“Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matthew 4:23).
The gospel of the kingdom moves Jesus Christ into the center most part of your personality, your spirit, and your heart. He cannot be on the fringes of your life and be the king of your life.
When the King and His kingdom enter your life, they come with great power and authority. His government rules you, His words direct you: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all the other things which you want shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33),
His love motivates you: “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13),
His wisdom guides you: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group, and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
at this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and sin no more.”
His grace frees you: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10),
And His heart draws you close to His: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
His kingdom has not come to hide within you, but that it may manifest through you. You can proclaim His kingdom to others by the way you live, by the choices you make, by the attitudes you express, and by the love you demonstrate.
Great Word Noel! I am inspired by this excerpt in particular:
His kingdom has not come to hide within you, but that it may manifest through you. You can proclaim His kingdom to others by the way you live, by the choices you make, by the attitudes you express, and by the love you demonstrate.
Thank you my dear brother!
Glenda
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Thank you very much Minister Glenda. They is an old song that says: “Go tell it on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is Lord.” And yet another one, “A Christian must keep the faith but not to his or herself.
Thanks for stopping by once again. God bless you.
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Amen and amen!
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Thanks loopyloo. I really appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment. God bless you.
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Amen! God Bless
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If all we can say is “To God be the glory!”
can we take credit for any of our ‘good’ works?
Or do we only have to take responsibility
for acts deemed unseemly? It is as if one cannot
be proud of anything, not even one’s own child.
This has always been a sticky spot for me.
Like, somehow, we have to pretend we’re invisible,
and God is the only One who can see us.
I’m stumped.
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We absolutely can take credit for our good works. No question! But when we allow the image of God to manifest through us, we are able to do more than we thought we could on a more consistent basis. You see, Uncle Tree, I know you know this, man of himself is incapable of doing good consistently. The mind wanders frequently and we tend to think about self more than we should. An athlete in a race have to time to think about self. He thinks about the finish line–self comes after the finish line.
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your input and your words of wisdom. God bless.
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