"Thy Kingdom Come"

I am again blown away and praise God for a church family that remains consistently and boldly open before God. Sunday, was a significant day in the spiritual journey of 170 brothers and sisters in Christ in our church family. That is the number of people who made a once and for all decision to completely submit their kingdom to God's Kingdom.

On Sunday, I promised to send a follow up letter to encourage those making this decision this week. I have decided the most appropriate way for me to do that is through this weekly blog, which I will also print for anyone who may be among those who do not have internet access. Furthermore, since this is a step that Jesus will lead everyone Follower of Christ to take, I figured it would be an encouragement to all of us no matter where we are on our faith journey.

Submitting my kingdom to God's Kingdom involves the following:

OUR CHOICE:
Central to every step in our journey with Christ is our will. God has made up his mind that he will never violate the human will. To violate the human will would be to rob humanity of love. For without the choice to reject and deny love, one does not have the freedom to truly receive and give love. Thus, every step we take with Jesus shares one common denominator and that is our choice.

This includes submitting our kingdom to His. Jesus imitates the invitation, "Anyone who would come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." In response we have a choice: Will I deny myself--Will I put my will and wishes second to God's will? Will I take up the cross--voluntarily give myself to the work of God's Kingdom on earth?"

A choice is simple and yet challenging. It is as simple as saying yes and as difficult as really meaning it. Nonetheless, the decision 170 people made on Sunday was made by a choice of the will. Let us not underestimate the power of this God-given freedom to choose.

GOD'S GIFT:
Just as every step we take with Jesus involves a choice the choice for every step is the same: In our relationship with Jesus a new step always requires a choice to receive what God gives. Just as we do not earn our salvation, we do not earn the reign of His kingdom in our lives. The choice that was made on Sunday was a choice to receive from God what only God can do. Only he can make his Kingdom of love reign and rule over our hearts and minds. As much as full surrender is a choice, it is even more so a gift from God. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful to do it." Read that last line again. That says it all!

THE PROMISE:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" Galatians 2:20. Many people, including myself at one time, are afraid to make a choice to receive God's full reign in our lives because we believe a lie. We believe to surrender everything to Christ will mean that we will lose out, miss out, not have fun, not achieve our dreams, etc. The point is, we believe that to submit our Kingdom to His, will in some way produce negative results. The opposite is true. In the verse mentioned above, Paul writes the truth about this step of faith...the truth is whenever we die, then we are free to truly come to life. Remember, Jesus promised to give us abundant life now and forever. The decision to submit to God's Kingdom merely puts one in a position to freely and increasingly discover what it means to live in this new life. Jesus says it best in Matthew 16:25, "Whoever tries to save his/her life will lose it, but he/she who looses his/her life for the sake of the Gospel will gain it."

THE PROCESS:
This step in our journey with Christ is by no means the final step. This is merely one more step in a process of steps that will continue until we see Jesus face to face. We never arrive in this life. The journey with Jesus is a continuous and daily following. Therefore, this step of full surrender is a once and for all decision but it is not at all a final decision. It is a once and for all decision with daily implications. Every day in small and big ways for the rest of my life I will be called upon by Jesus to live out my full surrender to him in what I do with my time, talent, money, suffering and so on and so forth. The decision you made on Sunday simply means that from here on out every time Jesus asks for you to deal with something or give something for him the answer has already been settled. To Jesus our answer from here on out will always be, "Not my will, but yours."

THE GOAL:
The goal of every step we take with Jesus can be summed up in one phrase, "Christ-like Love." If you want to know where Jesus is taking you take a look at his life. In Christ we see that God's love is not passive it is active. God's love is not simply for the individual, it is for the entire world. God's goal for every believer, and that is the Church, is well put in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus dares us to pray, believe and live in such a way that our lives usher in his Kingdom into our world!

I am praying for you this week! Please do not hesitate to email or call me with any questions or thoughts on this subject.