Exodus 14-15

Matthew 17

“He is the One we proclaim...” Colossians 1:28

Christ is the life of the church, not the pastors, the people or the programs. Christ is the animating force of the Christian life. At the church, all of the activities, all of the gathering and all of the worship is to make Christ known to everyone around the world. As Paul mentioned in the opening verse of this devotion, we proclaim Christ, but what does “proclaim” actually mean? “To proclaim” in Greek is katangellō, which means “to announce, proclaim, preach, advocate, report, laud, celebrate.” We proclaim the message of the gospel by any means necessary because we want people to know the treasure that they have in Christ.

I (Brett McBride) remember when I was serving as a missionary in the inner city of Philadelphia with Tony Campolo close to 30 years ago. He told a story to us one time of preaching at a church and talking about some of the strange ways that Christians like to proclaim the gospel. He shared about how one Sunday afternoon, he was watching an American football game on TV; it happened to be a Green Bay Packers’ game (a team located up in Wisconsin, USA, which is notorious for how cold it is). The field goal kicker was about to kick a field goal. It was snowing, it was freezing, and there was a man in the end zone with no shirt on. Tony was watching this and thought to himself, “This man is crazy!” But written across the man’s chest was “John 3:16.” When Tony saw this, he thought, “How ridiculous! How many people are going to see this guy with no shirt on and even know what John 3:16 means?” 

Tony was telling this story at the church about strange ways people proclaim the gospel. After the service, a guy went up to him and said, “I really appreciate your story today, but I have to tell you something: Years ago, I was watching a football game and saw a guy with no shirt on but John 3:16 written on his chest. I had no clue what it meant so I asked a friend and he told me that it is a verse in the Bible. I went to the Bible and read the verse: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ I was amazed by the verse and gave my life to Jesus that day.”

 As we consider our own life, what are we willing to do so that the gospel is faithfully proclaimed?

PRAYER: Lord God, help me to faithfully proclaim Your gospel by any means necessary and trust You in drawing people to Yourself. Thank You, Lord.