In yesterday's post we focused on the "Bad News Before the Good News."  I noted that Jesus came to bring us GOOD NEWS, but the reason we need the Good News so desperately is because of the bad news that each of us is a sinner.  We're focusing on the deadly sin of envy this week, but as we read Titus 3:3 yesterday we saw that the sin in our lives goes far beyond envy.  It includes all kinds of evil.  We are in desperate need of a Savior, who can deliver us from this condition.  Once we've established that we're all living the "bad news," and recognize that we're helpless to get out of it, we receive the Good News much more readily.

Here's the Good News as the Apostle Paul expressed it in Titus 3:4-6:  ⁴But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ⁶He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”   God provided the Savior we needed in His Son, Jesus Christ.  He poured His Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.  He washed away our sins and gave us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.  WOW!  That's GOOD NEWS!  Whether the deadly sin we struggle with the most is envy, pride, sloth, greed, lust, anger or gluttony the antidote is the grace of God in Jesus Christ made present to us by the Holy Spirit.

Are you living the Good News?  Have you trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord in your life?  If the answer to those two questions is, "Yes!" it makes all the difference.  Every thought, word and action can be directed toward enjoying God's grace and extending His glory in the world, when we're trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord and living the Good News.  If you answered, "No," to either of those questions then TODAY is the best day ever to change your answers and start living the GOOD NEWS!