Why the Kingdom?

Last week I posted some thoughts on The Kingdom of Heaven. My main point was to establish the fact that Jesus didn't come just to save us from our sins, instead He came to establish a kingdom that is different from this world and will never be destroyed. God is continuing to speak to me on this subject and has prompted me to start studying and seeking out the verses that pertain to it. As I do I will try and share some of it here on my blog in case it helps others.

The Importance of the Kingdom

 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. - Matthew 6:33

One thing that you'll notice right away in this study is that the term "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" tend to be interchanged throughout Jesus' teaching. So not to spend too much time on that there is a discussion about it here. 

I felt a natural start to the study would be to talk about why we should study this subject. Why is it so important? Of course the first reason why we should study this subject is simply that Jesus told us to. Jesus told us in the above verse that we should seek the kingdom first, that means before everything else. The context of this verse is that Jesus tells us to not worry about our material needs. We shouldn't worry about our food or our clothing but instead we should worry about seeking after the Kingdom of God and allow God to add all those things to us. 

Another reason we should be seeking after the Kingdom is that it is what Jesus based His ministry on. In Mark chapter 1 we read:

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” - (v.14-15)

This was the beginning of Jesus's ministry. He started His ministry by declaring the Kingdom of God. Then throughout his teachings we see him constantly saying "The kingdom of God is like..." As mentioned in my last post He came in order to establish a kingdom that would never be destroyed. His death was just the beginning which broke down the barrier and allowed us to be a part of the kingdom, but there is so much more that He was establishing and so much more for us to live in. I encourage you to study out for yourself as you wait for my next post. 

Prophecy Blessing Over Your Child - Revisited

I always find it interesting to look at my top posts historically. Blogger tells me which posts have received the most views over the course of the time that I have been writing this blog. Most of the top ones are from my series based on the book by Loren Cunningham, The Book that Transforms Nations. This was apparently a popular series as four of my top five posts are from it. If you missed it you can see some of the links to the right under "Popular Posts" (Bring Change to Your Nation was the introduction to the series). 

But the one that actually surprised me the most was the one that took first place: Prophesy Blessing Over Your Children. With 265 all time page views this one beat out number two by almost 100 views. For me this is encouraging because it means that my readers desire to be spiritual leaders for their children. 

As I am only about a month away from being a father, and I have multiple friends and family either about to have a baby or recently had a baby, I felt it was a good time to revisit this post.

The post took a look at the following scripture from Luke:

⁷⁶“ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited^[e] us;
⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
⁸⁰ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Luke 1:76-80

This scripture is quoting Zacharias right after his son John (the baptist) was born. Those of us who know the story know that Zacharias initially doubted the angel when he was told that he would have a son and as a result ended up mute throughout the pregnancy. After John was born he miraculously got his speech back and immediately began prophesying amazing things over his baby. 

As I approach the birth of my baby girl this challenge has become even more real to me. Fathers, we need to be constantly seeking God and prophesying over our children. What are we saying about our child's future? What are we prophesying over them? It is time for the fathers to step up and be spiritual heads over our families. It is time for us to take the enemy's attacks head on and prophesy life and success and prosperity over our children and their future! I make it a point to pray over and prophesy over my daughter daily and will continue to after she is born.

What are you prophesying over your child?

The Perplexity of Halloween

I've never truly understood the fascination with Halloween. If you look at any polls asking people their greatest fear death is always high on the list, however we have this one day centered around a culture of death. It's a celebration of death and fear. The T.V. is constantly playing movies like "Nightmare On Elm Street" or "Friday the 13th", people are putting tombstones and zombies in their yard, and families are going to haunted houses. What is so attractive about these things?

Now don't get me wrong, I am not one to say that Christians should boycott Halloween. The point of this post is not to try and convince you to stay in your home, lock your doors, and turn out all the lights. That would simply be giving into the culture of fear. I am simply saying that I don't understand it... but I think it is an opportunity for us to embrace.

What does the Bible say counters fear?  1 John 4:18 says that "...perfect love casts out all fear..." So if we have a day that our culture has built on a foundation of fear the best thing to do to take out that foundation is to love. Halloween is a day where Christians should look to be even more adamant to show love to their neighbors. And you know what the greatest thing about it is? You don't even have to go out to do it, they'll come to you! Isn't that what the church has always wanted? People coming to their doors looking for you to love them, looking for something? Okay maybe we aren't envisioning them looking for candy when they come knocking on our doors but it is still an opportunity.

I actually read this point from a fellow blogger recently she made this statement:

"This is the only night through the entire year that most of your neighbors and mine are going to come knocking on our doors. The only night." - TroubleFace Mom 

If our neighbors are coming to our door one night a year don't we want to take advantage of that? If we want to show the love of Christ then this is the perfect opportunity. 

Now I know for me to write this on Halloween night it is kind of late for you to change your plans this year. I myself, am actually at work tonight (so I am doing my best to show love here), but we have a whole year to plan for this next opportunity. What can you do next year when neighbors are out on the streets and knocking on doors. 

I know of one friend that took the opportunity and set out chairs and a canopy in their driveway and served hot dogs to all the trick or treaters. 

Let's make a new Halloween competition. Instead of competing for the scariest costume, let's compete for the most creative idea to show love to our neighbors. That sounds like a Halloween culture changer right there!

If you've done something creative to reach out on Halloween or you know of someone who has feel free to share it in the comments as inspiration.