There’s plenty of disturbing news being pushed these days. Our national and global scenes generate much. Politics, economics and social issues are all choking on the unrest.

Sport at every level has been affected and infected. Everyone is looking for a lift. We long for good news. Where do we find it, some really good gospel?

The following lines are a sampling of things we tell ourselves, preaching them like they’re good news, gospel truth, when actually they’re killing us:

• Live the American dream. Chase prosperity. Live for comfort. Satisfying life is found here. Measure life by the abundance of possessions. More is better. Anything is within reach. If you want it, get it.
• Demand change. Utopia is within our reach. 
• This Trinity saves: Economics, Education, and Equality. Bow here.
• Eliminate oppression. That’s the enemy. 
• Target power. Grab it. Keep it. Power wins. 
• Equality is the gold standard. Create it, whatever the cost. 
• All humans are equal, but some are more equal than others. 
• Earth is our mother. Honor it and our stars will align. 
• Man is fundamentally good. Environments corrupt. Fix this and we will thrive. 
• Survival of the fittest applies to every area of life. Make this universal law and our baseline for ethics. 
• Acceptance by God is relative, based on performance. He can’t and won’t love us unconditionally. The better I perform the better my chances are with Him.
• Freedom means no boundaries. 
• Mankind must be free to set their own definitions for life. That means truth is both relative and personal. 

All this is “man’s gospel.” And none of it is biblical. The Bible preaches the opposite. God’s gospel, His good news, runs the other way. 

So steer clear of the bullets above, these prevailing thoughts, this way of thinking. Instead, run this way, filling yourself with this gospel fistful:

• We are all in trouble more than we realize and yet more loved than we could possibly imagine.
• “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). That means our value, worth and definitions for life are found in God.
• Our biggest problem is sin — rebellion or indifference to God. Satan fuels the movement.
• God is holy, just and merciful. He offers rescue, deliverance, full atonement and acceptance through Jesus Christ. Freedom and  fulfillment are found in following the Son. So hope is a Person more than a circumstance. Who we belong to makes all the difference in the world.
• Believe this narrative, accept God’s gracious gifts, and rest in these truths. (John 3:36, 5:24, 6:35 and 40, 8:12, 10:10, 16:33)

Reflect: Where do you find good news? What’s the truth that you believe? What way of thinking might need to change in you?

A prayer to consider: LORD, thank You for bringing great gospel and feeding me truth. In a world that spins it elsewhere and offers little good news, I need it badly. Help me to know your truths and believe them. 

Grant me wisdom, discernment, and courage to dismiss any gospel that sets itself up against You (2 Corinthians 10:5), May others see good news coming when they see me. 

By the Spirit and the Word. Amen.