[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
—Romans 14:17
God’s kingdom is made up of things far greater and more beneficial than worldly possessions. God does bless us with material possessions, but the kingdom is much more than that: It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Righteousness is not the result of what we do, but rather what Jesus has done for us (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). When we accept this truth by faith and receive it personally, we are free to live and enjoy the life Jesus died to give us.
Peace is so wonderful—it is definitely kingdom living. This is why we pursue peace, crave it, and go after it (see Psalm 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11). The closer we get to God, the more we understand that Jesus is our peace (see Ephesians 2:14). God’s will for you and me is to enjoy His peace that goes beyond understanding (see Philippians 4:7).
Joy can be anything from calm delight to extreme hilarity. Joy improves our countenance, our health, and the quality of our lives. It strengthens our witness to others and gives us a godly perspective on life (see Nehemiah 8:10).
It is clear in the Word of God: Seek God and His kingdom, and He will take care of everything else (see Matthew 6:33).
There is no better life than life in the kingdom of God.
The Danger of Turning Back
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife.”
Luke 17:31–32
The Christian life is meant to be lived in only one direction—forward. Yet we are constantly tempted to look back to the world and the things that we left behind when we trusted Christ as Saviour. The danger is that if we keep looking back, sooner or later we will find a way to go back, regardless of the consequences. This is not new, because the Children of Israel faced the same danger when they left Egypt for the Promised Land. “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned” (Hebrews 11:15). Rather than looking longingly to the past, we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Charles Spurgeon used this metaphor of mountain climbing for our progress in the Christian life. “The Christian life is very much like climbing a hill of ice. You cannot slide up. You have to cut every step with an ice ax. Only with incessant labor in cutting and chipping can you make any progress. If you want to know how to backslide, leave off going forward. Cease going upward and you will go downward of necessity. You can never stand still. If you begin to slip on the side of a mountain of ice, the first slip may not hurt if you can stop and slide no further. But alas, you cannot so regulate sin! When your feet begin to slide, the rate of the descent increases, and the difficulty of arresting this motion is incessantly becoming greater. It is dangerous to backslide in any degree, for we know not to what it may lead.”
Luke 17:31–32
The Christian life is meant to be lived in only one direction—forward. Yet we are constantly tempted to look back to the world and the things that we left behind when we trusted Christ as Saviour. The danger is that if we keep looking back, sooner or later we will find a way to go back, regardless of the consequences. This is not new, because the Children of Israel faced the same danger when they left Egypt for the Promised Land. “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned” (Hebrews 11:15). Rather than looking longingly to the past, we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Charles Spurgeon used this metaphor of mountain climbing for our progress in the Christian life. “The Christian life is very much like climbing a hill of ice. You cannot slide up. You have to cut every step with an ice ax. Only with incessant labor in cutting and chipping can you make any progress. If you want to know how to backslide, leave off going forward. Cease going upward and you will go downward of necessity. You can never stand still. If you begin to slip on the side of a mountain of ice, the first slip may not hurt if you can stop and slide no further. But alas, you cannot so regulate sin! When your feet begin to slide, the rate of the descent increases, and the difficulty of arresting this motion is incessantly becoming greater. It is dangerous to backslide in any degree, for we know not to what it may lead.”
Today’s Growth Principle:
If we spend our time looking back to the things of the world, it will not be long before we go back to the world.
Kingdom Living
by Joyce Meyer - posted July 31, 2016[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
—Romans 14:17
God’s kingdom is made up of things far greater and more beneficial than worldly possessions. God does bless us with material possessions, but the kingdom is much more than that: It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Righteousness is not the result of what we do, but rather what Jesus has done for us (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). When we accept this truth by faith and receive it personally, we are free to live and enjoy the life Jesus died to give us.
Peace is so wonderful—it is definitely kingdom living. This is why we pursue peace, crave it, and go after it (see Psalm 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11). The closer we get to God, the more we understand that Jesus is our peace (see Ephesians 2:14). God’s will for you and me is to enjoy His peace that goes beyond understanding (see Philippians 4:7).
Joy can be anything from calm delight to extreme hilarity. Joy improves our countenance, our health, and the quality of our lives. It strengthens our witness to others and gives us a godly perspective on life (see Nehemiah 8:10).
It is clear in the Word of God: Seek God and His kingdom, and He will take care of everything else (see Matthew 6:33).
There is no better life than life in the kingdom of God.
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