

Pastor Kevin Kinchen

kevinkinchen@gmail.com

IS JESUS OUT OF HIS MIND? 

Then He went to a house. Another crowd gathered so that Jesus and His disciples could not even eat. When His FAMILY heard about it, they went to get Him. They said, “HE’S OUT OF HIS MIND!”  Mark 3:20-21 (AMP, GW)

Look what other versions of the Bible call it…

“Beside Himself, deranged, carried away with Himself, get Him under control, He is insane, He is off His head.” And those things are what His own FAMILY was saying. Why did they say those things about Jesus? Well, His family was not used to seeing Him like this, not eating and “working” all the time. I read this from a commentary…

“Thomas Edison worked in his laboratory hours upon end without food or sleep. As he approached the discovery of the incandescent light, trays of food went untouched and his family feared that he would collapse from the lack of sleep.”   

When a person is creative in their work, work they love, and on the discovery of a lifetime, everything else will have to take second place. When I wrote my book, The Secret Place, Revealed, I realized that too many years of procrastination had passed. In fact, I felt like God was telling me, “If you don’t write the book NOW you won’t ever write the book.“ That was a strong message and I was going to do something about it. 

Thankfully, God had a plan. We signed up for a weekend course on “How To Write and Publish Your Book” They have the best Blueprint for writing a book. I could not have written my book without their Blueprint.   

Some of our best friends asked me, Why is it taking you so long to finish your book? I said, DISTRACTIONS. I need to be alone with God. 

They pulled out a calendar, their cell phone, and  before I could blink they had me booked on a plane to Aruba. They also booked me in a condominium and a credit card for food. But… there was one thing. I could not come back until I finished my book. I was with God and writing for ONE MONTH! People always say, “Well at least you had those beautiful beaches to relax in.“ Well, ummm I never touched the water or the sand because I was there to write a book. I know that’s CRAZY right? I must be OUT OF MY MIND…..   

In Him, 

Pastor Kevin Kinchen  

kevinkinchen@gmail.com