Lace Up Your Shoes!
Today’s Verse:
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ~Joshua 10:12
The dress shoes I wear for the Sunday services have shoe laces. I keep extra shoe laces with me in case one of them breaks. Shoe laces need to be securely tied so your shoes are not loose when you are walking. I typically tighten my shoe laces before I preach. During Paul’s day, sandals were the walking shoes of his time. The leather straps of the sandals had to be shod, or securely tied, to the feet and ankles for a comfortable walk. Paul uses the image of tying up our shoes to emphasize the importance of the gospel message.
The gospel message is our duty.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek,” Rom. 1:16. The gospel is God’s message for the saving of sinners. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost,” 2 Cor. 4:3. The gospel is not to be hid or shrouded. We are to make the light of the gospel shine brightly through our testimony and witness. The gospel needs to be taken everywhere. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15. We should be moved in our hearts about the preaching of the gospel. “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” 1 Cor. 9:16. The gospel is our first and formal duty.
The gospel message is our defense.
Shodding our feet with the gospel of peace is instructing us that we must put our gospel shoes on each day for our spiritual defense. The gospel is to be taken to sinners by our walking. “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Rom. 10:15. You might say that our defense against the wiles of the devil is to “walk the talk.” When we do this, the devil knows that we are not sitting around, wasting time. The devil is hindered when we go after sinners with the gospel. The devil knows that we have a prayer list of sinners we are praying for to be saved! The devil knows that we have planned time to get the gospel to people who need to know the Lord. When we are gospel-centric, we get a burden for the souls of men and are less likely to become indifferent. When we are gospel-centric, we use our time wisely and do not waste time on the wrong activities. The gospel is our duty.
The gospel message is our declaration.
I put my shoes on because I’m going somewhere with something to do. The gospel is to be verbally declared through a bold witness of our faith in Jesus. Set a goal each week to verbally give the gospel to five or more people per week. Keep a list of your prospects, and keep going back until the conviction is so strong in their heart that they decide to get saved. Take someone else with you and have an accountability partner that you share the gospel with. The highlight of my week is getting the gospel to sinners and seeing them get saved.
The gospel message is durable.
Unlike my shoes, which wear out over time, the gospel shoes never wear out. The message never becomes irrelevant. The message never becomes obsolete. The message stands the test of time. It keeps saving sinners. It keeps changing lives and changing societies.
Lace up your shoes, tie up your shoe strings, and take the gospel of peace to someone who needs the Lord.
Have a gospel-centric God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Isaiah 23-27