Good morning people whose lives are signposts to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:1 MEV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still the central message of the church.

Jesus Christ was sent from heaven by the Father. Love was the motivation and salvation was the mission. You and I are saved because of the Good News about Jesus!

The power and beauty of the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 was 3,000 people being added to the church in response to hearing the Gospel about Jesus Christ. The message was clear and the message was convicting. It was not prettied up to make people feel good. It was the truth and it changed people’s lives.

People still need a Saviour and His name is Jesus! There is no other name by which people can be saved (Acts 4:12).

But we must understand that there is another central message of the New Testament and of Jesus’ ministry, and that is the message of the kingdom of God.

The Gospel and the kingdom must never be separated.

People who need a Saviour also need a Lord. We were not created to live as the ultimate authority in our own lives. Left to ourselves, we will destroy ourselves. Our best is very insufficient. We need to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, as I typed that precious name, I saw the kingdom and the Gospel clearly! The Lord (kingdom) Jesus Christ (Gospel)!! It is one message!

Does your life give evidence to the kingdom and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Good morning people who testify about the One who has saved your life.

Romans 1:1 MEV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.

Today’s BIY is one of the most important days I have written. My prayer is that a holy fire is lit in many hearts and that we are clearly reminded of the truth of why we are still on this earth.

As believers, we are set apart for the gospel of God.

I praise God that we have been set free from sin! Hallelujah! But we are also set apart for a noble kingdom purpose!

The Gospel – the Good News – about Jesus Christ was not just God’s gift to you. I’m thrilled that you and I have heard and received the Gospel. But the Gospel must flow through us and not just to us.

There are evangelists today who are doing an incredible job of seeing many people come to faith in Christ. I thank God for them and I honour them. But the job of preaching the Gospel is as much yours as it is theirs!

The word preach simply means to herald, to proclaim. Maybe you want to use the word testify which means to be a witness. Either way, our lives are meant to be a signpost that point people to God. We are meant to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-16), and live lives that require us to give an answer for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).

Here is the truth about your life:

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 MEV Therefore, if any man (or woman) is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. All this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you in Christ’s stead: Be reconciled to God. 

Every word and line of this scripture is significant and powerful, and every part relates to you and to me! We have been reconciled – returned to favour with God – and it is now our responsibility, priority and holy calling as ones set apart, to live as ambassadors for Christ!

We are called to the ministry of reconciliation.

Good morning people who have a divinely given mandate from God.

Romans 1:1 MEV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.

Apostles are God’s idea, not man’s. There are stated apostles (including Paul) in the Bible, and I believe that there are apostles today in the church that Jesus is building.

That said, most of the people reading this are not called to be an apostle. However, I believe that we are all called to live with the characteristics of an apostle. So, let’s have a look at what this word means.

Apostle: ‘a delegate, specifically an ambassador of the Gospel, a messenger who is sent’.

Jesus was sent from God to the world. Apostles are sent from God to the world. You are sent from God to the world.

The mission of Christ still remains the mission of the church today, and you and I are part of the church. The heart of God is still to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Jesus sent out the twelve (Mark 6:7) and the seventy-two (Luke 10:1). In His final words in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19).

Modern Christianity has made a big deal about inviting people to come to church. I am most definitely not opposed to this – many people have been radically saved and set free as a result of being invited to church. Praise God!

But the Bible says a lot more about sending believers out into the world than it does about inviting unbelievers into the church. Light shines best in the darkness, and you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).

Do you live life with a holy conviction that you are sent by God to a lost and dying world?

Good morning people who are divinely selected and appointed by Almighty God.

Romans 1:1 MEV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.

You and I are not just called to be safe and to escape eternal separation from God. The word called means so much more than this.

Here’s some of what we see in this word: appointed (a saint), invited (to a banquet), invited (by God in the proclamation of the Gospel), invited (to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom through Christ), divinely selected and appointed.

I truly believe that, too often, we subtly and subconsciously reduce our salvation and being called by God down to something far less than it fully entails. When we do this, our lives are limited in their transformation, the devil is not threatened by us, and the world is not impacted by us.  

Being called by God should define us, empower us and change us.

As believers, we are part of the church who Jesus is building (Matthew 16:18). The word church literally means a calling out. We are called to God, and we are also called out of the world and its demonic ways of thinking and living.

As believers, we are not called to fit in or go with the flow. If Jesus had done this, you and I would still be dead in sin and destined to a Christless eternity.

May we all pause and consider the depth of our holy calling in and by God today.

Good morning people whose lives are divinely known and appointed by God.

Romans 1:1 MEV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.

‘Called to be’ – such important and significant words.

I believe that God has appointed good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). But before we do good works, we must strengthen the foundation of who we are called to be.

Who we are when nobody is looking is a good test of who we really are. Who we are when our wills are crossed is also a good litmus test of our true character and integrity.

Paul’s introduction of himself in this letter gives us a great insight into why he was such an incredible man of God. He said, “I am called to be…”

Who he was came from a conviction that he was called by God. His life and ministry was not haphazard or careless. The God of the universe had revealed Himself to Paul while he was still the terrorist Saul. In this moment, Jesus literally called Saul’s name (Acts 9:4).

God has called your name too. He revealed Himself to you. And when you responded, you answered a call to be a child of God who looks like Jesus!

1 Peter 2:9 MEV But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may declare the goodness of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Your life is significant! Your life is holy! Your life is a living example and testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ!

You are called by name.