Tomorrow, Sunday, you will enter the house of the Lord for worship. That’s not a commandment from me, but rather a choice you have to make. It’s not a hypnotic suggestion, not and hyperbole, but rather it is just me hoping that you will be in the special presence of the Lord at your church, or if you don’t have a church home, the church that you choose to visit.
That opening paragraph was about tomorrow. Today I want to make sure you are aware of two “in a nutshell” passages found in God’s world. Read them before you rush out to do your Saturday thing. And then, think about what you have read.
The first “in a nutshell” passage I want to present to you is referred to “The Gospel in a Nutshell.” It is a familiar verse, one that will ensure the believer of where they will spend an eternity, and at the same time it is a verse that will help evangelize the lost. John 3:16 (NASB) says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
The second “in a nutshell” passage comes from The Book of Acts where Paul is addressing a group of men in Athens, specifically on Mars Hill, found in The Book of. Acts 17:24-31. These verses are called “Theology in a Nutshell.” It reads as follows in the New American Standard Bible, “The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”
When you were a child, you might have found a plastic Easter egg on an organized hunt for youngsters. When you opened it, whatever was in it was just for you. Perhaps you were at a carnival and tried your best to pick up a box that was buried in a bundle of prizes. After spending much of your money or tokens, you finally got the box. Whatever was in it was just for you.
It’s not like that with the two “in a nutshell” truths that I have shared with you this morning. Don’t keep them to yourself! Share the contents with somebody else. Call your sharing “personal evangelism.” Well, enjoy your Saturday and your worship experience tomorrow. Be blessed!
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NASB)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
This is great news. I like the two scriptures considered to be “in a nutshell.” The second passage seemed rather long. I will consider how to use them in helping with my personal evangelism.
Yes, the second one seems long, but if you think about, just a few verses to cover the basis of our theology. Thank you, Dr. Gloria, for being a consistent responder. Be blessed!