249. Power is in the gospel .

'I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.'* ( Romans 1:16) All of us want to receive the power of the God but most of us are not willing to *make a stand for* (assert without relenting) the gospel truths. We cannot expect the Spirit of truth to come upon us with power if there is no room in our hearts for the gospel truths, because *'incomparably great power is for us who believe.'* ( Ephesians 1:19). All who choose to believe the gospel, whether Jew or Gentile, will experience the power that will save them from the world, from sin, from satan, from death, from Hades and from Hell! When we realise that the gospel is not just a story of God's love for us but also the source of God's power for our transformation, then we will never again be ashamed of the gospel ! We need to take a stand for Christ and his gospel or else his *stark* (unpleasantly or sharply clear ) words are a clear warning for us! *"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."* ( Mark 8:38) The reason many are ashamed of the gospel is because they haven't understood it. *'The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.'* ( 1 Corinthians 1:18). If the gospel hasn't changed our lives, then there is nothing that will ever change our lives, because no other beliefs or tenets or creeds of men have the power of God backing it up but the gospel! This power is not only for our salvation but the salvation of those who will hear the gospel through us. If only they get to hear the gospel that transformed our lives, they too will be transformed! To be effective, we have been commanded to tarry in his presence until we receive the power from on high to be the witnesses of his resurrection, not just with our lives but also words spoken in the fullness of the Spirit and with acts that demonstrate the power of the Spirit. Amen.