Read Romans 1:16-17
A teenaged boy was preparing to push‐out his jon boat to fish. He’d become known for the prolific number of fish he’d bring home and it aroused some suspicion. A Missouri Department of Conservation officer approached the lad and asked if he could join him. They paddled out to the center of the lake together. The boy then pulled a stick of dynamite from his tackle box and lit the fuse. The officer told him what he was about to do was against the law. The boy handed the officer the smoking stick of powder and asked, “Are you gonna fish, or are you gonna talk?”
The original word for “power” in Romans 1:16 is dunamis—where the word “dynamite” comes from. The message of Jesus Christ is powerful! We sometimes think we need to convince others to believe, but faith comes from hearing God’s powerful, life‐giving Word (Romans 10:17). We cannot argue someone into God’s kingdom. This is not to say that we shouldn’t be ready to share the reason for the hope we have in Jesus (1 Peter 3:15). This is intended to remind you of your part and God’s part. As you pray daily for the people God put in your life and spend time with them, showing true care, God will provide opportunities to share the Gospel. And that reality creating Word will do its work!
One more analogy...
While delivering newspapers as a teenager, I bicycled into a neighborhood and saw a crowd gathered around an unconscious man. EMTs charged their defibrillator and applied shock paddles, sending a charge of Joules into that man. He appeared to come back to life. That man didn’t choose to regain consciousness. He didn’t consider his options. The power of that electrical charge made him alive. So it is with the Gospel: it is the power of God for our salvation!
A teenaged boy was preparing to push‐out his jon boat to fish. He’d become known for the prolific number of fish he’d bring home and it aroused some suspicion. A Missouri Department of Conservation officer approached the lad and asked if he could join him. They paddled out to the center of the lake together. The boy then pulled a stick of dynamite from his tackle box and lit the fuse. The officer told him what he was about to do was against the law. The boy handed the officer the smoking stick of powder and asked, “Are you gonna fish, or are you gonna talk?”
The original word for “power” in Romans 1:16 is dunamis—where the word “dynamite” comes from. The message of Jesus Christ is powerful! We sometimes think we need to convince others to believe, but faith comes from hearing God’s powerful, life‐giving Word (Romans 10:17). We cannot argue someone into God’s kingdom. This is not to say that we shouldn’t be ready to share the reason for the hope we have in Jesus (1 Peter 3:15). This is intended to remind you of your part and God’s part. As you pray daily for the people God put in your life and spend time with them, showing true care, God will provide opportunities to share the Gospel. And that reality creating Word will do its work!
One more analogy...
While delivering newspapers as a teenager, I bicycled into a neighborhood and saw a crowd gathered around an unconscious man. EMTs charged their defibrillator and applied shock paddles, sending a charge of Joules into that man. He appeared to come back to life. That man didn’t choose to regain consciousness. He didn’t consider his options. The power of that electrical charge made him alive. So it is with the Gospel: it is the power of God for our salvation!