We like to feel deep. We like to think we know more than other people. We love to be entertained. That is religion in a nutshell. That is true whether we are in the world, or we are Believers--followers of Jesus Christ. But none of that has anything to do with being a citizen of the Kingdom of God!
Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus made the Gospel so simple. He told parables (stories) that people could relate to and understand, but that held spiritual Truths. If you approach the Bible--God's Holy Constitution--with that understanding you will understand what God is saying to us.
Do you want to be a citizen of the Kingdom?
Do you want to live a Kingdom life?
Do you want to spread the Kingdom everywhere you go?
It is simple....
Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
Dive into God's Word.
When you are full of God's Word, the Holy Spirit will bring scriptures to your mind in every situation. I have found the more Word I get in me, the easier it is to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Read the Old Testament to learn God's character--what does God love? What does God hate? Read the four Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--to learn the Kingdom gospel Jesus preached. Study the life of Jesus and how he preached, interacted with people, with His disciples. Everything He said and did is a Kingdom life lesson. Truly everything we need to know about life is written in those 66 books!
Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:104-105 What you let in through your 'doorways'--your eyes and ears--should be judged by God's Word. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. II Timothy 2:15-16 When you are filled with God's Word, it is easier to know what is straying from God's Truth. You will not be deceived by 'winds of doctrine' (religion). ...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15
Strive to be obedient.
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... Romans 3:23 Sin separates us from God. Repentance brings us back into His presence. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 We all sin and fall short and thank God for His mercy and grace. When we do, we must repent and pluck that sin from our heart before it becomes a rooted iniquity.
Have faith--unshakable, unwavering faith.
If you really know who God is, God's Character and His Word, your faith is unquenchable. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:20-22
Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything you do.
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:9-10
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:7-11
Salvation
God's Word
Obedience
Faith
Listening to the Holy Spirit (our Governor)
That's what it all comes down to. The more complicated we make it, the more likely we are to fail or get wrapped up in religion and doctrines that stray from Truth.
People often ask the question, "why aren't my prayers being answered?". I suggest the following: first check yourself in all the areas I've listed above. Be totally honest with yourself. No one but you and God need to know, and He already knows. Only you need to face the truth of where you are spiritually.
Ask yourself if what you have prayed lines up with God's Word. Just as parents aren't going to give their children something harmful because they love them, so it is with God. (Remember, if you pray--speak--something that is against God's Word, you may receive it, but it won't be from God. Demonic forces will send it your way for your destruction. For example, you pray that a man will leave his wife and be your husband. If it comes to pass, it is sent for your destruction and separation from God)
Then, it comes down to faith and knowing that our timing is not God's timing. This is when resting in Him and trusting that it WILL come to pass in His timing. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Now that you are filled with the Spirit and God's Word, go out into this lost and dying world of darkness and shine! You are a Kingdom citizen and you don't need to just pray for the world, you need to infuse the Kingdom into the world everywhere you go and draw the lost to Him. Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” John 12:35-36
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
Shine, and be blessed!
Arlene
Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus made the Gospel so simple. He told parables (stories) that people could relate to and understand, but that held spiritual Truths. If you approach the Bible--God's Holy Constitution--with that understanding you will understand what God is saying to us.
Do you want to be a citizen of the Kingdom?
Do you want to live a Kingdom life?
Do you want to spread the Kingdom everywhere you go?
It is simple....
Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
Dive into God's Word.
When you are full of God's Word, the Holy Spirit will bring scriptures to your mind in every situation. I have found the more Word I get in me, the easier it is to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Read the Old Testament to learn God's character--what does God love? What does God hate? Read the four Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--to learn the Kingdom gospel Jesus preached. Study the life of Jesus and how he preached, interacted with people, with His disciples. Everything He said and did is a Kingdom life lesson. Truly everything we need to know about life is written in those 66 books!
Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:104-105 What you let in through your 'doorways'--your eyes and ears--should be judged by God's Word. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. II Timothy 2:15-16 When you are filled with God's Word, it is easier to know what is straying from God's Truth. You will not be deceived by 'winds of doctrine' (religion). ...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15
Strive to be obedient.
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... Romans 3:23 Sin separates us from God. Repentance brings us back into His presence. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 We all sin and fall short and thank God for His mercy and grace. When we do, we must repent and pluck that sin from our heart before it becomes a rooted iniquity.
Have faith--unshakable, unwavering faith.
If you really know who God is, God's Character and His Word, your faith is unquenchable. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:20-22
Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything you do.
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:9-10
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:7-11
Salvation
God's Word
Obedience
Faith
Listening to the Holy Spirit (our Governor)
That's what it all comes down to. The more complicated we make it, the more likely we are to fail or get wrapped up in religion and doctrines that stray from Truth.
People often ask the question, "why aren't my prayers being answered?". I suggest the following: first check yourself in all the areas I've listed above. Be totally honest with yourself. No one but you and God need to know, and He already knows. Only you need to face the truth of where you are spiritually.
Ask yourself if what you have prayed lines up with God's Word. Just as parents aren't going to give their children something harmful because they love them, so it is with God. (Remember, if you pray--speak--something that is against God's Word, you may receive it, but it won't be from God. Demonic forces will send it your way for your destruction. For example, you pray that a man will leave his wife and be your husband. If it comes to pass, it is sent for your destruction and separation from God)
Then, it comes down to faith and knowing that our timing is not God's timing. This is when resting in Him and trusting that it WILL come to pass in His timing. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Now that you are filled with the Spirit and God's Word, go out into this lost and dying world of darkness and shine! You are a Kingdom citizen and you don't need to just pray for the world, you need to infuse the Kingdom into the world everywhere you go and draw the lost to Him. Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” John 12:35-36
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
Shine, and be blessed!
Arlene
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