Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and the end will come.  (Jesus speaking.)

Matthew 24:14

“The gospel of the kingdom.”  We might say, “The Good News of the Kingdom of God.”  It is now to be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations.” Emphasis is on the “now.”

Jesus won salvation for all who will believe – Jews, Gentiles, whoever.  “All” can be saved.  Preach this Gospel now!

Having won the victory that made it possible for all mankind to be saved, Jesus turns to all those who follow Him and leaves them with a simple but awesome task, “Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations.”  That is it!  Then “the end will come.”

All heaven turns the ear to hear the saved ones preach the Good News that invites all people of every culture, in all times, to follow Jesus Christ.  Heaven hears and rejoices.

Is this the center of my message?  Is this what I teach and preach?  Is this the center of my thought and life?  I come up short.  There are so many other good things to preach so if we are not careful we neglect the heart of the matter, the coming of the Kingdom of God among us.

Poor Jane twisted her calf muscle or something like that over a week ago but she pushes on with her care of the flowers.  Hopefully she will heal, even though slowly.  She is a delight at all times, especially in her garden of flowers.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:10

Early on in his ministry, Jesus prayed this prayer!  He spoke of the “Kingdom of God.”  Here, in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invites us to consider a solid reality, God’s Kingdom.  This truth was not something that people thought much about at the time.  It certainly did not dominate their thoughts.  In fact, it was quite revolutionary.  They wanted to hear how the Kingdom of Israel was to restored.

When Jesus confided with his audience about this he opened a whole new door into the way to grasp eternal reality.  The fact is that the Kingdom of God already exists, in heaven!  That is far off – in heaven!  That is not hard to believe.

But the point that Jesus is making is revolutionary, that just like God’s Kingdom is in heaven, so we must pray that the same be the case on the earth!  He is not speaking of the nation of Israel, but of the spiritual Kingdom of God that is open to all who will believe!  That is the Kingdom in which we believers live.

This is as true today as it was back then.  The kingdoms of the earth come and go, the Kingdom of God is eternal.

I need to allow this truth to penetrate my heart, more and more.  And live in that reality!

God, how are things going in your Kingdom on the earth these days?  I wonder how God would answer that.  One thing is sure, the kingdom is expanding in numbers at a great rate.  As a wee example, the church we were involved in Tanzania had about 2,000 members in 1960.  Today that church contains almost 80,000!

Numerical growth is important but not the whole picture.  The question I keep asking myself is, how is Jesus magnified in this burgeoning church?  Is He reigning in honor and strength?  I do believe so, but it is the question all Christian communities must be asking all over the world today.

I believe that many believers would like to see Jesus reign in power in the political world. That would be nice.  To be honest, we were never promised that.  Jesus reigns where he is King!  Where is that?  It is definitely in his Kingdom!  I do believe many believers would like to see the State becoming the place where Jesus is King.  That will never happen, I do believe, but remains an alluring dream.

Earthly kingdoms come and go.  The Kingdom of God is eternal.  We believers must get used to the idea that the Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom infused with the Spirit of Christ and led by Him, always.  That is our kingdom!  And, praise God, it is the kingdom of every believer in all cultures, denominations and nations.

Let us unite with all believers in our love for Jesus, our eternal King!

I once checked out the name of this early, early lily, but it alludes me now, but the surprising beauty is still there, radiant and inviting.  It is near our neighbors shed.  I find Spring surprises exciting.

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:9-10

For some reason, at this special time of the year, my mind keeps taking me back to the central theme of the life and teachings of Jesus in the last days of his life before the crucifixion and resurrection.  The word, the concept of the Kingdom of Heaven rises to crescendo level at this time.   The very center of Jesus’ word to us is that He came to establish the Kingdom of God and to invite us to be converted from any thinking that takes us in a different direction.  The center of it all is HIS KINGDOM.

All Jesus’ ethics are kingdom ethics. The message is always “My Kingdom.”  Jesus taught this, again and again, emphasized it in his prayer early on in his ministry recorded in Matthew 6, in the Sermon of the Mount (as noted above.)  He often reminded his followers that He was establishing the Kingdom of God, not a political kingdom.  As the Cross approached he announced to his disciples that he is establishing the Kingdom that is like to that in heaven.  Then, after his Resurrection, he spoke of his Kingdom for forty days prior to his Ascension.  When the Holy Spirit descended on his servants, they spoke convincingly of this Kingdom.

As we noted in the previous meditation, the disciples were so heavily influenced by the Israeli national religion of the time that they had no idea how you could have a kingdom that is not an earthly government.  Only an infilling of the Holy Spirit could move them into the mystery, the reality of the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

May our prayer today focus on the glory and power of God’s Kingdom, now among us by the power of the Spirit of God himself.

For some reason, I am attracted to this lovely ground-cover flower.  Seems a bit late this year so this is a bit special to me.  I grew up with these lovely flowers, produced by lush green foliage.   These are beside our pools.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

Acts 1:6

I am amazed at Jesus’ patience.  He explained many things about the kingdom he came to establish, especially as his death drew near.  It was all opaque to his disciples who had formed, in their minds, a vision of the Kingdom of God as the restoration of Israel.  That preconception kept them from hearing Jesus as he tried to explain his plan.

So, here it is, after forty days in which Jesus tried his best to explain his Kingdom, he heard his disciples, again, ask a question that showed clearly that they had no idea what he was talking about.  Listen, again, to their final question before Jesus’ ascension, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”  It was as though they had not heard Jesus at all.  Their question had to do with “our kingdom.”   What interested his disciples was the future of Israel.  They believed that Jesus would somehow liberate Israel from the Roman Empire, thus fulfilling a dream that dominated the Jews at the time of Christ.  The “free” Israel would then “restore” “our” kingdom of Israel.  That seemed to be the heart of their belief.  They hoped, no doubt, that Jesus would do just that.

Jesus ceased trying to explain the nature of the Kingdom.  He simply announced to them that shortly you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Israel was not even mentioned.) Having said that he ascended to glory.

What happened after this is astounding.  In a few days, after being filled by the Holy Spirit, Peter, as their spokesperson explained the mystery of the Kingdom of God, now among them.  Hallelujah!

Alan and Lisa made a nice vegetable bed at the foot of our plot. Lisa cut the potatoes with the proper number of eyes in each slice, then planted them along with carrots, beets, onions and whatnot. I enjoy watching these enterprising farmers make something of our plot.