Where is the Good News?

The news seems to get worse every day. The news is bad because Satan, has inflected people with sin. The result is lust, rapes, murders, and scandals and other bad things. World leaders have trouble getting along because some of them want their country to have more at the expense of the others. It is not going to get any better as long as sin reigns.

It seems that if there was no bad news we would have no news at all. It is so depressing to watch the news that Brian Williams of N. B.C. includes one story that is good news. You hear of all those who were killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon, and other places in the world. You hear of floods, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, murders, rapes, and scandals.

We tend to overlook the humanitarian efforts by countless individuals who have assisted people in the 2004 tsunami in the Indian ocean and the southern coastal states of the United States, after the hurricanes in 2005. There are many people who are making a difference for good. Unfortunately, they don't make the news. Good news seldom makes the headlines. The news media goes after the war deaths, scandals, the financial tycoons who wipe out the pensions of their employees. The positive things our people in Iraq are doing are seldom mentioned.

About 600 years before Christ the Lord asked Jeremiah, "What do you see?" He replied, that he saw a boiling pot. The middle east has remained a boiling pot ever since. There is usually threatening and suicide bombers raising havoc, or all out war.

The Bible indicates that it is a shame to even speak of the things evil people do in secret (EPH 5:12). We are to expose them, but not dwell on them. The news media continually dwells on everything evil. They have a field day with news of sexual scandals. They say little of companies, city and state governments that get their financial status out of the red and into the black.

People get so sick of bad news that they wonder where is the good news. The good news is in the Bible. It is as up to date as tomorrow morning's newspaper. Every sin is accurately described along with the remedy. It contains the good news of the gospel. The wonderful news is that Jesus Christ died to forgive our sins. If we continue to obey him, our sins are continually being cleansed by his blood and forgotten by the Father. The news that eternal life begins when we obey the gospel and that the Creator has promised to work out everyone for the good of those who love and obey him is awesome!

Jesus came to give us abundant life. He promised Joy. It is not the kind that comes from external circumstances, but what assures the heart that God has everything under control. Even if external circumstances are desperate, we can be joyful that our Maker is looking out for us. We have the peace that the world cannot understand (JN 14:27). We have the Holy Spirit and Jesus interceding for us when we pray (RO 8:26 & verse 34).

Governments that embrace Christianity have freedom for the people. This is because Christianity advocates the fruit of the Spirit, which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (GAL 5:22).

In general, governments that do not embrace Christianity do not permit freedom of the people and have opposite qualities of the fruit mentioned above. They often hate anyone that has different religious beliefs than theirs. This is dramatic proof that Christianity has an influence for good in the world.

The next time you are dejected after watching the bad news, open your Bible and read about the marvelous grace the Lord has for us. Read the positive things that are said of the righteous and praise God for it.

Unbelievers who love freedom should realize that it is made possible by their God. When they compare governments permitting Christianity with those that do not permit it, they should come to the conclusion that the two worlds after death will be much more dramatic. Heaven will be full of love and joy and the alternative will reek with terror and pain. This world has mostly bad news. This demonstrates the direction that worldly people are headed. Heaven will have nothing but good news. This should be added incentive for living in a manner permitting us to go there.