August 15 - Gathering Vultures

Matthew 24: 15-28

Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:28 ESV)

Have you ever stopped to watch the prime time news for five minutes? If you have ever engaged with mass media during a peak news cycle you have no doubt noted the overwhelming gloom that permeates all of the terrible news. The reason is that bad news draws the attention of people.

Jesus, delivered a stern word to his followers. He was warning them about the signs of the end times. And he cautioned them to remain optimistic. He didn't want his followers to proclaim a message that was inundated by the dark stigma of weighty world issues.

People today really are drawn to bad news. In school when I was learning to be a journalist, I remember hearing the phrase "if it bleeds it leads," regularly. Death, disaster, and decay draw people's attention.

The sad truth is that this kind of thinking makes its way into the church far too often. One bad little thing can happen, and we can focus so hard on it that we completely neglect the other thirty-five awesome things going on. We are not people who celebrate death and negativity. Jesus came to bring the dead to life.

February 8 - Good News

Read: Luke 3:15-22

So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. (Luke 3:18 ESV)

John preached to large crowds. He baptized a lot of people. He made a difference where he was through his courageous commitment to God's plan for mankind. And the message that he delivered was one full of good news.

We all like good news, and lets face it, that's not always the kind of news we get to hear on a regular basis. If you tune into any kind of prominent media network you are almost instantly confronted by the seemingly harsh nature of a world gone terribly awry. I once even heard a practicing journalist say, "If it bleeds it leads." For some reason people are entertained and captivated by the macabre, sensational, and despairing events of our world. In stark reality the good news of the day, those feel good stories about the better side of life, rarely seem to carry as much impact.

John's message of good news was the ultimate message. His message literally was the Good News. It was the message of the Gospel. He was declaring to the PreChristian world the reality of the impending arrival of the Messiah. The one that would save the people from their sins.

Jesus is still the Good News. He still saves people from their sins. He is hope for the hopeless. He is the best news.