“Don’t touch the dinner bell!” was their family’s unspoken rule. When I was a kid, one of my friends had a big bell hanging on the side of her house.  No one was allowed to ring that bell but my friend’s mom.  Maybe the dad could use it too, but I never saw him touch it.  I wondered if even he didn’t have the authority to ring it. That, of course, gave the bell an even greater prestige!  (Maybe, though, it was just a sign of the times: she who cooked the dinner gets to ring the dinner bell.)

No matter where we were playing, my friend and her siblings could always hear the dinner bell and our play would immediately break up as they ran home in response to the wild clanging.

The Gospel is supposed to be that kind of thing.

People hear the Gospel; know what a great offer of forgiveness is being served; and come running to take full advantage of this.

Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.  And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.  (Romans 1:5-6 NIV)

In the opening statements of Romans, the Gospel calls all people to come to Jesus!  Jesus—who has both a human nature and a divine nature—rose from the dead and the Good News is that now, by God’s grace, this resurrection to eternal life is available to all people who belong to Jesus Christ.

Because He died and rose again, believers in Christ can too.  The Letter to the Romans proclaims the Gospel, rings with the Good News, and alerts us all to the Gospel’s invitiation to Come and Get It!

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Give it up for Lent: Apathy

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For further study, read Romans 1:1-7.

We get to ring the bell to call everyone to this Gospel.  Rich, poor, hungry, content, beautiful, plain, educated, uneducated—all of us are summoned to the table of forgiveness to participate in the family of God.  No one is excluded from the offer of reconciliation with God.

Questions to think about: 

1. So why don’t more people take advantage of it?
2. How does self-reliance get in the way?
3. How are Christians often viewed by the world?

As a general rule, we spend plenty of time in self-reflection, typically about things that don’t matter.

I’d like to offer a brief word about Lent and the devotional series beginning Ash Wednesday (February 13, 2013): Lent is a time of self-reflection as we ponder our need for a Savior. 

Lent is different than just thinking about ourselves because our focus is on the most important decision we will ever make: to admit both our spiritual poverty and our need for God to save us out of it.

It is this reason I chose The Letter to the Romans for this year’s series.  It is Paul’s Masterpiece as a presentation of the Gospel, addressing our spiritual poverty, our great need for a Savior, and the magnificent grace of God extended to us in Jesus Christ.

Given the depth of the book, each day’s devotional will only scratch the surface of the passage.  They have been written to be approachable for people who know little about Jesus because I’m an evangelist at heart.

But there are also questions for further study aimed at satisfying those looking for the depth Romans has to offer.  I’d encourage you to read the entire passage via the link provided (or using your own Bible) and let God’s Word minister to you fully.  Since we bless God more by giving up sinful human behaviors, each day’s devotional will also feature a “Give It Up For Lent” idea that goes beyond butter, beef, and chocolate.  I hope the devotionals will bless you toward a meaningful Lenten season.

In His Grace, Barbara <><