The Goodnews is . . .

"The good news is that in Jesus Christ we finally find what our hearts truly long for and thirst after, that which our idols can promise only in vain. It is the good news that we do not have to live in fear of God’s condemnation anymore. No matter how great our sins may be, God promises we can now be completely forgiven through Christ’s shed blood in our place.

"It is the good news that we do not need to be crippled by the fear of rejection anymore, always building and defending our reputation, for we can know the riches of God’s eternal acceptance through Christ’s perfect righteousness, counted to be ours through faith.

"It is the good news that we don’t need to go on living and feeling like unloved spiritual orphans anymore, for we can now know the comfort of Jesus Christ as our compassionate older brother, the one “who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin” (Heb 4:15).

"It is the good news that, although we can grieve and displease God because of our sin, there is nothing we can do to cause our Heavenly Father to love us any less, and there is nothing we can do to cause him to love us any more. God’s love for us in Christ is the same eternal love he has always had for his one and only Son. Because we are his children, God promises to use all the trials of our lives not for our punishment but for our good, to help us grow and mature to be all he designed us to be (Heb 12:10).

"It is the good news that no matter how alone we may find ourselves in this life, no matter how many people may leave us, we can always know the intimate communion of God’s Holy Spirit who promises never to leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5). His love for us is eternal; he chose us to be in Christ before the creation of the world, and he promises that the work he began in us, he will bring to completion on that final day in heaven (Phil 1:6). In the meantime, he promises to come alongside us to comfort, encourage and transform us through all our trials. He promises always to be near to the brokenhearted (Ps 34:18).

"It is the good news that no matter how intense or enslaving our present struggle with sin may be, we no longer need to be in bondage to sin’s dominion over our lives. Although sin’s influence will always be with us, sin’s dominion over our lives has been broken through the cross (Rom 6). It is the good news that we can now finally be free from that sin which has held us in bondage for so long.

"It is the good news that one day all of our struggles will be over and God will bring us home to heaven. We are now pilgrims passing through a land that is not our own, on our way to our home, the Celestial City (Bunyan 1872a)--a place where God promises he will wipe away every tear from our eyes. He promises that he will make all things new. We will be made new in both soul and body. All creation will be made new. He promises that in the new heavens and the new earth there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away (Rev 21:4)." ~Steven L. Childers (True Spirituality: The Transforming Power of the Gospel)