Monday, January 1, 2018

January 2, 2018

".....your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10

As with much of Jesus' teachings simple statements have profound implications!

If you have any questions of how God wants you to live in 2018, do what is done in heaven!

In order to know how to do that you really need to be familiar with what is going on in heaven!

Right?

Heaven isn't just something that happens when you die. By the way, do you know for sure that if you were to die today you would awake in Heaven? You need to know that and you can know that!

You have probably heard the expression, "Don't be so Heavenly minded you are of no earthly good."

Jesus would paraphrase that to, "Be so Heavenly minded that you can do more earthly good!"

As a follower of Christ, He expects you to live your life in order to bring the holiness of Heaven to your corner of the world!

If you are going to commit your life to bringing His Kingdom of Heaven to earth shouldn't you be very clear on the Heavenly activities you need to commit to?

Also, doesn't it make sense that if you plan to spend eternity in Heaven shouldn't be practicing the things you will be doing there?

In my next few posts and in my message on Sunday I will identify exactly what Jesus refers to when He says, "Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!"

Interested?






January 1, 2018

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Genesis 1

There is a significant reoccurring phrase in Chapter 1 of Genesis. Can you find it?

You are right! It is, "And God said......"!

Actually, anything God says is significant, because of Who says it AND because of WHAT HAPPENS when He speaks!

In this dramatic account of the creation of the universe whenever God says, "Let there be...." - there was! God spoke and His words created! Whatever God commanded became a reality. And everything that happened as a result of His words were perfect!

It figures that perfect words from the mind and the mouth of a perfect God would result in the creation of perfection. Everything He spoke appeared and He pronounced it, "Good"!

The lesson for us, other than awe over the power over of our God, is that everything in the universe obeys God - except people. And everything that obeys Him becomes perfect - even people. His creation was perfect until one person refused to obey God. And it is Adam's disobedience that has ruined the perfect creation and sent the world into chaos.
What would it take to restore order? Is there a way for God's perfect will to be reestablished in His creation?

If there was any hope of it happening it would have to happen through perfect obedience. Perfect obedience by someone like --- Jesus.

Want to add a little perfection to your 2018? 

Want to be used by God to create a better world? 

Try a little obedience - or a lot of it!