God's Kingdom

Picture taken in Hyder, AK

I found the following article on Yahoo News:

Sun Nov 28 07:15pm EST

Steve Johnson blames God for his overtime drop

By Chris Chase

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson(notes) dropped an easy, game-winning touchdown pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. 

After the game, Johnson placed the blame for the flub not on himself nor the pass nor the lights nor the defender nor the pressure of the situation. Nope; he blamed it on the big guy upstairs:

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To read the rest of the article you can go to the following link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Steve-Johnson-blames-God-for-his-overtime-drop?urn=nfl-289770

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As I read this article I thought how many times we get it all wrong. We think of God's blessings as only those things that will make us prosper in this world. We are looking for a God who will give us the house, the car and the job.  We are striving for all the things that according to this world show that we are “successful”. Just like some of the Jews in the past we expect to receive the kind of Messiah that will give us this world with its positions and wealth.  

We need to be praying constantly so that we do not believe this Big Lie that the enemy tries to sell us every day. It is because we misunderstand the character of God's kingdom that we loose faith sometimes. We need to always keep present that this world is temporary and that in comparison to eternity it is of very little duration. In view of eternity the things this world has to offer are of no value. Are we striving for temporal things or for things that are of eternal value?

Our God is in the business of establishing in the heart a kingdom of peace and righteousness.  He sent the Messiah to deliver us from the prisons of selfishness, envy, greed and pride.  God's kingdom has already begun in the hearts of many who with a sincere heart are seeking for truth. God is filling those hearts with things of eternal value. Things like love, joy, meekness, humility, faith, kindness and self-control.

God always answers with a yes those prayers that are in harmony with His will. Let us pray for a heart that is filled with His motives, His purposes, and His desires. Let us pray for things that are of eternal value.

Striving, with God’s grace, to stand upon his promises.

MVT

Who do I live for?

Picture taken at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch / Gilbert, AZ 

I live for myself

What can I do next to be happy?  What can I do next to attract people’s attention to myself? How do I satisfy my needs? What about me?

This is my life, my resources and my time.

I live for God

What can I do next to make others happy? What can I do next to attract people’s attention to God? How do I serve others? What about them?

My life is God’s life, my resources are God’s resources and my time is God’s time. “To be what he wants me to be, to do what he wants me to do, to avoid what he hates.”

If I really think about it

I find that it is very easy for me to give my life to God in prayer because in real life I am living for myself.  I give my tithe but use the rest of my resources for myself.  I go to church on Sabbath but do with the rest of the week what I think will make me happy.  Perhaps my own happiness should not be my ultimate goal.  Perhaps the Pathfinders’ pledge should still be my pledge.  Did I ever really understood its meaning?

“To be a servant of God and a friend to man.” 

How much of my resources am I putting on hold to serve others? How much of my time am I putting on hold to serve God?  Is what I want and my own happiness getting in the way?

 

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Matthew 10:39, Matthew 16:24-25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24

I will put this so called life on hold to serve others because I have not forgotten the promise that real life is still to come.  My ultimate goal should not be my own happiness but instead it should be to serve God and Humanity.  To lead others to find the hope of a new heaven and a new earth where there is no more pain or sadness. What I need is the mind of a pure servant. This requires a change of heart, new motives, new desires, and a new purpose.  This is very hard to do……………….on my own. God knows this and has provided a solution.

 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36: 25-27

 

In the end I believe that we would find true joy in pursuing God’s will and the happiness of others.