Portland Sun
PORTLAND WEATHER

Weekly Devotional: Be a good news deliverer




Weekly Devotional: Be a good news deliverer

Weekly Devotional: Be a good news deliverer

Anyone here like to receive good news? We will all sign up for that. Doesn’t it seem like we are immediately at ease when a conversation begins with, “Hey, I got some good news for you…”  Unfortunately, we know that all news is not good news but the good news we get is certainly better than any bad news that comes our way. The Holy Bible is filled with good news.

The word “Gospel” literally means, “Good News.”  There is no greater news than this that Jesus came to this world and took on our sins by dying for us on a cross for the forgiveness of sin. Believers in Christ trust that God then raised Jesus from the dead and that all people that call upon the name of Jesus will be saved.

Again, no greater news than that. In 1 Thessalonians, found in the New Testament, we see an account of someone else receiving good news. I encourage you to read 1 Thessalonians for yourself and be reminded of many wonderful truths that are communicated through this book of the Bible.

I Thessalonians was written by the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica in response of some good news that he had received.  You will read in the beginning of Thessalonians that young Timothy and Silas had traveled to Corinth to visit the apostle. Paul was only in Thessalonica for about three weeks or so as he planted the church. Three weeks into his time in Thessalonica, persecution had again come against him and he was removed from the area.

This was not the Apostle Paul’s first rodeo dealing with persecution. The Bible teaches us that he had also recently experienced similar persecution in Philippi. Not long after he was removed from Thessalonica, Paul found himself in Corinth. This is where the good news comes into play.  Young Timothy and Silas traveled to see Paul letting him know that the new church was off to a great start.  Although Paul wasn’t there to see it, these two men had communicated to the apostle that the Lord was at work in the hearts of the people in Thessalonica. This was a huge deal.  

Thessalonica was religiously pluralistic and many lost people were around (sounds familiar).  Although the apostle was only there a brief time, the Lord was stirring the hearts of the people. Recently, I asked our congregation a question – what is it that makes a church grow? It is not the budget; it is not what ministry offerings the church has.  A church grows when the Holy Spirit works through the lives of people that are hungry for Jesus.  Apparently, the people of Thessalonica were hungry for Jesus!   

After hearing this good news from Timothy and Silas, Paul pens this letter to the church, thanking the Lord for how He is at work in their lives.  There are so many things we can learn from this great book in the Bible.  I will let you read through this letter and allow the Lord to speak to your heart on what He wants to show you.  The purpose of this article is for us to take a look at the two men that came to share this news with the apostle.

We know that Timothy was a younger fellow that Paul had greatly influenced.  Timothy’s father was Greek and his mother was Jewish. Timothy had a deep love for the scriptures and was a loyal friend to his mentor, Paul. Silas was not only a faithful friend to Paul but was also a faith-filled friend to our Lord.  Silas was a traveling companion with Paul that also was persecuted for his faith. Silas was imprisoned with Paul and was there with him in both the good and bad times.  

We can learn a lot through these two brothers in Christ. It has been said that life is good but it is much better with friends. What about you?  Are you a faithful and a faith-filled friend to others?  Are you willing to walk through the valley with someone that God has put in your life? It is tempting to be a fair-weathered friend rather than a loyal friend. Some times when things get tough, “friends” can disappear.  

A few years ago I had to preach a funeral of a high school buddy that took his own life.  My friend John was a great guy that battled with addictions pretty much his entire adult life.  I would visit John when he was incarcerated and would encourage him in sobriety during his time of not being in jail.  John couldn’t seem to get away from these “friends” that kept bringing him down. For years, John and a handful of these guys would use alcohol and illegal drugs to escape from any and all responsibility.

John lost his family in the process.  Anyone that knew John could see what was coming down the road for him. One terrible night John decided to end his life. My heart broke for John and his family. What struck me as interesting was that none of these so called friends of his even came to the funeral or visit him at the funeral home – pretty sad if you ask me.  

Not only were Timothy and Silas faithful and faith-filled to our Lord and a loyal friend to the Apostle but they were also bearers of good news. In todays upside down world that is filled with bad news lets choose to share good news. As believers in Christ we always need to share good news about the Good News!  We can all probably do a better job of that.  Most world events and general bad news in our society, people know about.  Rather than wasting our breath and sharing bad news that people already know about, let’s choose to be “Good News Deliverers” Not only would it put pep in the step of those we share with but it would also serve our souls well also.

Read I Thessalonians and allow the Lord to speak to your heart today.

Tim Colovos is the pastor of First Baptist Church Portland. 

Leave a Reply