Verses/Bible

The Kingdom of the Son.

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What does it mean to be part of the Kingdom of the Son? Well it means a whole lot of things, and it also means being called into a whole lot of things.

“God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1:13-14‬ ‭(MSG‬‬)

Being called into the Kingdom of the Son means being pulled out of the pit. It means being rescued from an eternal doom by the loved Son of God. It means being set free from frantic failures and patterns of sin. It means living into the identity God has given you. It means truly bearing the image of God in all you do and with all you are.

Being part of the Kingdom is about belonging. It’s about purpose.

My word for 2020 is purpose. I want to learn to live into my purpose here and now, and help others see their purpose in life too. Purpose, for the follower of Jesus, is to belong to the Kingdom of the Son and to live in light of that eternal reality.

As a believer in the one true God, I belong to a greater location than Texas or the United States. I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ and I belong to His Kingdom…and He is the Eternal King! My purpose then is to bring others close to God, that they may also see the beauty, grace, forgiveness, and love of the Father.

Purpose also includes living in light of a reality that is eternal. The chaos of this world, the disappointments, the failures, the flaws, the pain… these are all side effects of a broken world. But my reality is that there will come a day when the Kingdom of the Son will break through, redeeming all that was lost and bringing new life and eternal belonging to those who belong to the Son.

I’m finding that purpose is something we seek and desire as humans. It’s part of being human because our purpose has been marred by sin. We were made to be with God, to enjoy His creation, and to tend His garden. But that picture has been ruined by sin. So our purpose is now difficult to find, leading us to seek identity in other things and in ungodly ways. We attempt to find purpose in who others tells us we are or should be. We attempt to find purpose in our jobs and families. And all of these attempts leave us without lasting purpose or fulfillment, every single time.

The reason we can’t find true, lasting purpose in anything of this world is because we were made for a different world. God created us to be with Him in the beginning. So our longing for purpose, our desire for belonging, our hope for better days ahead, is all stemming from the fact that we were made to be with God. We were made to be in the Kingdom of the Son. And those who follow Jesus will be in this Kingdom forever!

So today, I pray you will consider what it means to be part of the Kingdom of the Son… to live the way He designed us with a purpose that is focused on Him. He is the only one who can rescue from failed attempts at perfection and misguided desires. And He saves all those who come to Him. His Kingdom is eternal and it begins here and now. Will you allow Him to be your King?

Stop & Consider.

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Living in Texas there are a lot of thunderstorms. These roll in often and typically include some magnificent clouds and incredible lightning shows. These are the kind of storms you just want to pull up a chair and watch for hours. I like calling them “God’s fireworks” because the skies are often so beautifully colored as the lightning goes off in the midnight sky. Texas storms are truly a masterpiece of God.

Nature is and always has been one of my favorite things. I love being outside all the time, enjoying nature by going on hikes, running, and exploring. I love nature because it shows me more about who God is.

A verse struck me tonight as I read in Job 36-37. Elihu is speaking to Job. He points out a variety of types of nature, like wind, snow, rain, and ice. He goes on to say that each of these things are from the Lord, that God is the one who holds the power of these things. He is reminding Job of the magnificence and power of God, and how this is displayed in His creation.

Elihu says things like this: He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. (Job 27:3) He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ (Job 37:6) The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. (Job 27:10)

And then he says the thing that stood out:

“Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders.”

Job 27:14 (NIV)

Job is told to stop and consider God’s wonders. Other versions of this verse say, “the wondrous works of God” (ESV) and “the wonderful miracles of God” (NLT). Job is asked by this friend to consider the ways and works of God. He is not God, and he does not control the earth. God is God. God is the only one who can speak things into existence, command the skies, and control the winds.

As I read this verse I thought, “How do I stop and consider the works of the Lord?”

In a world, culture, and era where busy is new normal, fast food is not fast enough, and Amazon allows us live a life of immediate gratification, we do not stop and consider often, if ever. And this life of non-stop busyness and hurry leads us to the false belief that we do not need God, nor do we need to consider His works.

But I think I want to stop and consider the Lord and His ways. This seems so important, like an essential aspect of being human in the ways God intended for us to be human because it reminds us how small we truly are in comparison with God. Job is told to consider the ways of the Lord, His marvelous and miraculous works. I want to live a life that is slow enough to stop and consider the ways of the Lord, like Job is encouraged to do. And this includes taking time to stop and simply enjoy God’s creation.

So, what are the marvelous and miraculous works of God around me and in my life that I can stop and consider? What are the miraculous works of God around you? And what should our response to these be?

As we consider the ways of the Lord and His miracles, I believe the only right response is worship. When we consider how he commands the lightning, controls the wind, and created all of the earth, there is nothing else for us to do but bow down in worship towards our great God!

So today, I want to encourage you to STOP and CONSIDER. Take a moment right now to stop what you are doing. Look out your window and praise God for something you see that He made. Maybe it’s your kids playing outside. Maybe it’s a bird perched on a branch. Maybe it’s a newly planted tree just beginning to bud. As you look at these things, consider the Lord. Consider that He created each of these things with intentionality, purpose, and creativity. He created these things out of joy that we might worship Him all the more!

Take time today, friend, to stop and consider the ways of the Lord.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

Psalm 34:8a (ESV)

P.S. I love the way The Message tells of these verses, so I have copied that below for you to enjoy and worship God with these words today!

“Job, are you listening? Have you noticed all this? Stop in your tracks! Take in God’s miracle-wonders? Do you have any idea how God does it all, how he makes bright lightning from dark storms, how he piles up the cumulus clouds—all these miracle-wonders of a perfect Mind? Why, you don’t even know how to keep cool on a sweltering hot day, so how could you even dream of making a dent in that hot-tin-roof sky?

Job 37:14-18 (MSG)

The Word of God

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Take a deep breath in, and now out. One more time. Slowly. As you do this, you feel breath leaving your body. You can feel this as you speak too by holding you hand in front of your mouth, and feeling the breath of each word as you speak.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (ESV)

This verse has a key phrase in it that you may have already picked up on. It says that “ALL scripture is breathed out by God.” This means that the Bible is the very word of God. The Bible is not like any other book in the world and it will never compare to any other book. That’s not because it’s the most widely known book across generations and centuries, or the book translated into the most languages. The Bible is and always will be different than any other book because it is the very word of God.

The opening pages of the Bible begin with God speaking everything into existence. God says, “Let there be light…let there be land…let there be mountains…let there be frogs…etc.” Everything that exists has been spoken into creation by God Himself. His words hold power, the power to create and give life. The words spoken by God are different than the words we speak because of the power they hold.

So when we read 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we see that the Bible (all of Scripture) is breathed out by God. In other words, it is spoken by God, it is His very breath. Therefore, the Bible holds power. And thankfully, these words have been translated into a language we can understand so as we read the Bible, we find out that these words hold the power of life.

That life is found only in Jesus.

So today, I encourage you to pick up your Bible and read. Spend time in the very words of God. Recognize that He loved us so much that He gave us His very words to know and live by. He is a good God!