There is much to be said about this earth we occupy.  One thing for certain, it isn't perfect.  From the very start when Adam chose to disobey his Creator, this world tumbled into a chaotic state.  From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, they viewed things from a worldly, carnal, perspective.  They realized that they were naked and felt shame. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. 

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”NKJV  Notice that the Lord God called out to Adam, the man, not Eve, not even to both of them.  He called out to Adam because Adam was charged with cultivating the garden, Eve was Adam's helper.  Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”  

Keep this in mind, it was because of disobedience that sickness and chaos entered into this world as we know it.  This condition will continue until the day our King and Lord will return.  Only those who are filled with the Holy Spirit, stay in His Word and endure until His return, will be saved from eternal judgment.

At some point in time, we all will go through some kind of trial or tribulation.  Determine right now to be strong and immovable and stand on the Word of God.  Remember this is a fallen world, one that we as Kingdom citizens are called to be a light in the midst of darkness.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."  We as citizens of the Kingdom are to effect those around us in an encouraging way so that they would want to have what we possess.  “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless."  In this fallen world, many people fail to acknowledge the Lord God as their Creator, their Lord, their Source, their provider, their healer and refuse to give Him the honor He deserves.  Many worship Hollywood actors, singers, entertainers, religious leaders, famous athletes, etc.   I'm sure you could add to that list!  They put more faith in mankind rather than the Creator of mankind.  The Lord God isn't pleased.  Ambassador Paul made this statement:  But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.  They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.  Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.  

Because of this fallen world, the Lord God sent His Son, the last and final hope for all mankind.  And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. But even now, many people refuse to embrace and acknowledge the Lord God's Son.  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NKJV  Yes, because they refused to acknowledge Him and worshiped mankind more than the King of the heavens and earth, the Lord God gave them up to their fleshly desires.

So when you see or hear things in your daily life that "cause you to raise your eyebrows", remember that this is a fallen world, but the King will protect His citizens. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 

Remember, your faith in the Lord Jesus is your greatest asset in the Kingdom.

Genesis 3:7 & 9; 2:18   Matthew 5:14-15; 5:13   Romans 1:18-22
John 3:15-16   Romans 1:24-25, 26-30   John 17:14-18  
All NLT unless noted.

~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
 
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you

Our walk with the King should be as natural as breathing. Our thinking should be of one mindset, a Kingdom mindset.  But, this takes time.  Why?  This is a fallen world and we must learn to stay focused on His Word and not be distracted by the world.  My question to you is, do you understand your function as a Kingdom citizen?  The vast majority don't.

Mankind has become an expert at understanding how plants and animals function.  We crossbreed animals to create hybrids that are stronger, tastier, more delicious and produce greater yield.  We graft branches to other varieties to develop more compact trees that tastier fruit that grows larger and keeps longer.  But keep in mind, we are deficient in our understanding and appreciation of how the Lord God designed man to function.  We concentrate on our bodies instead of our spirit.  This has become a serious hindrance to those who want to grow in a Kingdom mindset. 

Remember, when the Lord God created mankind, He spoke to Himself so that men and women could be spiritual beings even as He is Spirit.  Keep in mind what King Jesus stated:  "But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.  For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”  Remember, originally we were designed to live for eternity.  So a closer walk with the King means staying and living in His Word.  Not as a supplement, but your lifestyle.  

The first man, Adam, was disobedient and destroyed the Lord God's plan and brought alienation between the Lord God and mankind.  That was because mankind was no longer sustained by his Source.  Man's spirit died and his body lost its ability to continually rebuild and replenish itself.  Ambassador Paul reminds us: And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.  

Mankind in his fallen state could no longer know and understand the thoughts and purpose of the Lord God.  That is why it is so important to stay in the Word and be filled with the Holy Spirit (the Governor).  Mankind became controlled by his soul instead of his spirit.  He began to look to his environment for the information he needed.  His environment became his source.  Even to this very day this is still going on.  Do you recall what ambassador Paul stated in his letter to the Ephesians?   Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.  

Mankind without the Lord God is a paralyzed spirit in dirt while walking on two legs.  Every human being since the first man has sinned.  Ambassador Paul again reminds us:  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  

Keep in mind that your body doesn't need the Lord God in order to live. It came from the ground and needs the products from the ground in order to stay alive.  King Jesus made this statement to the disciples concerning the religious:  “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.  But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.  For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”  Don't you know that the Lord God has a name for those who detach themselves from Him and live from the body (a carnal life)?  He calls them dead. He made this statement the cost of discipleship.  Another of His disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”  A mere man or woman does things unnaturally.  That is because they don't know the King and the purpose for which they were called.  That lack of knowledge allows them to abuse themselves and others because they don't know how the Lord God designed them to behave.  Death and dirt characterize their lives.

Always remember, your greatest asset is your faith in His Word.

John 4:23-24   Romans 4:23-24   Ephesians 4:18-19
Romans 3:23   Matthew 15:16-20; 8:21-22
All scriptures NLT unless otherwise noted.

~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
 
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you

Regardless of what is going on in your life, you should always praise the Lord God for His goodness.  Ambassadors Paul and Silas experienced many times of crisis and yet they kept praising the Lord God regardless of their situation.  Many days Paul and Silas had been followed by a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell fortunes.  Day after day, She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.  This led to Paul and Silas' imprisonment.  They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar  by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.  After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.  Please realize, they didn't complain but they sang songs and praises to the Lord God Almighty, to the point that the Lord Jesus heard them from heaven's throne.  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.  If we suffer with Him, we shall also live with Him.  Praising the Lord God should be second nature to you.  ​Here is a trustworthy saying:  If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;  

Praising the Lord God in times of crisis should be no different than praising Him in the best of times.  There is still so much to be thankful for!  Praise Him for who He is!  He is the Creator of us all!  My question to you is this, what would you have done if you were Paul and Silas' situation?  Would you have started praising the King or pleading your innocence?  King David stated:  I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. NKJV ... But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.  NKJV...I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I know the Lord is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.  Keep this in mind, when Job the servant of the Lord God was going through his test of faithfulness to the King.   Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave.  The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.  Praise the name of the Lord!”

In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Even though it was truly stated:  "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.", it was not a statement of truth. The evil one took those things away from Job, at the permission of the Lord God.    One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.  You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!  But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

“All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.  With all Job went through, he praised and worshiped the Lord God.  By the way, the Lord God blessed Job again with more than twice he had at the beginning.  So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.  He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.  He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.  In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

​My finals thought:
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Remember, your faith in His Word is your greatest asset in His Kingdom.

Acts 16:17-18, 20-24, 25-26   2 Timothy 2:11   1 Thessalonians 5:18
Psalm 7:17; 13:6-7; 16:7-8   Job 1:20-22; 1:6-12   Job 42:12-15
All NLT except where noted

​~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
 
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you

We as Kingdom citizens are called to be of one mindset, a Kingdom mindset, with a desire to please our King and praise Him with our life!  But many believers are self-focused.  When people are self-focused they tend to see praise and worship from a viewpoint of how it affects them.  That is why it has become more about entertainment than praising the Lord!  Praise and worship is treated as an introduction or preliminary part that they must get through to get to the "important part".  At least that is true here in the United States.  We have become far too casual and familiar with our worship and with the Lord Jesus.  We treat Him as though He isn't a priority.  

Praising Him should always be the first thing we do when we rise up in the morning.  Praising Him should always be on your lips.  Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!  From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised.  NKJV  Remember that it is the parents' responsibility to share the Lord God's praises to their children.  They learn what they see modeled by their parents!  We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders.  For He issued His laws to Jacob; He gave His instructions to Israel.  He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children.  So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.  Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.  You should always be praising the Lord and His Word! There is always something to praise the Lord for!

I praise God for what He has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what He has promised.  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?  What can mere mortals do to me?  People who praise the Lord God on a regular basis do so because they have found the Lord to be so altogether lovely that they can't stop thinking of Him and talking about Him.  They have gotten close enough to the King to see His true nature and character.  By the way, they have found in Him more than everything they have ever hoped for in this life!  

You can't brag about someone you never knew. If you did, your bragging would be a false statement.  In other words, you would be guilty of lying. So, although praise may start with what you know about the Lord God, it must eventually progress to what you yourself have experienced of the King.  Keep in mind, you don't have to work up your praise, it automatically bubbles up within you.  Just think about all that He has done for you and all he has saved you from! 

He is your joy, strength, comfort, peace, your all-in-all!  Always remember, your life is anchored in Him and His goodness to you brings His name to the forefront of your thoughts and your lips repeatedly.  In essence, praise that flows from a deep relationship with the Lord God is genuine and authentic.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart; be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.  NKJV

Remember, your faith in the Lord God's Word is your greatest asset in the Kingdom.

Psalm 13:2-3   Psalm 78:4-8   Psalm 56:10-11  Psalm 19:14
All NLT, except where noted.


~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
 
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you