Posts Tagged ‘Kingdom of God’

Day 207: Esther 6:14-10:3; Acts 16:25-17:9 — Where is the kingdom of God?

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Jews reading Esther found great encouragement to know that although the name of God may not be heard frequently, or at all, He is still at work for His people wherever they are. Although some question whether Haman was descended from Agag the Amalekite, 1 Chron 4:43, the lesson remains true: I must root out all sin from my heart lest it find me one day in the grips of a weak moment and the battle could be lost. But again, God knows those that are His, 2 Tim. 2:19. The celebration of Purim to this day marks the victory and preservation given by God to His people in exile to a foreign homeland. Their passport may have read “Persian” but their souls were imprinted with “people of the covenant.” Deut. 7:6-9; 2 Chron. 6:36-40. There are no earthly boundaries of the kingdom of Heaven.

Theophilus reads of Paul in Philippi, a major, enfranchised city. Only citizens of the city of Rome could vote, receive protection of law and freedom. Other cities became “enfranchised” and participated in the citizenship of Rome. Philippi, too, was an old soldiers’ home, praetorian guard retirees, and some soldiers of Mark Anthony’s defeated at Actium, 31 BC, and other folks. The church starts with a few women and slaves. Then its proponents are jailed. Where is God? Moving walls, breaking down barriers, opening hearts. The jailer is saved from suicide by God’s intervention by Paul and Silas, and becomes a citizen of the true kingdom. Then the surprise: a citizen of Rome, Paul of Tarsus, was jailed and held without due process! And they will not “disappear” quietly! What is God doing? He demonstrates that Christians are good citizens, follow the law of the land insofar as it is in harmony with the God of heaven and earth, Phil. 3:17-21. There is no place where God cannot see or help His people when it is time. There are no earthly boundaries of the kingdom of Heaven, and so much so that “Jesus is king” becomes the mob’s warrant for a riot in Thessalonica.

When I left home after college, way back in 19 hundred and none-of-your-business (as a teacher of mine used to say) I looked for the church in central Missouri. Due to some mishaps and misunderstandings I went back to my apartment and nearly wept, depressed that I could not find my people in this “foreign” place. To make a long story short, God blessed me with one of the more dynamic and wonderful Christian families I have known. They helped me to build my faith as I began to build my life. Things are not as I think they are, things are as God has created and prepared them. We need only to look for God, His people, and His blessing. There are no boundaries to the kingdom of God.

Prayer: Holy Father, Righteous and True, open my eyes to see Your rule and reign around me today, and by Your Spirit may I glorify Your name as a citizen of Your Heavenly Kingdom. Thank You in Jesus’ name.

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Day 111: Luke 11:14-36 — Kaleidoscope of Images

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

I have always enjoyed looking in a kaleidoscope.  The different arrangements of objects enables the mind to think.  Each of us may see something different or focus on one aspect of the picture while others see something else.  Yet, we are all looking at the same thing.  The bible is a kaleidoscope of images that reveal the ultimate of rule of God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ. In Luke 11:14-36, the controversy begins when some in the crowd react to Jesus’ exorcism of a deaf and mute person. Jesus was helping a person in need and fulfilling a line from the prophet Isaiah, yet, there were those who criticized him for what he did. It is frustrating to do something good and be attacked for it. For Jesus, these attacks expose the enmity of Satan to the kingdom of God. Jesus names the evil powers for what they are and defined the meaning of his own work as the kingdom of God (Luke 11:20).

In this passage, we see the kaleidoscope of images that this controversy dialogue spins before the reader: a divided kingdom, demons and exorcists, the finger of God, the strong man’s castle and the one who takes his armor, waterless regions, a house swept clean, the womb and breasts that nourish, Jonah and the Ninevites, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a lamp and a lampstand, a clear eye and a darkened eye. In the struggle between good and evil, change does not come without conflict.  As the Kingdom of God enters the dark realm of our world, there will be opposition from others, both internally and externally.  To heal, Jesus had to expel the demon from the man. The images of Beelzebul, divided kingdoms, and overcoming the strong man in his fortress are metaphors of combat. What do we when the kaleidoscope of God’s word and the love of Christ shines into our soul and reveals Satan’s darkness? Do we close our eyes and oppose it or do we open our eyes and change?

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Day 22: Matthew 13:44-14:12 — “The Hidden Treasure”

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

In 1977, I was in Okinawa, Japan. All my school friends had abandoned me and gone off to live their lives. No one wrote to me anymore. However, there was one girl that was about a year and a half younger than me that wrote me constantly. My long dreary days of loneliness were filled with a daily run to my mail box in hopes I would receive a letter. I won’t get into the gushy emotional details, but I became stricken. I had found the girl for me and I was willing to pay the price for her. I wanted to see her but I was far from her. I was told if I went to a 6 week leadership school and beat out some of the best Marines in the Corps, I would be given 30 days temporary assigned duty in my home town. I went to the school and out ran, out thought, and was tighter (militarily focused) than the other Marines. I achieved the honor graduate status and was sent home. Almost 31 years later and I guarantee you I had found the hidden treasure.

In Matthew 13:44, a man finds a treasure hidden in the ground and he sells everything he has to buy the land. Of course this is a parable about the value and worth of the Kingdom of God. If you found the Kingdom of God, you would sell everything. You would give up your job, house, and even your family to obtain this great treasure.

I hope there is a little bit of hyperbole in this story. I understand giving your all for the treasure. I experienced that in my love for my wife. Yet, maintaining the intensity of continually giving my all wears me out. I think we sometimes buy other properties and diversify our portfolio. Yet, there is something in me. There is this nagging recurring thought. In the midst of all the struggles, temptations, sin, etc., I still know deep down in my heart that there is nothing of greater value than the Kingdom of God. Are you resonating with what I am saying? If so, answer me this, why can’t we stay focused on the greatest treasure of all? Maybe it is like my relationship with my wife. We have some good and bad moments but nothing separates us from each other’s love. By the way, the love I speak of is now a sacrificial love. It is not that gushy emotional feeling from 31 years ago. That gushy stuff does not last. True love is the sacrifice we have learned to share with each other. I take my eyes off the treasure of the Kingdom of God sometimes, but I’m not giving up. God continues to sacrifice for me and I will try my best to keep my eye on this treasure. Thank you God for not giving up on me.

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Day 8: Matthew 6:25-34 — Anxiety

Friday, January 8th, 2010

As a minister, I am blessed to study the Bible as part of my job.  These daily posts are new to me and takes some work but I have really been enjoying them.  Each encounter into God’s Word almost always leaves me with a sense of awe, surprise, conviction, and they chip away at my frailties and leave me just a little raw.  Our reading today is from Matt. 6:25-34 on anxiety.

Reading this verse immediately makes me think about my own anxieties.  I believe at the heart of our anxieties is our narcissism. We have to be in control and we are driven to accomplish something that is usually all about ourselves.  I may look calm, but I am not happy unless my hair is blazing and I’m going 90 MPH.  Well, that is I have been this way for most of my life.  You should see my bitten fingernails that have taken the blunt of my worries for years.  As, I grow older, I am learning to stop and smell the roses.  A good cup of coffee in my easy chair with my new granddaughter in my lap is my new favorite thing to do.  She sits there with no worries.  She is teaching me to stop and relax.  She has no concerns because she knows her parents and grandparents will take care of her needs.  I think Jesus is trying to teach us this in our text.  God is ever present and He knows what we need (Matt. 6:31-32).  He takes care of the birds (Matt. 6:26).  He is in control of time (Matt. 6:27).  He clothes the lilies of the field (Matt. 6:28).  He takes care of us whether we see it or not.

Today,  we have enough troubles on our plate.  Let’s not add tomorrows and the next days.  Let’s accomplish what we need to do today (Matt. 6:34).  Let’s seek God’s Kingdom first (Matt. 6:33).  If you struggle with anxiety, may God bless you today with a vision of His Glory, Holiness, and Love for you.  May you find grace and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

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