As this is the first blog, I am going to be a little wordy, because I want to lay out my vision and share my heart. I hope you are encouraged. I hope you will join me on my journey. I hope that you enter into a deeper LOVE relationship with God, no matter how deep it is now...
I am calling this blog "Kingdom Building" because I know that God has created me for His purposes. I have a battle that He has called me to fight. I have an adventure that He has called me to live. I have a beauty that He has called me to rescue. I want His will to be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. I know that MY part in this massive story that He is allowing to unfold is a very small part, in the grand scheme of things. At the same time, I believe that it is vital.
Every soul is vital... including mine. God's main goal is the hearts of the people He created. Jesus came to die, to pay the price for our sins so that we could be forgiven and (here's the important part) KNOW GOD!!! Knowing God IS eternal life, and THAT is what Jesus died for us to be able to attain. And this Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, is within us. The Bible tells us that the Kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Learning to walk in this Kingdom that He has placed within us is a process. This is what my blog is about. Allowing the Kingdom to be built in me... or more accurately, allowing God to chip away at the foolishness in my soul that keeps me from living in the marvelous freedom that He has purchased for me.
First, I'll talk about JOY: The word "joy" is mentioned 71 times in the New Testament... it's worthwhile to do a study on joy, but what I want to mention is the last thing that Jesus talked about before he was arrested. Before Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane, He spoke to His disciples about abiding in the vine and remaining in His love... and He told them that "so your joy may be full." In His presence, is the fullness of Joy. The lies that we have been told and that we have believed about ourselves tend to shake us and play on our insecurities and use our defense mechanisms to take us out of an awareness that Jesus is real; He is present; and He loves us. When that happens and our focus shifts from Him, to us and our circumstances, we become robbed of our joy.
Righteousness and Peace, I believe go hand in hand. The reason I say this is that they are mentioned together in what is probably my favorite section of Scripture: Hebrews 12:7-13. Righteousness and Peace... there is a lot I could say. And I probably will in later blog entries, but for now, I think it is sufficient to say that God wants us to be able to walk in His Kingdom. He wants us to see Him (that's why He disciplines us, so we can share in His holiness. Why? Because without holiness, no one will see the LORD). Somehow, through hardship/discipline that is promised to be painful, God causes a harvest of righteousness and peace to be produced in us. That's pretty darn cool! It doesn't show up in those "Bible promises" books, though it should! It's not happy-go-lucky, touched by an angel Christianity, but it is real and it is better than the fluff!!! God is willing to allow us to go through the pain that makes us able to be closer to Him! His love for us transcends the desire for us to be happy all the time. God won't raise a spoiled child, He is building the Kingdom in us... by chipping away the mess on our soul that isn't the "us" that He created! Hallelujah!!!
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Man, the Word is so true... even when I wasn't able to receive this. God help me to receive it now! I am so thankful for God to allow my spirit to preach to my soul (which is really what was going on here). As much as I wanted it last year when this was posted, I was not ready to walk in it.
ReplyDeleteI really hope I am now. If I cannot receive His love, and allow Him to be my strength, then I cannot overcome. It is only THROUGH Him that I can do anything!!!