Recently, I was talking with someone about what we most need in our lives for growth and I was reminded of the simple truth that we need to take in the message of the Gospel in Jesus Christ everyday. Wherever we are and whomever we are, the highest priority is that we preach the simple message of good news to ourselves daily. In simplicity that message is as follows:

• we are sinners who were lost in the death of sin and brokenness of evil
• God reached out to us in Jesus Christ apart from anything we have done (or will do)
• God has forgiven all our sin through Christ’s sacrifice, reconciled us to Himself, defeated the powers of evil, and showered upon us His grace and truth
• God has given us a place of belonging with Him by making us part of His family through the sufficient work of Christ both for now and eternity

There are so many things in our daily lives push back against the gospel. People come to us with all sorts of messages about who we are and who we’re not, what we’ve done and what we haven’t done. We may hear words like this: “you’re a failure,” “you’re a loser,” “you’re too prideful,” “you’re too weak,” or more. If we are honest, many of these things are true. Yes, we are sinners who always need forgiveness. Yes, we are broken in many ways and always need the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit to remake us.

The gospel overpowers us with a message different from those that come to us from others or even from ourselves.. That message centers us within the reality that we are loved, saved, and forgiven by God through Jesus Christ. We are trophies of His grace and held in the divine embrace both now and forever with God!

We all need to take in that message daily. One good way to do that is to slowly read portions of Scripture which rehearse those fundamental truths with us. One of my favorites is Ephesians 2:1-10, where Paul summarizes the gospel in very basic form. Let me encourage you to read it every day for the next week to remind us of the basic gospel message we always need.

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.