Tag: kingdom of God

Discovering Our Passion for Christ

Matthew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Every period in history has been marked by people who set out in expectation of finding hidden treasures. All of these treasure hunters have had the same goal. They sought to become suddenly rich. They also shared something else. Their passion to become rich drove them to give up all that they had in order to pursue their treasure.

Like these treasure hunters of times gone by, we would do well to find a passion for seeking the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven. We should be willing to give up all that we have in order to pursue this treasure of unmeasurable worth. Our efforts to attain this treasure must be the most important thing in our lives. We cannot be undecided or unsure about what we are seeking. We will only find the kingdom of heaven if we are desperate and passionate to receive it.

When we recognize Jesus Christ as the Pearl of Great Price, all other things should become worthless to us. As we recognize what Jesus Christ gave up for us, should we not be willing to give up everything for Him? In truth, there is no valuable consideration that can be given up for Him. It is our willingness to part with our sinful nature that provides all the honors, riches and profits of the kingdom of heaven.

Let us surrender all that we are and all that we have to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us exchange all of the treasures of this world for the unmeasurable treasures of the kingdom of God. May we let our passion for Jesus be the foundation of our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great treasure that You have set aside for us in heaven. We exalt the name of Jesus Christ, the Pearl of Great Price, who has made it possible for us to live for all eternity in Your kingdom. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will guide us to experience the fullness of Your kingdom here on earth. May the blessings and the lessons that Your Holy Spirit brings to us for our joy and our enlightenment help us to find our passion for Jesus Christ. May we live our lives entirely for the honor and glory of You, Father, Your Son and Your Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the Treasure of all treasures, Jesus Christ.

Set Apart to Serve

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

As it was with Jeremiah, so it is with each of us. God created us and has a plan for our lives. He has set us apart to serve Him in a way that only we can do because of the unique nature and capabilities that He has given to each of us. God draws each of us into a relationship with Him so that we can understand what He has prepared us to do. We do the things that we are called to do in response to the outpouring of love and forgiveness that we receive from Our Creator.

As we seek our place in God’s kingdom, we must be careful not to think too highly or too lowly of ourselves. We should maintain a keen sense of our weaknesses and our insufficiencies, but we should not let our weaknesses keep us back from our calling. We should fear no man and go about our work humbly as we grow in our relationship with Our Heavenly Father. Our primary focus needs to be on seeking God’s will for our lives and discovering the appointment that Our Creator has set aside for us. Once we confirm our appointment, we need to respond accordingly.

The good news is that we do not have to discover our appointment or respond to it on our own. Our Heavenly Father has given us a Helper to guide us through the process of finding and accepting the calling that He has placed on our lives. As long as we set aside time to be in the presence of Almighty God and surrender to the urgings of the Holy Spirit, we will discover our appointed role in the kingdom and rejoice in our opportunity to serve Our King.

Let us first seek an intimate relationship with Our Savior. Then let us earnestly seek the aid of the Holy Spirit to reveal the calling that Our Lord has set aside for us. Under the guidance of Our Counselor, let us move in faith one step at a time toward our appointment.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating each of us to fill a specific need on this earth and in Your eternal kingdom. We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to help us separate our own carnal desires from the will and plan that You have for our lives. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. We ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit teach us how to be vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We ask all these things in the name of the One who makes it possible for us to become Your good and faithful servants, Your Most Faithful Son, Jesus Christ.

A Place Where All Things Are New

Revelation 21:2
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Most of us were taught to set goals and to develop step-by-step plans to reach our goals, so that the end of our lives will be joyful and satisfying. For many of us, attaining the goals that we set for ourselves has become the driving force that directs the course of our lives. Thus are the ways of man.

In God’s supernatural world, things are totally different. Goals are not set for this world, because God did not create this world to be about our accomplishments. God created this world to prepare us for the eternal life that we will spend in heaven for all eternity. Everything we go through here on earth is part of the process that God puts us through or allows us to go through in order to prepare us for life in new Jerusalem.

We go up to new Jerusalem, not to fulfill our own purposes, but to fulfill the purposes that Almighty God has for us. We are being prepared to go to a place where all things are new. There will be no trouble or tumult. The new Jerusalem is the church of God in its new and perfect state. It is a holy church without blemish and we will be there fully prepared for our place at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Let us prepare ourselves for our new lives in the kingdom of God. Let us surrender to the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. Let us repent of the things that the Holy Spirit reveals to us. Let us be obedient to the things that the Holy Spirit urges us to do. Let us rejoice in our new lives in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us at the wedding feast of the Lamb. We praise You and worship You for providing a way for us to be made acceptable to take our place at this great banquet. Father, open our eyes that we may see Your perspective of what our lives are meant to be. We pray that you show us how to set aside all that this world offers in exchange for the eternal life that we will spend with You for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the True Bread of Heaven, Jesus Christ.