OUR LORD'S GOVERNMENT

One of the most famous scriptures in the bible is in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 and 7.

Here is how it goes:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.

This astonishing passage reveals amazing secrets about God, His nature  and His purposes.

Firstly, it declares a central tenet of the salvation provided for by God which is the fact that it would be hinged on the arrival of a child, a son. This reference in the Book of Isaiah pointed to the Christmas story that was to occur about six or seven hundred years after Isaiah wrote that passage.

The next declaration is that the government would be on His shoulders. Here, it is easy to misunderstand what is being proposed and in fact, many people thought that it meant that when this child arrived, he would take political control over the nations of the world.

An important hint of what the actual meaning of this verse is can be found in Psalms 110 verse 2 and 3 that says this:

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

Whereas it was believed that the One who was sent would take political control over the world, this scripture reveals a different structure of goverment in God's plan.

This type of goverment would be one where the citizens of His Kingdom would be personally ruled by God Himself while they were embedded in the midst of the kingdoms of this world that are hostile to God and His people.

Those who willingly accepted the Lord's  government over their lives would know Him as, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace because of how he would relate to them as His voluntary subjects.

Isaiah prophecied that the kingdom of God would be one of peace and justice and would be an eternal kingdom of whose increase there would be no end.

Bless the name of the Lord forever.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO IS SPIRIT

In the book of John chapter 4 verse 24, our God is described in this way:

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

What does this mean? What does it mean to be Spirit?

We humans are structured to be physical beings,  souls and spirits.

Our physical selves are our bodies and it is these bodies that provide the framework on which life in this coporeal realm can be readily inhabited.

Our souls are not physical but are instead like software that is uploaded into the facilities provided for in our physical bodies.

Our souls are vast and complex structures of labyrinths, chambers and processing engines that interface with the physical world via our bodies and also share sensory information and physical experience  with our spirits.

Our souls are beings unto themselves but our spirits are the highest expression of ourselves. If we were to live our lives with fully expressed spirits, we would be incredibly varied and fascinating entities brimming with the attributes of God.

If we lived our lives with our souls doing most or all of the expression, we would be closer to animals in our demeanor and manners. 

Whereas our spirits yearn for a moral and ascendant existence, our souls, though very able to  run the affairs of our lives, are base and inclined to an existence of  grasping selfishness.

To some degree, our souls can be taught to improve our behaviour but if left to their own devices, our souls will create gradually degenerating societies that would eventually be indistinguishable from the lives of wild hyenas on the Savanah.

Our spirit lives began in this way. When we accepted  the Lordship of Jesus Christ and believed on His death on a cross to save us, God revived our dead spirits so that we could be born again and begin expressing the life of the spirit.

This means that as we grow in our spiritual capacities, we must increasingly suppress the life of our souls. Our souls, in cooperation with our bodies, will fight our spirits' attempts to control our lives but over time, we must engage in activities that increase the strength of our spirits so that they are not pushed around by our souls. 

To gain strength in the spirit, we must:

a) Pray in the spirit often

b) Practice being led by the Spirit of God.

c) Dwell often in a place of worship of God

d) Study the bible.

The part of us that we are strengthening is the part of us that is born of God. That part of us is  spirit in the same way that God is Spirit.

Doing these exercises will nourish our spirits and with healthy spirits, we can compel our bodies and souls to worship God in Spirit and in truth and we can squelch the works and influences of the flesh that are contrary to the will of God.

Praise God.

Amen.

OUR LORD'S KINGDOM AND CHILDREN

In the book of Mark chapter 10 verse 13 - 16, Jesus was teaching when He found out that the disciples were hindering people from bringing little children to him for blessings. This is how the passage describes the events;

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

The words of Jesus potently laid out the generally unknown fact that entering the kingdom of God is predicated on receiving it as  little children. 

Whereas we understand the Kingdom of God to be gained by seniority and maturity, Jesus asserts the opposite where ascension to the kingdom of God is gained by returning to innocence and trust.

May we become like little children before our God and thrive in His kingdom.

Amen.

O LORD, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION 

In Mathew chapter 6 verse 13, Jesus concludes the lesson in prayer for His disciples with these words;

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  - Mathew 6 verse 13.

Many people have asked whether this means that God tempts His people and if we need to pray for God not to tempt us.

However, a more careful reading of that verse would account for the word 'lead' which implies instead that God will guide (lead) our steps  to places and situations where we could be tempted rather than He himself tempting us.

The Lord could let a situation arise where  for example, we were in a position of authority and  were offered a bribe. The temptation to take the bribe is not from God but the situation was permitted by Him so that we can demonstrate mastery over the particular form of temptation. 

If we fare well in this temptation, we are  candidates in God's Kingdom to be trusted with finances and weightier matters. 

When we are asking God not to lead us into temptation, we are at the same time saying, 'not our will but the will of God be done."

This is roughly parallel to the narrative where Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsemane and He  asked His Father if there was a way to avoid the cup of the cross but not His will but rather the will of the Father be done.

If the Lord brings us to points of temptation in our lives, he always provides a way out of it as indicated in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

 But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Our Lord, lead us not into temptation but not our will but yours.

Our God, deliver us from evil.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO FORGIVES OUR DEBTS

The Lord's prayer lesson continues to the profound maxim in Mathew chapter 6 verse 12.

"And forgive us our tresspasses, As we forgive those who trespasses against us."

This indelible phrase is a reminder to forgive other people who have sinned against us in order to have our own sins forgiven.

This principle of the Kingdom of God is a mechanism by which we subjects of the Kingdom are kept perpetually free of the incumberances of aggrievance  by requiring that each person be obligated to cancel the trespasses of other people in order that our own trespasses may be cancelled.

This way, the ledger amoung believers carries no balances and no score-settling will be part of any equation of an eternal existence.

Forgive us Lord as we forgive others.

Amen.

OUR LORD GIVES US OUR DAILY BREAD

Give us this day our daily bread. - Mathew 6 verse 11.

Jesus continued teaching His disciples how to pray in Mathew 6 verse 11 where He showed them how to ask for provisions from the Father.

Markedly, they are guided to pray for the provisions of that day and not for the days ahead. As well, they are shown to pray for the whole of their daily bread and not for a supplementary ration  to augment the supplies they had gained on their own.

This verse parallels the verses in Luke Chapter 9 verse 2 - 4 when Jesus was teaching His disciples how to take the news of the Kingdom of God to all the surrounding country.

'and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town." 

Here, our Lord reinforces the idea that His follower's must trust in the provision of God and let each day take care of itself.

In an interesting side note, in Luke 10 verse 7, the Lord also instructs His disciples to eat what ever is put before them. 

“Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ - Luke 7 verse 8 - 9.

If a host provides a meal, the disciples are instructed to eat whatever is put before them. This is likely an extension of the proviso that God will provide our daily bread and whatever form that provision comes as, we should gratefully accept it.

May we learn the lesson taught by our Lord so that we give no thought to tomorrow but rather trust that the Lord knows what we have need of and He gladly provides for us.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHOSE KINGDOM IS AT HAND

In the book of Mathew 6 verse 10, Jesus continues in teaching His disciples to pray.

‘Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. - Mathew 6 verse 10.

At this point, Jesus teaches the principle of God's Kingdom as being on earth and that it is subject to the will of God here as it is in heaven.

This Kingdom is an amazing Kingdom. It is a Kingdom that is ruled in the midst of God's enemies. The subjects of this kingdom are voluntary and they exist scattered throughout the kingdom of darkness. 

The Lord governs His people as subjects of His Kingdom by His wonderful Holy Spirit who is embedded in the hearts of all those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and the efficacy of the sacrifice of His life on the cross for our salvation.

The Kingdom of God is at hand. Believe and be saved.

Amen.