Day Sixty-One! The Gospel for All People
Alright friends, we are sixty days into this great adventure of exploring the gospel together as Novo. Congrats if you’ve made it this far!
What an incredible journey we’ve been on! We’ve explored what we mean by the gospel being the great, Good News . . . the Kingdom Jesus proclaimed in word, deed, and power. And we’ve looked at how this news brings Great Joy. Joy is the experience of relational presence—the face of the Father on his beloved children.
And now we turn to our final thirty days . . . this good news of great joy is for All People. Imagine that—all people! Your friends, family, neighbors. Your enemies. The people you get along with and the people you can’t stand. People groups you’ve never heard of. People of every shape and size. All walks of life. The good news of great joy is for ALL people.
So as we turn the corner into the final sprint of this marathon, we look outwards to the people around us. Now is a great time to look at our themes again—this time in a psalm that holds all three together beautifully. Pull out three colored highlighters and find the places of Good News, Joy, and All People in the poetry and praise of Psalm 67.
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Can you see it? The good news of salvation overflows in joy as God makes his face shine upon the nations. The people of every nation turn to God in praise as he blesses, guides, and rules with equity. How exciting!
Let’s keep pushing into this theme for the remaining 30 days leading into Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday. Now is the time to celebrate this good news of great joy which is ready and available to everyone.
For reflection . . .
Have you ever done anything for 90 days? Behavioral science demonstrates that ninety days is long enough to break down old habits and establish new ones. What new habits are forming in you that will keep you going for the remaining 30 days ahead?
Allow the Holy Spirit to bring to mind five specific people—names and faces. Begin praying that they would come to know and experience the gospel as good news of great joy. Commit to praying for these people by name, daily, for the 30 days ahead as we reflect on the gospel for all people.
Write your own Psalm 67—finding ways to include good news, great joy, and all people as themes for your praise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darren and Pam Prince live in Whitechapel, London where they have served among asylum seekers, immigrants, and twelve-step recovery communities with London’s InnerCHANGE Team since 2007. Prior to that, they directed a ministry to homeless young people in San Francisco, California. Darren served as the InnerCHANGE General Director from 2014 – 2022 and is currently Novo’s Senior Vice President, shaping internal communications and organizational culture. Darren is passionate about making disciples, teaching the Bible, reading good books, befriending people on the margins, and sipping high quality coffee.
