Opportunities abound - proclaim the gospel, start with yourself

"9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." (I Cor. 15:9-10)

Notice how Paul will readily admit his own past but immediately turn it into an opportunity for boasting in the grace of God..."But by the grace of God I am what I am"...that is the gospel, preaching it to yourself. when those opportunities come to boast in the gospel, am I boasting in that grace that snatched me from the pit or am I wollowing in the pity and shame of my past?

What is instructive in this for us:

1. boast in the gospel which comes by his grace.
2. boast in what you know only as much as it will allow the grace of God to be shown more beautifully in your life.
3. hard work involves mind work, using the "law of my mind", as Paul spoke of in Romans to overcome the self indulgent and provacative nature of the flesh.

Remember, the past is also the moment that just past, don't let another one go to waste w/o "boasting in the Lord" and his sovereign, electing, loving grace.

"...as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Cor. 1:7b-8)

Your boasting friend.

Tim