Holston Daily Devotional February 5, 2021

Focus Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:16

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!

Devotion

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

I started my journey into ministry with what was described to me as “a call to preach.” I enthusiastically answered that call every chance I got. I preached at Youth Sundays. I preached at Revivals. I preached in the Pastor’s absence. I was “called,” so I preached.

After college, I headed to seminary, where I, along with hundreds of other “called preachers,” took every opportunity we received to preach. With such a large pool of preachers, opportunities to preach were sometimes rare events. I understood Paul's words differently: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

While in seminary, I met a lot of other people who felt called of God but felt that claim on their lives pushing them in different directions. I met church musicians, chaplain candidates, Christian educators, and people whose goal was to serve as missionaries. That expanded my understanding of “preaching the gospel.” I learned that a good deal of gospel proclamation has little to do with a 20-minute sermon, and far more to do with living out faith in a transparent way.

During these pandemic days, we have all had to re-examine how we proclaim the gospel. For me, that has led me to the world of YouTube and Facebook sermons, and Zoom meetings. It has led me to learn how to do live feeds and uploads. It has caused me to ask how things communicate differently when presented in different media.

Meanwhile, the gospel is preached. Hungry people are fed in the name of Jesus. People in need of recovery ministries are still finding hope. Our church buildings are used as ministry centers. Good news is still preached to the poor in more ways than ever.

So, back to the words of scripture today: “Woe be to me if I do not preach the gospel!” May God bless each of us as we take advantage of every opportunity to present Jesus Christ to a world needing the Good News.