Category Archives: Thy Kingdom Come

“This” Time Is Now!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #428

17 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Choices And Consequences, Choose You This Day!, Faithful is He that has Promised!, For Such A Time As This, Jesus Is The Only Way!, The Only Way, The Word, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, TODAY, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #428    “This” Time Is Now!!!

 

As we make our way through this cold winter weather that is gripping much of the U.S., I couldn’t help but think about the times that we live in—things are cold and then they get hot! When they’re cold everyone is crying for it to get warm, when it is hot, people clamor for it to cool off! It’s the nature of the dissatisfied human heart. But for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ the King of Glory—we ought to look at things with different eyes; we ought to recognize that God is ever at work in our lives, regardless of the temperature, the time or the political climate. God has called us to serve Him faithfully wherever HE has placed us; or as someone as so aptly put it, “Bloom where you’re planted”; and while that isn’t scripture it does have it’s roots in scripture. Let’s take a ‘gander’ at The Word.

Esther was a godly young woman who found herself in a pagan culture, in the palace of a King—yet God hadn’t placed her there by mistake.

“Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther,

Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape

in the king’s house,

more than all the Jews.

14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace

at this time,

then shall there enlargement

and deliverance arise to the Jews

from another place;

but thou and thy father’s house

shall be destroyed:

and who knoweth

whether thou art come

to the kingdom

for such a time as this?

15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,

16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan,

and fast ye for me,

and neither eat nor drink

three days,

night or day:

I also and my maidens

will fast likewise;

and so will I go in unto the king,

which is not according to the law:

and if I perish,

I perish.

17 So Mordecai went his way,

and did according to all

that Esther had commanded him.”   Esther 4:13-17

Esther wasn’t looking to be a hero, but when confronted with the opportunity to serve God ‘where she was planted’, even at the risk of her life, she chose to be available to God, for His service, even if it cost her life—so she fasted, prayed and obeyed God!

What is your “such a time as this”? What circumstances are you wanting to change, get out of, rearrange or scream and cry about? Well my friend, those circumstances haven’t caught God by surprise. “God never says ‘oops’!” and He hasn’t misplaced you or me! We are living here, now because God created us “for such a time as this”—no matter what our “this” is!

Only “YOU” can do what God has created ‘you’ to do, and we ought not wait for someone else to do what God wants us to do. Just as Mordecai told Esther, God’s plans won’t be thwarted because of our cowardice, laziness, apathy, fear or greed—God will use someone else if we refuse to heed His call. And we will never know the blessings that God had for us if we fail to step up to the bat right where we are!

We’re not called to fret over tomorrow, or yesterday but to live “this” day to its fullest for Jesus, to follow Him anywhere/everywhere He leads—to minister His Word, His grace and His love in whatever way He has called us to minister! And YES, we are all ministers of that which we have received from Jesus! Praying always, as He taught us!

“After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father

which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.(in me)

10 Thy kingdom come (in me)

Thy will be done

in earth, (in me)

as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread……”.   Matthew 6:9-11a

We are to seek His kingdom, His will, and His provision for each day! Just a little further on in this ‘Sermon On The Mount’, Jesus spoke these words to all of us who are HIS!

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God,

and his righteousness;

and all these things

shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:

for the morrow

shall take thought

for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day

is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:33-34

So what’s your “this”? You’re there for “such a time as this”; what will you do with your “this” today? Pray and obey, as Esther did, or desert? The choice is yours, but choose wisely, there’s a test at the end! Amen and Amen!

Forgive Us This Day??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #422

28 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Forgiveness, Jesus Is The Only Way!, My Grace Is Sufficient, SIN, The Only Way, The Word, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #422  Forgive Us This Day???

 

As we approach a new year, I want to do a little “house-cleaning” for the soul and I invite you to join me. One of the things that tend to hide from our view is unforgiveness, and it is a killer—it kills our joy, our peace, and our ability to obediently go forward with Jesus.

In the ‘Model Prayer’ Jesus reveals the import of forgiveness to every believer.

“After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

in earth,

as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day

our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

for ever.

Amen.”   Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus calls us to forgive, not just because He ‘says so’, but because we are ever seeking God’s forgiveness! How can we claim to be children of God, who are forgiven, yet withhold forgiveness from those who have offended us? What sin could I justly fail to forgive others of that would be equal to or greater than the sin that God has forgiven me of? There is none! But so often we look at our own sin through those “rose-colored glasses”, rather than seeing sin as God sees it. We can incur God’s judgment and discipline in our lives when we hold others to a different standard than ourselves. So just a simple reminder for us all today, God has called us to judge rightly or not at all.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew 7:1-2

Without getting into the great debate, Jesus doesn’t call us to ‘never’ judge, but to judge with right judgment. And the place where that must begin is with “me”.

“For if we would judge ourselves,

we should not be judged.

32 But when we are judged,

we are chastened of the Lord,

that we should not be condemned

with the world.”    1 Corinthians 11:31-32

Another thing that we learn from the Apostle Paul is that we should always recognize that our sin debt was immeasurable; we can never save ourselves—for we truly are ‘sinners’ saved by God’s grace and the blood of Jesus.

“And the grace of our Lord

was exceeding abundant

with faith

and love

which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying,

and worthy of all acceptation,

that Christ Jesus came into the world

to save sinners;

of whom I am chief.”     1 Timothy 1:14-15

Jesus came “to save sinners; of whom I am chief”, and praise God He did!!! I am surely glad that He has forgiven me! How about you? Are you holding others to a higher standard than you think God holds you too? Or are you judging rightly, and extending to others the grace and forgiveness, which you have received? One of my favorite verses, which I still have to remind myself of, says it all:

“Let no corrupt communication

proceed out of your mouth,

but that which is good

to the use of edifying,

that it may minister grace

unto the hearers.

30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,

whereby ye are sealed

unto the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness,

and wrath, and anger,

and clamour, and evil speaking,

be put away from you,

with all malice:

32 And be ye kind

tenderhearted,

forgiving one another,

even as God

for Christ’s sake

hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:29-32

I’m to guard my heart, guard my mouth, bringing no grief to The Holy Spirit, as I refuse the wrong and cling to the right, “kindly” forgiving others because I AM forgiven!

Amen and Amen!!!

What About Tomorrow??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #408

03 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Choose You This Day!, Confidence, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Praise God Today!, The Word, Thy Kingdom Come, TODAY, Tomorrow, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #408 What About Tomorrow???

 

We all get caught up in the rush to tomorrow, but Jesus told us clearly that we are to live in “the now” not the “then”! Jesus calls us to fully live today without “fretting” about what tomorrow may bring. As the old gospel song says, “I don’t know about tomorrow, but I know WHO holds my hand”! Our confidence is in who ‘has’ tomorrow, not what tomorrow ‘has’; and my friends, JESUS had it, has it, will have it and HE not only knows what is there, He know what He is going to do for us, in us and through us as we keep our “eyes fixed on Jesus”!

“Therefore take no thought, saying,

What shall we eat?

or, What shall we drink?

or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things

do the Gentiles seek:)

for your heavenly Father knoweth

that ye have need

of all these things.

33 But seek ye first

the kingdom of God,

and his righteousness;

and all these things

shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:

for the morrow

shall take thought

for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day

is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:31-34

There is enough evil to go around, so we don’t have to spend our time fretting and worrying about what lies ahead, we just need to keep our eyes focused on JESUS, His will, His ways, and His faithful provision for every step we take TODAY! And as we “seek ye first the kingdom of God” God will provide the necessities of life! But He did NOT promise a life of ease and pleasure, rather He calls us to a contented life of devotion, sacrifice and often persecution.

“But godliness with contentment

is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world,

and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment

let us be therewith content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Ouch! That’s almost un-American, isn’t it? Well even if it is, it’s God’s truth and we need to readjust our lives to God, not try to squeeze God into our “materialistic” mold, for we are also warned that it may cost us something to follow Jesus!

“Yea, and all that will live godly

in Christ Jesus

shall suffer persecution.”   2 Timothy 3:12

We need to “pray without ceasing” because praying today will prepare us for whatever tomorrow brings! Remember, God NEVER says “ooooops”! And as we think of prayer I’d just like to close our session today with one of my favorite prayers from the Bible.

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire

that ye might be filled with the knowledge

of his will

in all wisdom

and spiritual understanding;     

10 That ye might walk worthy

of the Lord

unto all pleasing,

being fruitful in every good work,

and increasing in the knowledge

of God;

11 Strengthened with all might,

according to his glorious power,

unto all patience

and longsuffering

with joyfulness;

12 Giving thanks unto the Father,

which hath made us meet

to be partakers

of the inheritance

of the saints

in light:

13 Who hath delivered us

from the power of darkness,

and hath translated us

into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14 In whom we have redemption

through his blood,

even the forgiveness of sins:

15 Who is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn

of every creature:”     Colossians 1:9-15

This is my prayer for you today! May we ever pray this for ourselves, and all of those in our circle of influence? May we ever be seeking “His kingdom” and “His righteousness” first and foremost, trusting our daily cares to HIM who “hath delivered us from the power of darkness”! Ever being sure we’re seeking HIM rather than always asking ourselves, “What about tomorrow?” Have a blessed day TODAY, my friend!

“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”    Romans 11:36

I CAN Do All Things??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #401

11 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by in Confidence, I Can Do All Things?, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Knowing God's Word, ME, The Only Way, The Word, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #401       I CAN Do All Things???

 

“Not that I speak in respect of want:

for I have learned,

in whatsoever state I am,

therewith to be content.

12 I know both how to be abased,

and I know how to abound:

every where

and in all things

I am instructed

both to be full

and to be hungry,

both to abound

and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things

through Christ

which strengtheneth me.”    Philippians 4:11-13

I know that verse 13 is familiar to most Christians, but we often aren’t familiar with the context. Like much of scripture, most people haven’t taken the time to check out the context—the scriptures that go before and after the verse. We must always understand the words in light of their context! Spend some time considering the context of verse 13. Paul isn’t giving us a blank check to manipulate God in order to do whatever we please, but to BE yielded to HIM. Even Jesus revealed what “all things” is really all about!

“After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father

which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

in earth,

as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day

our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

for ever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus instructs us to pray, and calls us to pray ‘selflessly’ not focused on what “I” want or what “I” CAN do, but on what GOD can do; ever seeking God’s will, not my own. Asking what God wants us to do in order to accomplish His work!

“Thy kingdom come”—

“Thy will be done”—

Be sure and notice the pronouns that Jesus uses! He calls us to focus on God’s will being done, but He also directs us to pray using the selfless pronouns:

“Give us”—            “our daily bread”—

“forgive us”—        “our debts”—

“lead us”—             “deliver us”!

All this because it all belongs to GOD, and believers are His children!!! It is to be God and “us/our” not “I/me/mine”! So may we pray with Jesus, “not my will, but thine, be done”! Think on these things today!!! We can do all through Jesus, but it’s to be HIS will not “mine”! Always!!!

“For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory, for ever.”     Amen and Amen.

Not My Will, But Thine, Be Done??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #399

04 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Choose You This Day!, Confidence, Knowing God's Word, ME, Salvation, SIN, The Only Way, The Word, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #399 Not My Will, But Thine, Be Done???

 

“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying,

Father,

if thou be willing,

remove this cup from me:

nevertheless

not my will,

but thine,

be done.” Luke 22:42

Jesus prayed in the garden before He was taken to be tried and crucified, and while His flesh was resistant to go to the cross, His soul and spirit yielded to the will of The Father! And I praise God that He did! For if He hadn’t gone, we would be lost for eternity rather than having the salvation that His blood secured, offered to us by God! What have you done with the gift of God’s salvation, which Jesus purchased with His blood on that cross?

When we come to Jesus in repentance and faith, He transforms our lives and we begin a life-long journey of being “conformed to the image of His Son” (See Romans 8:28-29), so that God may be seen in us. God’s work of salvation displayed before a world that is lost in darkness and corruption; displayed that others may see Jesus in us and come to His cross; but to do that we must die to ourselves and live unto Jesus Christ.

“I am crucified with Christ:

nevertheless I live;

yet not I,

but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live

in the flesh

I live by the faith of the Son of God,

who loved me,

and gave himself for me.”    Galatians 2:20

As we die to ‘self’ and live to Jesus, we can truly come to understand what Jesus was teaching us in the ‘model prayer’ that He gave to His disciples:

“After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

in earth,

as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10

Even as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, we are to seek God’s face, God’s Kingdom and God’s will in our lives each and every day, all along our way. Seeking God and His kingdom is to be a way of life, not a “one day a week” token. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow HIM, and to take up the “cross”; we must die to self, that we might live in, by, through, and for HIM!

“And he said to them all,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross daily,

and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

but whosoever will lose his life

for my sake,

the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24

We can cling to our own way, live our own life our own way and loose it all. Or we can come to Jesus, yielding up our right to our life; yielding it to the One who died that we might have new life–“life…, and….. have it more abundantly”! It is only in recognizing our sin, and coming to Jesus—the only cure for sin—in repentance and faith, trusting in His blood that “cleanseth us from all sin”, that we find real life, which only Jesus can impart. And when we trust in Him, it means that ‘I’ die to self, so that He can live through ‘me’, and be ‘my’ “all in all”! Life for death!

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free:

but Christ is all,

and in all.” Colossians 3:17

And when Jesus is all to us, we can accomplish great things as God directs our steps, and we remember that it’s all about Jesus—not about me. His will not mine.

“I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5

We must decide if we will do our own thing, or if we will seek to abide in Jesus that HE might accomplish His work in and through us. Oh what a glorious adventure—I praise God for the opportunity to join Him in seeing His “kingdom come” in ‘me’!!!

So I invite each of you to join me in pursuing “Thy will be done” rather than “my will be done”!

“Whether therefore ye eat,

or drink,

or whatsoever ye do,

do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

What a grand adventure to serve the living God of all creation, and have His power working within us. I’m so glad that it’s all about HIM—not me! May it ever be ‘Thine NOT mine’—always! But remember the flesh doesn’t die easily—that’s why Jesus said we must “take up his cross daily” and follow HIM—today, and today, and today…..

“But thanks be to God,

which giveth us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be ye stedfast,

unmoveable,

always abounding

in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know

that your labour

is not in vain

in the Lord.”    1 Corinthians 15:57-58

Amen and Amen!