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Pastors, Church and Loving Others

December 2, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

Pastors                                

I grew up in the organized church, and I know the pastor was the focal point of every church I attended. In the Methodist church, if the pastor was not liked, he usually got voted out and moved to a new location by the board and district office.

Later, as I became dissatisfied I would leave one church and go to another. That became pretty common, people going from church to church looking for the right pastor. We want someone we can relate to, someone who will give us food for thought and keep us interested during the weekly sermon. As soon as one of those needs are not met, or the pastor steps on our toes, we pack up and move on.

More recently I began to wonder why the pastor was the main go-to person in the church. Why did I and many others think the clergy seemingly had all the answers and was ordained to guide us lower level laity in spiritual matters? And why did it seem a lot of pastors would teach saved by grace, but live by law?

Do some pastors take advantage and teach law on purpose. Yes, I think some do. Some like the power and prestige of their job and they want people looking to them for guidance.

Do some pastors take advantage of teaching law for monetary purposes? Yes, I think some do. What better way to get the money rolling in for mortgages, salaries, utilities and monthly budgets than by telling their members tithing is a requirement?

Do all pastors do things like that, wanting power and control and financial gain? Of course not. I think most are doing their job out of love for God and for their congregation. After all, this is the only system all of us know. This is the system that has been in place for hundreds of years. Our church system with its pastor, board of elders and worship team is what most of us think is the way it should be done. Yet I have come to think that pastors are put on a higher level spiritually, and we all look up to them as our spiritual leader and guide. I think this way of thinking is wrong.

Welcometochurch

I think the problem is most of us never question what we are taught. Most of us do not put a lot of effort into learning and hearing from God for ourselves. We think that is the pastor’s job and he will tell us what the truth is. The problem with that is they were taught by a previous pastor, who was taught by a previous pastor and on and on. Most pastors were taught from a bible college backed by a particular denomination and its doctrines. It becomes an endless cycle. It becomes so easy to look to others for information rather than make the effort to learn for ourselves.

Most of us do not want to question things and learn only by the Holy Spirit. Even though we are told we do not need anyone else to teach us, most of us are more than ready to run to the pastor or mega-church to find out what God is saying.

We seem to forget that Christ is the head of the Church, and we are to look to him and not any other human. Each of us are equally important and functioning parts of the body. No one is above or below anyone else. Even those we consider leaders are not better than anyone else. Leaders should lead lovingly by experience, out of love for others and to encourage their fellow brothers and sisters along the way.

Church

Most churches are in existence as a place for believers to meet and worship God. Yet the modern day church seems to teach both grace and law. Once you are saved by grace, you need to do, do, do. Try to live up to the law, be active and busy trying to pay God back for saving you by grace.  They say God will help you in the times you fall and cannot measure up. To me, this is still teaching that it is partly by our effort that we earn our salvation.

We seem to forget that the law was given as a tutor to lead us to Christ. Once Jesus came into our world, things changed. Once Jesus died, the old covenant was fulfilled and a new covenant went into effect, an agreement of grace. Remember, the New Covenant did not start in Matthew 1. The old covenant was still in effect throughout the ministry of Jesus. He was born under the law and taught law, mainly to show us that we were not able to live up to God’s requirement of perfection.

I truly believe that most organized churches and pastors are doing what they feel is right, and doing so out of love. The problem for a lot of us who are the ‘dones’ (those who no longer attend church or look to organized religion), is that we feel the traditional organized way church is set up is not what God intended, and we feel a separation from the people still in institutional church. It becomes an ‘us versus them’ way of thinking, which ought not to be. We are brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what we do or do not do on Saturday or Sunday.

I feel that the Church that Jesus is building is not a building or an organization. Jesus is building an organism made up of living stones, a community of believers saved by grace. The Church is not a place we go, it is each of us living in the power of the Holy Spirit each and every day.

Loving Others

No matter what denomination, doctrine, or way of living we choose, it should not be something that makes us enemies with others. All people, no matter what their beliefs and way of life, should be accepted and loved. That is the Jesus way, loving others.

The thing is, whether you are an active member of a particular church, or if you are done with religion and the institutional church, we should be able to accept one another and get along in love.

We should remember, all people were created in the image of God. Sin separated us from our Father, but Jesus came and fulfilled the law. Our sinful nature was crucified with Christ on the cross. In Christ, we are now dead to sin, and filled with His Spirit. Because of Christ, we are now considered holy and righteous in Him.

Nothing we do or do not do makes us any more acceptable to God. Because of this, we should no longer look at others in this ‘us versus them’ mentality. No one is better or worse, more loved or less loved, or more important than anyone else. Christ is the head of the Church and each of us are equally functioning parts of his body. We do not look to a pastor, pope, or elder for guidance, but listen for the guidance of the Spirit of Christ who is within us.

Obviously, not everyone believes this. That does not make it untrue just because some do not believe, yet we realize it is a belief. We cannot prove anything to anyone. We cannot prove God exists, just as an atheist cannot prove God does not exist. To a christian, just because we cannot prove God exists we still believe because of faith. To an atheist, it is not lack of faith, it is lack of proof. There is no way to prove God is there, so they do not accept that he is.

I believe it is the Holy Spirit who convicts and draws people to God. I do not believe it is our responsibility to try and change the minds and views of others. It is not our responsibility to convert others and convince them God is real. God can take care of himself. What we can do is exactly what we read in the bible, love God and love others. That is it.

Passion for Jesus

We need to remember that there are those who do not see things our way and that is OK. We are not responsible to save the world or make them see things our way. Whether male or female, black or white, gay, straight, LGBT or asexual, if an atheist, christian, jew, muslim or whatever, we are all people who deserve to be loved and accepted.

Is it wrong to talk to people and tell them what we believe and why we have faith in God? No, it is not….as long as they want to know. Our witness and our way of preaching the gospel should be our lifestyle, not just our words. If people see something in us and they ask why we do something or why we believe a certain way, then yes, in love, tell them. But we are not to go out and force our views on others trying to convert them to our way of living. And in turn, as christians we need to be open and accepting enough to truly listen to those who have different views. And do that without having the underlying intention of later on trying to convince them their way is wrong.

Believe it or not, God loves each and every one of us. If we believe or not, if we accept by faith or do not accept due to lack of proof, God still loves us. Those of us who are His followers are to show the same love to everyone we meet along the way.

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, The church | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

Christian Leadership

November 21, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

I grew up in the traditional, organized church. I was always taught that the pastor was head of the church and he had all the answers and so much more knowledge than anyone else in the church. I mention the pastor as a ‘he’ because when I was young and growing up in the church it was unheard of to have a woman pastor.

I remember scheduling meetings with the pastor so I could ask him questions and find out all the answers to Christian living. It almost floored me one time when I asked the pastor a question and he actually said he did not know the answer.

Looking back, I can see that I certainly looked to the pastor rather than looking to the Spirit. I was putting my hope in a man who I thought could tell me everything about God, yet I was not seeking to know God himself.

Next in line were the board of elders. Each of them were so much more holy than I or anyone else in the church, or else they would not be in that position of authority. At least that is what I thought at the time. I have a friend who thinks prayers have more authority when she goes to the board of elders and has them pray.

Questioning Christian Leadership

The longer I was in the church, the more I began to wonder about things. Of course I did not dare ask the questions I had, since people would be questioning my faith or think I was questioning the pastor.

When I read that Christ was the head of His church, I wondered why the pastor seemed to get credit for that position.

I read that we should call no one father (or pastor) other than God, and I again wondered why people in position of leadership and authority in the church wanted to be called pastor or apostle or elder.

We are told that the Holy Spirit is our guide and teacher, and we do not need anyone other than him. Yet, we look to the pastor or an elder, or some big name evangelist to find all the answers to our questions.

I began getting dissatisfied with having these questions and not letting them surface enough to come out and be asked. I began to realize I had more and more questions, and less and less answers.

I finally started coming across books and websites of people who seemed to be in the same boat. They were wondering and questioning and being open with their questions. Some of them seemed to actually come up with some answers that made sense to me.

The more I thought, questioned and read the more I began to realize that our traditional church system is really not what God intended for the church. I also realized that questioning is not a lack of faith. God can handle our questioning, in fact, most of the time Jesus taught more with questions than answers. He wanted people to question and reason over things.

True Christian Leadership

The true Church that Jesus is building is not a brick and mortar place. The head of the Church that Jesus is building is not a pastor, pope, elder or apostle. In fact, the head is not a man or woman at all.

Leadership in the Church of Jesus is not what we have always thought of either. When we realize Christ is the head and leader of his Church, we begin to realize that man has no business demanding or expecting people to follow them and put them in the place of Christ.

Body of Christ

True Christian leadership is not an office of authority. It is not a place for only a few who are specially trained at a man-made Bible school. True Christian leadership is for all of us who are members of the Church of Christ. We are all kings and priests, we are all holy and righteous because of Christ. To be clear, when I say Church of Christ I’m not talking about any denomination or physical building. The true Church is a community of people who are following Christ, and He is our head. All the rest of us, men and women alike, are equally functioning body parts of his Church.

No person has a place of authority over another. That is the world’s way of doing things. That is the business way of doing things. Needless to say, there are a lot of churches and religious organizations that are acting like big business with their presidents and CEO’s, but that is not how it should be.

Christian Leadership as God intended is the Spirit working through the different body parts, leading by example. Leaders are those who encourage and teach from a place of love and experience, not a place of authority and power. Each of us are leaders at one time or another in the sense of leading by example, experience and love. We come in contact with those who need encouragement or a little guidance, not from someone who thinks they know it all, but from someone who has been there. A person who, out of love, wants to see the best for everyone.

True Christian leaders will not demand your loyalty. They will not want your allegiance to them. They will not rule over you with authority and expect you to follow them no matter what. True leaders will want to lead you to the head and true leader of the Church, Jesus. It is time we stop looking to men and women as our main guides and leaders, and look to Jesus. We need to listen for the leading, guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit who is actually God within us, rather than seeking the knowledge and wisdom of mere men.

Posted in christian living, The church | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments »

Let Me Prove It To You

November 10, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

I get so tired of reading posts online and following a string of replies that continues to blast the original post.

Do you notice how many times people get offended and feel they need to prove their point. It usually does not go well once that starts. Especially when it comes to spiritual and biblical topics.

We fail to realize that not everyone has the same interpretation as another. We also fail to realize the fact that we cannot prove most of what we believe.

We can fight and argue between Christian and atheist,  one Christian denomination and another, among Jewish, Christian, Islam and a host of other religions, about whether there is there a God or not, is there a hell or not, what this verse means or what that verse means. We get bent out of shape when someone goes against what we believe and do our best to prove our point. We even fight over what Christmas designs are on a cup of coffee these days.

ProveGod

Proving Our Point

Thing is, we cannot prove our point. We cannot prove God exists, we cannot prove there is a heaven or a hell, we cannot prove any other aspect of the spiritual. This life is a life of faith and belief. As Christians, we can have faith that God is there and he loves us. We have faith in his words.

And and the other hand, no one can prove there is not a God, there is not a heaven, or there is not a hell. Yet we will fight and argue until we almost hate each other trying to prove our way of thinking.

I think God can take care of himself. We do not have to fight and argue to defend Him. Rather than making ourselves look like mean, hateful people who have to be right, we should be showing the love of God to everyone. Show his love to those who agree with us and also to those who are a hundred percent sure in their minds that we are wrong.

Love of the Spirit

To be sure, we cannot have this kind of love and acceptance in our own strength. God says we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it his love that flows out of us. Through His power, we can love those who live differently, who think differently, we can love our enemies and those who want nothing to do with God.

We can have our own way of thinking, our own beliefs and interpretations, knowing that God created each of us differently. Yet we need to remember we are not totally right on everything, and for sure we are not totally right in someone else’s view. We can all learn something by listening and communicating with others.

We all have a right to believe what and how we want to believe. People can put their faith in God or not. We can have completely different lifestyles. We can have a completely different interpretation on bible verses or we can completely reject the bible and not believe anything about it, and it is OK.

Show the Love of God

We are not called to make people believe like us, or believe in God at all. We are called to go into the world and preach the gospel, the gospel message that God loves and accepts us. Jesus came to restore fellowship between humanity and the Father. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to love and accept others just the way they are.

We can have our individual beliefs and interpretations, yet that does not mean we have to agree with everyone. Love and acceptance does not mean agreement. We can love and accept others just because they are loved by God. We were all created in His image. We can have our differences and still accept and care for those God brings into our lives each day.

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Missions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments »

Are You A “Good” Christian?

October 24, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

I can remember growing up in the organized church being told all the things I needed to do to be a good Christian.

I think most of us who were part of the church were taught we needed to do certainly things to be pleasing to God.

We were all told that we are saved by grace, but after that we have to do, do, do to be good Christians.

What are We to Do

Usually the first thing we are told after coming to Christ is to find a Bible believing church, read your Bible, and witness to your friends. As we got involved in church we were again told to be at church whenever the doors are open, tithe your ten percent, get involved in a small group, do visitation, go on a mission trip, and on and on it went.

To be a good Christian, you can forget about grace because it all depends on how much you can do for God, at least that is the way it seems if you listen to others.

Always being told how to be a good Christian also brings up the thought that if you do not do all the things you are told you should do, then maybe you will be considered a bad Christian, and none of us want to be known as a bad Christian.

So what do we do? We try even harder to do all the things we were told to do to be a good Christian.

I think there are so many people who love God, yet feel so guilty because they just cannot measure up to being a good Christian, at least in the way that we have been told.

Grace

It is time we reprogram our minds from what the church told us and focus again on what God has told us. We are saved by grace, NOT OF WORKS. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads .. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

No More Guilt

We can stop feeling guilty about not doing enough. We need to stop listening to the do, do, do message and realize God has already done it all. God has done all that is needed to have a relationship and fellowship with Him. It is a gift from Him to us.

Good works will naturally flow from us through the love and power of the Spirit, not by our own effort trying to measure up and do things to earn God’s acceptance.

In Christ, we can relax and rest in Him. We do not have to worry about being a good Christian or a bad Christian. We can know that we are loved and accepted by our Father just as we are.

Posted in christian living | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Unfinished Dwellings

October 9, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

My wife and I have lived in our house for nine years now. As far as we are concerned, it is finished and complete. Other than the basic upkeep, we have no plans for remodeling or adding on.

The other night I had a dream about what I thought was our house, but it turned out being something different.

In my dream I was walking through the house and came to one of the rooms. I looked in and noticed there was a remodeling job in progress. There were tools sitting around and it was obvious the room was going through a change.

unfinished rooms

I moved on to another side of the house and saw what looked like a big piece of plywood with a round hole where a door knob would go. I decided to pull on it and see if it would move. To my surprise, the plywood pulled back revealing a complete other room I had no idea was there. It was under construction, having bare wood floors and walls, cut-outs and several tools and a ladder sitting around.

When I woke up, I was thinking about this dream and it hit me that the house was not our house, but it was me. I was seeing that God is not finished with me, but constantly working in my life.

We are His Dwelling

All of us as followers of Christ are his dwelling place. God lives within us and even though we sometimes think we are mature and complete in Christ, God is busy working and changing us into His glory. Most of the time we do not even realize God is doing something in our lives.

You may have followed Christ for a long time and think you know all the answers. You may have been following Him for many, many years and think there is no more God can do with you. The truth is, God is continually working on His house (which is us), modifying, changing, remodeling and changing things throughout our life.

God’s dwelling place will not be finished or complete during our lifetime. He is constantly remodeling and changing us, conforming us into His image. Through His presence within us, we will display His love to a world that is in need of Him.

Do not give up and think God is finished with you. Do not think there is no more to know, or that God can no longer use you. Keep listening for the quiet leading of the Holy Spirit within you and know that God is busy in your life, changing you little by little to be more like Him.

Posted in christian living | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

I am Done

September 8, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

For the past five years, I’ve been posting a blog every now and then at ‘Done with Religion’. Unfortunately, now in September 2015 I am done. Well….only for the month.

Done with Religion logo 1

My wife and I are leaving on the biggest vacation we have ever taken, a drive from Ohio to the west coast.

We plan on visiting the Grand Canyon, seeing a show or two in Las Vegas, on to Los Angeles and a drive up Route 1 along the west coast. We are stopping in San Francisco and Seattle, then through Idaho and on to Chicago before heading back home to Ohio.

For those of you who follow my postings, I may not be posting while gone, or I may post from time to time telling you about our adventures. Either way, I want you to know I appreciate that you take the time to follow my blog and read my postings.

I hope you will be patient with us as my wife and I get away from the typical postings. I also ask for your prayers as we travel, asking that God watches over us as we travel, and that we allow the love of God to touch everyone we have contact with while away.

Thanks again for being a part of ‘Done with Religion’.

Posted in christian living | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments »

Children of God

September 2, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

Those of us who are outside the walls of religion and institutional church have found a freedom we sometimes can’t explain. At least we can’t explain it in a way that people who still attend a church building will understand.

left-the-building

The problem is those who still attend the traditional church do not accept the fact that everyone is different and sees things in various ways. They usually want to stay away from us or talk about how we have backslidden and fallen away from God because we do not do what we have traditionally been taught was godly.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are worshipping and loving God just as much as they are, only in a different way. We have not left the Church (ekklesia) but have left the building (church).

Having left the church because I felt the system was not the way God intended, I have never left the true Church that is made up of us who are believers. Jesus is building His Church out of ‘living stones’.

Each of us has an equally important part to play in the body, yet no one is the head or over anyone else. Each of us are priests and functioning parts of the body, and we are all needed and important. Of course only Jesus is the head, not a pastor.

We need to remember that rather than let a feeling of ‘us vs them’ mentality get a hold on us, those of us who used to be part of the institutional church also need to keep in mind that those who attend church usually are doing so because they love God and think they are doing the right thing. We are all children of God, whether we are in the institutional church or out of it. We are all parts of the Church that Jesus is building.

Body of Christ

For those still attending, most do not think about how the system is wrong and that it is not what God intended for His people. After all, this is all we have known all our lives. We have been taught all along that this is God’s plan for us, to assemble together in a building, pay our tithes and look to the pastor as God’s spokesperson.

As people of God, we are to love God and love others. We cannot do that in our own strength, it is by the power of the Spirit within us. The sad thing is we really should not have much of a problem loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet sometimes it seems we have more trouble loving those who are part of a tradition that we no longer feel is right, but are still followers of the same God we love.

I pray that all of us can keep in mind that we are children of God, saved by grace and living in His kingdom now. Whether we are ‘in church’ or outside the walls, let’s focus on our love of the Father, and for one another. The world needs to see the love of God in action among His children. They do not need to see the arguing, fighting and disagreeing that they are so familiar with in their daily lives.

Posted in christian living, Kingdom of God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

I Want To Be Like…Mike or Jim or William… but Jesus?

August 26, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

Most of us Christians seem to be the same in regard to those with whom we associate. We tend to find others who are like us. I think that is one reason we have so many different denominations in the organized church. We cannot agree on doctrine, interpretation of the Bible and many other subjects, so we tend to congregate together with people who most think the same as we do. And usually, once we find like-minded friends, we get comfortable in those groups and would prefer no new people want to join.

My wife and I had this happen a couple of times with one particular fellowship. Several home groups had been organized over time and when we came along, as new people in the “church”, we thought it would be good to get involved. My wife called the home group leaders of two different groups to get information, and both times she heard a voice on the other end of the phone that very obviously was not thrilled that someone new wanted to come into their group. Needless to say, we did not join either group.

It is sad that we Christians, who should be known for our love for one another, still pick and choose who we want in our group. We only want to be friends with those who feel and think like us.

4corners

Even among organized churches, we see separation. You can have a Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian church on 3 out of 4 corners, and people go in and out of their respective denomination and never smile or wave at someone going into the other. Normally we would not think of merging together as one in Christ because those across the street think differently than we do (and I know there are a few exceptions). For those of us who are outside the walls of the institutional church, we can meet together with a few others at a restaurant on a Wednesday night, and as the Pentecostal people start coming in after service, all we want to do is look at them strange and make sly remarks. Where is the love and acceptance in that? And this is among fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not even mentioning how we treat those who do not know God or who do not even believe God exists.

I really think that being more Christ-like may not mean being more holy, or closer to being perfect, it may mean hanging out with people who are a lot less perfect. Jesus was known for associating with people who the religious crowd had no interest. They were the people who never dreamed of being called a friend of God, or attending the local fellowship, or even getting a smile from someone. They were the outcasts, those that religious people did not want to associate with or even have a conversation.

I’ve noticed most people tend to focus more on being like someone else they know and admire, rather than being more like Christ. I think it is easier to be more like a friend because deep down we feel we can measure up, or it is possible to achieve being like another person. We can see the mistakes and shortcomings in others, and we usually feel we are just as good as they are…or better.

That fact is, it is easier being like another person. We feel we are unable to attain being like Jesus. In our own strength, that is so true. The good thing is, Christ does not expect us to live in our own strength. He said it is not good for man (human, both men and women) to be alone. For this reason, he provided a help-mate for us. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our strength, teacher, comforter and guide. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the love of Christ within us, we can be more like Jesus as we learn to love and accept everyone.

So many times, we want to be more like Mike, or Jim or William because they are people we admire and want to be like, mainly because they think a lot like us and do things we would want to do.

Of course being like Jesus would mean we would love and accept people most Christians want to avoid and stay away from, just as in the parable of the Good Samaritan. We want to pass by on the other side of the street rather than show love and compassion to one of ‘those’ people.

modernlastsupper1

Jesus said to love our neighbor. We agree with that as long as our neighbor is like Mike, or Jim or William. The bad thing is that if our neighbor is a person we consider an outcast of society, or someone who is involved in things we think are wrong, we do not want anything to do with them. Yet Jesus did not say love your neighbor if they think like you, are pleasant to be around, are Christians of the same denomination. No, our neighbor is everyone we come in contact with throughout our day, no matter who they are, what their lifestyle or belief and no matter what others think of them.

Our job is not to condemn others and point out their sins and mistakes. Our life is to be like Christ, loving others, accepting others and letting them see the love the Father has for them, knowing that we were no different. God loved us, and died for us while we were yet sinners.

Why is it that after accepting God’s love and forgiveness for ourselves, we do not want to offer the same to our fellow human beings?

By the power and love of the Holy Spirit within us, we can hang out with people we never dreamed we would on our own. The love of Christ can work through us, helping us accept others and love them just the way they are. That does not mean we have to participate in everything they do, we do not have to agree with their lifestyle, but we can love them and accept them as they are, knowing that Christ did the same thing, and still does through us.

A good article by Ronnie McBrayer with a different look on this subject can be read here:
http://ronniemcbrayer.net/2015/08/24/tea-and-apple-pies/

Posted in christian living | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |

The Kingdom of God – Now or Later?

August 19, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

When we hear someone talk about the Kingdom of God, usually our first thought is a place in the distant future. A place we go when we die and leave this earth. It is where God lives somewhere way up in the sky, a place where we will live with Him forever.

Yet, when reading about the Kingdom of God in the bible, it sounds to me it is not some far away, future place. It is right now, and right here. A place where we live daily with our Father. Jesus said in John 14:23 “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them”. To me, if God has made his home with us, then we are certainly living in the Kingdom of God.

Kingdom of God 3

Jesus mentioned that the Kingdom of God is within us. He said that we were to ask that God’s will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

The following excerpt from the article ‘Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God’ found on colsoncenter.org website is a brief explanation of the Kingdom of God:

The Hebrew word for kingdom is malkut and its Greek counterpart is basileia. Both terms primarily mean “rule” or “reign.” Only secondarily do they denote a realm, sphere, or territory over which a rule or reign is exercised. Both terms have a dynamic or active meaning, and refer to the exercise of God’s power, dominion, or sovereignty.

So then, we see that the expression “Kingdom of God” does not refer to heaven or the church or the heart or to moral reform or to a future realm. Rather it refers to the active, dynamic exercise of God’s rule, authority, dominion, and power in the world!

So when John the Baptist announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand, he meant that God’s rule was just about to break into the world through the Messiah. When Jesus Christ Himself preached and proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, He meant that in and by Himself, God was exercising His power and authority in a redemptive way against all the evil in the world!

In short, the Kingdom of God is the rule of God manifested in Christ to bring redemption to the earth. No wonder the Kingdom is the central theme of the New Testament! …

Another good point is made on the web site thegospelcoalition.org, stating: Jesus is the kingdom. Where the king is, there is the kingdom. This is precisely why Jesus says to the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21)…

 

Kingdom of God 1

I have come to believe more and more that the Kingdom of God is not necessarily talking about the coming heavenly kingdom, but it is our life with God right here and now. Our old, earthly man was crucified with Christ on the cross and a new man was raised up with Christ. Jesus is our king, and we are living with him in his kingdom every day.

 

Another interesting perspective on the Kingdom of God entitled ‘What is the Kingdom of God about?’ and written by Susanne Schuberth, can be found at the following link:

https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god-about/

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Being Kids Forever

August 12, 2015 by DoneWithReligion

I am sure those of you who are parents have noticed how we like to keep our kids under our control? Maybe not necessarily control, but we like for them to depend on us.

For my wife and me, when the kids were in the seven and eight year old range it seemed to be the perfect time. They were old enough to do things on their own, yet they still depended on us and wanted to spend time with us.

kidsparentsAs time went on, they became more independent and wanted to be with their friends. As parents, we kind of dread this time. Even though we want to see our kids grow up and become self-sufficient adults, we always enjoy the thought of those days when they depended on us.

As parents, we want to mentally keep our kids at that age when we felt the love and dependence, and knowing they wanted to be with us. I’ve seen this in my grandmother and the way she talked and treated my mom. I saw my mom treat me the same way and I realize I am feeling the same way about our kids. I know our kids will one day feel the same about their kids. I guess no matter how old we get, we will always see our kids as those seven or eight year olds who depend on us and enjoy our company.

I’m sure our Father is the same way, He likes for us to depend on Him and look to Him for answers, comfort and fellowship. Yet we tend to want our independence, we want to do it our way.

The difference is that in our world it is natural and good for kids to grow up and become independent. In the spiritual world, we can actually stay kids forever. Children of God can look to their Father for love and comfort, someone to listen and is genuinely concerned for us. We can always depend on Him and enjoy his fellowship.

childlike faith

Staying a kid is not to say we should remain childish, but childlike. Being childish, according to answers.yahoo.com, is behaving badly,  produces tantrums, is annoying and merely ignored. Being childlike is a positive. Being childlike is innocent, trusts easily, fearless, powerful, not afraid to fail and inquires with a pure heart.

We are told in Mark 10 that anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Kids are trusting. They look to their parents thinking we know it all and anything we say is true. They do not think about what we say, they just accept it and do it. If we as children of God could be as trusting of our Father as our young kids are of us.

God is always there to listen, comfort, love, teach and enjoy our time together. He has provided all we need to have a relationship with Him and we can enjoy being His children forever.

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