“Turn around and believe the gospel.”

February 13, 2013 by darrelvoth 2 Comments

These were the words spoken to me as I received the ashes on my forehead today.

It says a lot more than it may seem on the surface, speaking to the partnership of my life with the outworking of the gospel.

My deepest beliefs are displayed in my life. And so, I must turn. The gospel is the loving expression of the supremely sovereign King. If belief in the way of Christ would truly grip my most secret places, the gospel would characterize my life. And so, I must turn.

I find a great deal of comfort and motivation in the tension I find in scripture as it demonstrates not only what I am in my humanity but also who I am in Christ.

I need to learn to live fully dependent on the work of the Spirit within me to bring about the good purpose to which we have all been called:

“I assure you: The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (from Jn14, Ac1, Mt28)

Today especially, I’m reminded what Jesus said in Matthew 5:
“God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs; He blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of our God’s vengeance;

to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion;

to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,
and splendid clothes instead of despair.

And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord to glorify Him.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
they will restore the former devastations;
they will renew the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations. (from Is61)

Therefore,
since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. Instead, we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God’s message, but commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in God’s sight by an open display of the truth.

But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

We are pressured in every way but not crushed;
we are perplexed but not in despair;
we are persecuted but not abandoned;
we are struck down but not destroyed.

We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. (from 2Cor4)

Turn around and believe the gospel.