Scripture

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

~Luke 17:20-21, NKJV

Quote

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

~The Apostle Paul

The Jews as a whole, and particularly the Pharisees, were looking for a visible kingdom. They were looking for an earthly kingdom with a David like king. Through this king, Israel would subdue and rule all nations. Israel would become the economic center of the world. The power they envisioned was military and monetary in nature. When they questioned Jesus about the time of the kingdom’s arrival, He told them, “You will not be able to see with your eyes; it will not be visible or observable.” Of course they were not listening to His every word, they basically heard what they wanted to, but Jesus told them, “the kingdom is here now.” He could have told them, the KING of the kingdom is here now. The kingdom of God is spiritual in nature, it is within us. It is like a tiny mustard seed, so small you have to focus to see it but it will grow and grow and eventually it will be observable to all. At this point, it take faith to see the kingdom. The Pharisees missed the truth is Jesus words. I don’t think they understood what He was talking about. The Pharisees wanted information about coming of the kingdom but it had to fit their preconceived notions. They did not want to hear about humility, servanthood, and sacrifice, so they simply ignored what Jesus had to say.

We better be careful about our preconceived notions. I am not saying that all the books on prophecy by people like Hal Lindsey and Jonathan Cahn are wishful thinking but if they are contrary to what Jesus taught, you have to question their interpretation. Jesus never said that we would not suffer. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I know for certain at finite man can not predict how God will fulfill prophecy. Many of the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus day could quote the scriptures word for word. They were waiting for the Messiah and yet they rejected Jesus. Why? Because God did not fulfill the scriptures has they had imagined, They knew the scriptures better than we do and yet they were wrong. Stop looking for visible signs and concentrate of what Christ is doing within you. Right now, the kingdom is within the followers of Christ; when He returns, it will break out and the entire world with see the glory of His Kingdom.

Extra

Happy birthday to Big Mama: she is 47 today.  She does incredible things: she takes care of Jackson four days a week and usually has Titan on Friday. Seriously, I don’t know how she does it! I try to give her a break every now and then but I don’t last long. What amazes everyone at Grace Point is that she hadn’t killed me and buried me in the back yard. Tina Jones told me once, “If I was married to you, the first thing I would do is call the man with the backhoe, because we would be digging your grave in the back yard.” It’s like the woman who said to a man she despised, “If I was married to you I would poison you.” He quickly replied, “If I was married to you, I would eat the poison.”

We did something yesterday that I never dreamed we would do. June and I carried Jackson to the doctor. Trust me, even middle aged adults don’t dream of carrying their greats go the doctor. Well for those of us who hate hot weather, we are going to get cooled off this week. The deer hunter’s will be thrilled. I basically took yesterday off but I have a lot to do today and so I am praying for energy. I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

Reminder

Don’t forget to pray for our friends who are battling cancer: Gregg Holladay, Beth Jones, Holly Bailey Roberts, and Lincoln Kallas. Lincoln is a 15 year old Sophomore from Brewer and a member of our youth group. He was diagnosed with cancer last Thursday I think, and he and his mom Andrea are at St. Judes and will be their 10 weeks. It is a family of five and two of the five have already battled cancer and survived. Pray for this family.