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Triumphal Procession

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The apostle Paul worked tirelessly for the sake of the Good News Gospel. He endured hardship that most of us will never comprehend – all because of His love for Jesus Christ. But Paul was still human, and even someone of his caliber makes mistakes.

Paul reveals one of his mistakes in Chapter 2 of Second Corinthians. He says, “Now when I went to Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind…so I said good-bye to them and went on to Macedonia.”

Paul admits that the Lord opened a door for Him to share the Good News in Troas, but he didnt do it. Instead, he left. Paul disobeyed the Holy Spirits leading.

And yet, the great thing about this passage is what Paul writes next. “But thanks be to God,” he says, “who always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”

God is so much bigger than the mistakes we make! Paul realized that, and its an important reminder for you and me as well. If you have disobeyed the Holy Spirit, simply confess it to the Lord. Ask for another opportunity, and for the boldness to do what Hes called you to do. God will use you again, in tremendous ways!

Don’t Hinder the Gospel

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What’s your attitude toward evangelism? The apostle Paul had an attitude of unquenchable optimism and zeal. In First Corinthians 9 he says, “We put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ.” Then a little later the apostle writes, “Woe to me if I don’t proclaim the Gospel.” What a fabulous outlook to have on evangelism! Paul didn’t let anything stop him from sharing the Good News, and neither should you and I.

When our organization started evangelizing through outdoor music festivals, seven years ago, I had never heard of most of the Christian contemporary bands that would perform. Now, I know almost all of them and I like these musicians big time. I grew up on hymns, you see I’m old, and that’s still my personal and private way to worship.

I often say to people, “Do you think that I personally go for that kind music? You must be crazy!” But, I do like the kids who like that music and therefore, we put up with it for the sake of the kids who will hear God’s Good News thanks to first class contemporary Christian music.

We are to put no obstacle, not even tradition, in the way of the Gospel. The apostle Paul broke a lot of rules — not divine rules, but man-made rules, so that there’d be no hindrance to the Gospel. Let’s have the same viewpoint as Paul did, and not let secondary issues of personal taste distract us from evangelism!