¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the Gospel,
because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:
first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
¹⁷ For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
~ Romans 1:16-17

Why would we be ashamed of the Gospel? It’s good news. I suspect that for some of us it’s because we forget what the Gospel is. We are ashamed of what our enemies say the Gospel is… we are embarrassed by the way that some of our fellow Christians (and us) behave. We forget that the Gospel is good news in a world that desperately needs it.

Petition: Please join with us in praying for:

1. Australia – The good news is that the threatened outbreak in Queensland seems not to have materialised (zero cases today) and there are no outbreaks in the rest of Australia other than NSW and Victoria. As regards NSW, things are still on a knife’s edge with the numbers hovering around ten – it seems as though track and trace is working. In Victoria, the numbers are still around 500 per day – and the lockdown is into stage 4. The breakout in Victoria is estimated to cost the Australian economy more than $15 billion.

Pray for people who are coping with the strains and stresses of being under stage 4 lockdown.

2. The World – The big concern this week is India, where the number of new cases is over 50,000 per day, and this is considered to be a large underestimate. 50% of the eight million people in Mumbai’s slums are believed to have been infected, although the death rate has been low. The WHO is always warning that any vaccine may not be available for some time, and when it is available, may not be as effective as people hope. Pray that in humility the leaders of the nations would seek the Lord.

A Song of Praise – Grace ~ City Alight (who are part of the World Sing conference organised by the Gettys). This is a beautiful song that reminds us of the Gospel of grace.

Prayer:
O Lord my God, You are my protecting arm, fortress, refuge, shield, buckler.
Fight for me and my foes must flee; Uphold me and I cannot fall;
Strengthen me and I shall stand unmoved, unmovable;
Equip me and I shall receive no wound;
Stand by me and Satan will depart;
Anoint my lips with a song of salvation.
And I shall shout Your victory.
(from The Valley of Vision)

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Twice-weekly devotions by David Robertson via Christians United — COVID19 Call to Prayer.[Photo by Ben White on Unsplash]