The Kingdom of Heaven

Since a very young age, I was taught The Lord's Prayer. I have particularly found memories of saying The Lord's Prayer when we would gather at my grandparents for a special meal - for holidays or special celebrations.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come. 

Thy will be done in earth, 

As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation, 

But deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen.

The other day I was meditating on the words of The Lord's Prayer, specifically on the phrase Thy  Kingdom come.

John the baptist had a single message that he repeated throughout his ministry

• Matthew 3:2; Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
• Mark 1:15; The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!

Likewise, Jesus had a single message that He repeated throughout His ministry

• Matthew 4:17; From that time on Jesus began to preach,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
• Luke 10:11; Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.

Jesus even called His followers to bring this same message

• Matthew 10:7; As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

In Matthew 5, Jesus begins His most famous teaching, “The Sermon on the Mount”, and He begins by announcing various blessings to the people listening to Him.

• The first blessing that Jesus announces relates to His Kingdom message
  • Matthew 5:3; Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• The last blessing that Jesus announces also relates to His Kingdom message
  • Matthew 5:10; Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The way Jesus announces these blessings to the poor in spirit and he persecuted is much different than the way He was preaching – and teaching – to the masses.

• There is a distinct difference between the knowledge that “the Kingdom of heaven is near” and this “ownership” of the Kingdom that Jesus announces to the broken and the persecuted – “theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”.

I could tell you that the Kingdom of heaven is near, and you may believe me, but that won’t make a difference in your life.

John 3:3; Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

• We must SEE – recognize – the Kingdom of God by being born again

Mark 10:15; Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

• We must RECEIVE – acknowledge and accept – the Kingdom of God
• We must ENTER the Kingdom of God – but how?

John 3:5; Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

• We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by being born of water and spirit – transformation

Matthew 7:21; Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

• We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by doing the will of God, our Father

Acts 14:22; We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God

• We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by going through hardships and persecution

Matthew 5:20; For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

• We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by accepting Christ’s righteousness as ours

1 Corinthians 6:9; Wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

• We will INHERIT the Kingdom of God when we become righteous through Christ

1 Corinthians 15:50; Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

• We cannot INHERIT the Kingdom of God unless we are fully transformed by God

The message for us, today, is simple; the Kingdom of heaven is near

• We must first SEE IT
• Then we are able to RECEIVE IT
• We must then ENTER IT
• So that we may INHERIT IT

Christian Walk and Riding a Bike

 Almost four years ago I wrote a post about teaching our daughter to ride a tricycle, and then a bicycle with training wheels (you can read it here). In this post I quoted author Robert Tuttle, who wrote that the "Christian walk is much like riding a bicycle; we are either moving forward or falling off".

I was recently reminded of this quote - and my post - when I took our son out to the church parking lot and he asked me to remove the training wheels from his bicycle.

Not only have I had the pleasure of teaching my oldest two children how to ride a bike, I have also had the great honor of baptizing them into the family of God. 

The same week that Zion took off on his bicycle on two wheels he was also baptized, both of these events happening at the church. Both of these milestones required teaching from me and commitment for them. And I will remember the joy of both of these events for the rest of my life.

Exchanging Our Soul

Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

These passage iare heavy on my mind and heart tonight. And the question; "is there anything that I am I exchanging my soul for?" To help bring context and understanding to to these - well-known - passages, I considered the following passages as well. 

Job 2:4 "Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life.

Psalm 49:16-17  Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die,their splendor will not descend with them.

Philippians 3:7-9 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 

Let us not exchange our soul for anything. Let us fix our eyes - our minds - our hearts - our everything on Christ and the eternal home He has for us. 

Baptizing Zion

Yesterday I had the great honor and privilege of baptizing my son Zion, as we concluded our Easter worship celebration. This is the second of my children that I have had the honor of baptizing. For me, of course, this is a very emotional experience.

Zion began asking me if he could be baptized almost a year and a half ago. But, because he was only 5 years-old, I told him that it would be better if he would wait to be baptized. He has asked me several times over the past year and a half and every time, after a bit of conversation with him, I conclude by telling him that it would be better if he would wait until he was older.

The reasoning that he gives for wanting to be baptized are reasons that I would encourage others to be baptized; I want to receive communion, I want my sin to be completely washed away, and I want to tell others that I am a Christian, to name a few.

Knowing that I was preparing to baptize three individuals yesterday, he asked me Thursday - as I laid him down for bed - "Dad, can I be baptized on Sunday?" Once again we had a conversation. And, once again, he gave good reasoning for wanting to be baptized; "I want to take communion with you and mom." Then, once again, I old him that it would be best to wait. And on Saturday - before I laid him down for bed - "Dad, will you baptize me tomorrow?" Once again we had a conversation. And, once again, he gave good reasoning for wanting to be baptized; "I want Jesus to wash all my sin away in front of the church." Then, once again, I old him that it would be best to wait.

As we sat down in the front pew on Sunday morning, with music playing, and anticipation for our resurrection worship celebration to begin, Zion looks up to me; "Dad, will you please baptize me today?" Once again we had a conversation. And, once again, he gave good reasoning for wanting to be baptized; "I think it will help me grow closer to God".

During the service I had a short conversation with God.
After the service I had a short conversation with my wife.
Then I had a short conversation with Zion.
And I got to celebrate an amazing moment with my son.