Jesus & the Master of the Obvious

175,ooo. That's the number of new blogs EVERYDAY! 175,000. Makes me scratch my head about why anyone might want to read what I have to say with so much other stuff out there. Maybe no one will. Well, read on...if you dare!

For those of you that tuned in to our previous episode, you might remember that I'm currently reading 2 Corinthians. Just started it really. Chapter 1 is absolutely chock full of juicy stuff.

In 2 Corinthians 1:19, our man Paul writes, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy..." Paul is kinda the master of the obvious, isn't he? If a Christian is going to preach, they're certainly gonna preach Jesus, right? Right? Apparently not.

I'm sorry to say that a quick listen or gander of various preachers would seem to make this the exception rather than the rule. Some wink and smile and tell us that God wants to make us rich...very, VERY rich. And they say the Lord will be happy to do just that if we pony up with a "love gift" of $29.95. Such a deal!

Others pound the pulpit and proclaim a "do better Gospel". Sadly, it's nothing but a lethal legalism. You come away thinking that God is sitting on the edge of Heaven with a lightning bolt in His hand just waiting for us to goof up. ZZZZZAP!!!

Still others tell us that God is there like some sort of supernatural life coach. He's ready to make our lives better if we just give Him a call. Operators are standing by!

Where's Jesus? A quick check of the Bible gives us numerous examples of what preaching Jesus looks like. Over and over in the New Testament, they preach Jesus. Peter did...and thousands repented. Philip did...and he got a free chariot ride. Stephen did...and he got stoned. Paul did...and God changed lives all throughout around the Mediterranean. John did...and he got exiled to Patmos. Even Jesus preached about Jesus after His own resurrection to two guys headed home to Emmaus.

Over the past couple of years, God's provided me with the humbling opportunity to preach His Word. Paul's simple phrase in 2 Corinthians 1:19 is a powerful reminder to those of us who are God's errand boys at our local churches. When we preach, we must preach about Jesus...each and every time.

In Christ,
Jay