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THE BEAUTY OF GOD

I’m sitting here in my kitchen, looking out to my backyard, and enjoying the beauty of the fall foliage.  I realize that I love God because of the beauty in his creation.  I’m always pointing out to my driving students (to help them relax) the delightful colors of the sunset.  I tell them that God paints us a new picture every evening.

Seeing the fall colors always reminds me of the September Bonnie and I spent in New England.  We were slightly in advance of the leaf peekers.  This is the maybe not so affectionate name the New Englanders call people coming to see the fall colors.  I was thinking of the leaf peekers and wondering how many of them understand that what they are driving to see is the beauty of God.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

When we allow our attention to be drawn to nature, and feel that contentment it brings to our souls, we are experiencing God himself.  Our western minds always want to deal with facts, but we should not ignore the aesthetics of life.  We could be in the very midst of God and fail to recognize his beauty.

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THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH

Webster’s Dictionary defines meek:

1 Enduring injury with patience and without resentment – submissive – humble 

2 Deficient in spirit and courage

The first definition doesn’t convey the characteristics of weakness but of Christ likeness.  This definition speaks of the qualities Jesus displayed on the cross.  It is a Godly perspective.  The second definition imparts thoughts of weakness, timidity, and cowardice.  This is a worldly perspective.  Which of these will inherit the earth?

In 2 Corinthians chapter 10 the Apostle Paul responds to the to the Corinthians’ worldly interpretation of his meekness.  He uses a little sarcasm in verse 1 when he states: “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away!”  They had obviously accused him of being cowardly.  He goes on to let them know that his meek/humble approach to them was not out of weakness but out of caring for them.  He was trying to change their viewpoint from worldly to Godly.

I believe that the ones who endure the injuries of this world with patience and without resentment, who are submissive to Christ, and who humble themselves before their God will inherit the earth.  These are not weak people.  They are the ones who have been overwhelmed by the love of Christ, and from their humble thankfulness give that love to others regardless of the cost.  This takes strength and courage.

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GOOD AND EVIL

I love to revisit the story of creation in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.  Envisioning God’s fresh creation delights my heart.  Genesis 1:31 reads, God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  The creator stepped back, looked over what he had made, and concluded, “It was very good.”

Today as I continue to be awed by what God created, I see elements that were not there at the beginning.  Death and decay are at work in the creation.  What God created that was “very good” has now deteriorated.  Good now has a counterpart, evil.  How did evil get into God’s creation?

When the first man and woman walked the earth only good existed.  They had no special awareness of good because it was the default of their world.  There was no contrast to good.  In the garden, where God put them, was a tree with the knowledge of good and its contrast evil.  God warned them not to indulge in this knowledge for it brought with it death.  They chose not to heed God’s warning.

Why is our world filled with death and decay?  The answer is obvious.  We had to know about good and evil.  Well, now we know.  I think we could have gone without knowing.  So in hindsight, when God says not to do something, we probably shouldn’t.

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WHY DO WE EXIST?

As we explore our existence the question often comes to mind, “why do I exist?”  What is the purpose of my existence?  Rene Descartes, a 17th century philosopher known as the father of modern philosophy, went even further to ask the question, how do I know that I exist?  His conclusion, “I think, Therefore I am.”    So in our conscious awareness, we contemplate purpose.

The Apostle Paul stood before the philosophers of his time and gave this clarifying discourse:

Acts 17:24-28, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  For in him we live and move and have our being.  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

Why do we exist?  I believe we exist at God’s good pleasure.  Paul says that God created us so that we would seek him, reach out for him, and find him.  Our purpose, why do we exist, is to seek and find God.

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THE VALUE OF WORSHIP

I have often wondered why a humble God would want me to worship him.  As I write these words, I fear I’m in danger of blasphemy. But don’t get me wrong, I am convinced that God is worthy of praise and worship. I just don’t know why he wants it?  He obviously doesn’t need my worship.  While exploring this thought, I have also discovered that my flesh doesn’t want to worship God.  There’s a clue.  Worshiping God is counter to my sinful nature. 

So, I’m sitting here at my computer.  I have all kinds of little tasks in mind.  One is writing this blog post.  Guess what?  I can’t get anything together to write about.  I play a few games of Free Cell to focus my mind.  Finally the realization strikes me; I need to worship the Lord.  With a heroic act of will power, I drag myself from the addicting game, pick up my guitar, pick out a worship song, and begin to sing and play.

I am surprised by the transition that takes place.  I have no idea why this should surprise me.  I have experienced this shift from the flesh to the spirit an innumerable number of times.  My spirit begins to connect with the Holy Spirit, my mind begins to clear, and my heart experiences God’s loving presence.  This is the result of worship.

Therefore, my great intellectual quandary turns out to have a quite simple answer.  God doesn’t need my worship; I need to worship him.  God is humble; I am not.  I need to position myself in a humble place of worship in order to get on his level, so I can reach him.

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THE RESTORATION OF THE KINGDOM Part 2

Here is part 2 of the story I started last week.

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What the rebel leader failed to realize is that because the son never joined his rebellion he was innocent.  The rebel leader could kill his subjects, but he could not kill one who was not his subject.  If he did he would forfeit his right to rule.  When he was able to have the Son killed his victory dance was immediately cut short.  Imagine the moment that he realized by having the Son killed he lost his authority over the new kingdom.

Since the son was innocent he could cleanse the people of the New Kingdom by taking their evil burden upon himself.  He took on himself the curse of death and allowed his innocent blood to be shed as a cleansing for the people. Once cleansed the people could now enter the Great Ruler’s kingdom.  As a sign to all, the Great Ruler raised his Son from the dead in victory. 

Thus began the Great Ruler’s restoration of his rule in the new kingdom.  Many of the inhabitants chose to enter his kingdom right away.  In his kingdom were eternal life and love and goodness.  The rebel leader prowled around trying to stop the growth of the Great Ruler’s kingdom, but he could not.

The son returned to his place in his Father’s realm with the promise to return and completely end the rule of the evil rebel leader.  Until then the people could enjoy the cleansing sacrifice he gave to them. Even though they still lived with evil all around them, the joy of their new life sustained them.

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In John 16:33 (The Message) Jesus said to his Disciples, “I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakeable and assured, deeply at peace.  In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties.  But take heart!  I’ve conquered the world.”

So, Take heart! He has won the victory for us.  We have eternal life and the blessing of living in God’s Kingdom.  Our whole future is bright for we will live in a kingdom of love forever under the rule of a gracious and loving king. 

I’d like to leave you with this thought.  It is not about the place in which you live, but under whose rule you live.  Two choices exist.  You can live under the authority of the defeated ruler of this world whose job is to steal, kill and destroy, or under the rule of the God of the universe who has these two guiding rules, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.  I think the choice is that simple.

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THE RESTORATION OF THE KINGDOM

To conclude what I‘ve been writing about the Kingdom of God I’ve written a short story.  Here is the first part.

 

In the beginning, the Great Ruler established a new kingdom within his realm.  He loved this new kingdom and enjoyed visiting with his new subjects.  He saw to it that they had everything needed for a blissful life.  However, one of his other subjects rebelled against his rule and decided to take over this new kingdom.

Through deception and lies, he convinced the inhabitants of the new kingdom to join his rebellion.  The new kingdom then came under a curse of death and destruction.  It became a dark place full of evil.  The rebel leader delighted in this for he himself was evil.

His rule over the new kingdom went on for many years.  Finally, the Great Ruler had enough.  From the very beginning, he had a plan to regain his new kingdom.  It was now time to implement his plan.  His plan was kept secret, and he caught the rebel leader by surprise.

The great Ruler sent his Son to the new kingdom, but he came not as a ruler but in the likeness of the humble people.  Later, the son began to announce that the Great Ruler’s kingdom had come.  This disturbed the rebel leader, so he began to figure out how to stop this challenge to his rule.

The Son showed the power of the Great Ruler’s kingdom with many signs and wonders.  The people began to follow the Son because they were intrigued by his teaching and the miracles he did for them.  They were also drawn to him because he had power over the rebel leader’s soldiers. 

Many of the people desired to enter the Great Ruler’s kingdom, but there was a problem.  All of them had indulged in the evil of the rebel leader.  They could not enter the Great Ruler’s kingdom without first being cleansed.  The rebel leader knew this so he was confident that he would keep his subjects.  He thought, “I’ll get my subjects to kill the Son then I’ll for sure have the victory.”

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LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD NOW

Over the last two weeks I’ve shared these thoughts:

When Jesus came to earth, he brought the Kingdom of God with him. 

Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, he gave us access to the Kingdom of God.

To enter the Kingdom of God, we must surrender our will to God’s will and receive Jesus as our savior.

As soon as we enter the Kingdom of God, we gain eternal life.

 

Before we entered God’s Kingdom, we were simply dissipating life.  One of the blessings of living in God’s Kingdom is his will now guides our lives.  God’s will can be explained by these two commands.  Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37-39, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.”  God’s will is to help us step beyond our self-centeredness and live a life of purpose. 

What I have observed, over the years of living in God’s kingdom, is that every one of God’s children has a unique and specific purpose to fulfill.  Bonnie calls this our passion.  For her and me the passion has been for children in need.  Our lives together have always been directed toward serving children.  The seed of this passion was planted very early in our lives and satisfied as we walked with the Lord.  What is your passion?

The Kingdom of God is a glorious place, even now, for those who love him.  We look forward to Jesus’ return and the final defeat of evil, but for now, we have a purpose to fulfill.  “Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).”

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DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY

In his book Eldon Ladd points out that God’s kingdom is not a place, but is simply his right to rule, his divine sovereignty.  God’s kingdom exists right now.  We enter god’s kingdom when we surrender our will and except his will.  His will being foremost that we receive the gift of his son’s redeeming work.  Receiving God’s salvation births us into his kingdom.   We are new creation in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17) with an existence in God’s eternal kingdom.

Though we who have received salvation in Jesus are now part of his eternal kingdom, we also exist here in the temporal world.  How does our new status affect our physical presence here?  Eldon Ladd states the answer very nicely, “The kingdom of God is, then, the realization of God’s will and the enjoyment of the accompanying blessings” (*Ladd, page 24). 

In my personal experience of realizing God’s will in my life, I have found comfort, protection, maturity, physical and emotional strength, and an overall exciting challenging life.   The accompanying blessings are manifest in my family and friends and a meaningful existence.  God treats each of his children individually, according to who he created us to be, yet we all benefit from his will and the accompanying blessings.

If you have received Jesus as your savior, you have eternal life in God’s kingdom.  You now exist in the realm of God’s divine sovereignty.  We will someday leave our existence in the temporal world, but we will continue to live forever with God our Father.   

Next week let’s look further into our presence in this world as God’s children.

 

*The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, George Eldon Ladd, Martino Publishing 2011

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THE KINGDOM OF GOD

I have recently been wondering about the kingdom of God. The many complex teachings on the subject have left me a little confused, but I have often felt that the idea is not really that complicated.  My basic thought is that the kingdom of God is simply the kingdom over which God rules, and if you think about it, that is everywhere, for all time, in both the physical and the spiritual realms.   God created it all, and he is, therefore, sovereign over it all.

When I shared this with my pastor, he recommended the below referenced book by George Eldon Ladd*.  This in-depth analysis of the kingdom of God expanded my thoughts and broadened my perspective.  I will be sharing insights in future posts as I study this book.

For today, I want to share this introductory thought.  I believe the kingdom of God is present right here among us, and Jesus gave us access when he went to the cross. Through his death and resurrection, those who receive him as their savior are then ushered into God’s kingdom.  We, the redeemed, now exist in the eternal kingdom of God.  We still exist in this world but, we are in this world not of this world.  Our eternal life has already begun.

 

*The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, George Eldon Ladd, Martino Publishing 2011