Welcome to Kingdom Views!
Yes, it has been ten years since I ventured into the blog world, but the Lord has nudged me that it is time to return. We are often called to pray "Thy Kingdom Come; Thy will be done ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." A lot has shifted in the last decade. The Lord promised in His word that He will shake everything that can be shaken so only that which cannot be shaken will remain. The chaos we see all around us is a Kingdom war. Many will ask, "Why doesn't the Lord just do it and we will go in and take up residence?"
When we have questions about anything in scripture, we have to look at the place where it is first mentioned to get the sense of where the Lord stands on the subject. Let's look at the original model.
The creation and the Garden. God created man (and woman) in His image and likeness. They would look like him and have his character (act like him with full authority). He was set in the Garden and told him to take dominion , rule over it , take care of it as he would. The Lord said the the heavens are the Lords but He has given the earth to man. Ps 115:16 The earth was created to be a Kingdom that reflected the heavenly kingdom. Man was his agent or ambassador to all creation on earth. Satan usurped dominion on the earth when man rebelled from the word of the Lord and was separated from him.
The Lord will have his way and the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters covers the sea. Hab. 2:14 The Kingdom war for the earth began when the Lord declared war on Satan. “And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel.” Gen. 3:15- AMP
The Lord gave the people of Israel a land inhabited by demon driven people the enemy used to occupy the land He had given Israel in an effort to keep the Lord's word and the promised messiah from coming to pass. The people of Israel had to move at the word of the Lord and dispossess the demonic forces with the power of the Host of heaven. Entering into the promised land was a battle against demonic forces in order to receive the inheritance.
In World War II, General Erwin Rommel, was in charge of the German defenses at Normandy, France. He stated that, if the Allies secured the beachhead, the war was lost. The Allies did secure the beachhead, but it took nine more months of fighting to dispossess the Nazi's and bring the full victory in Europe to pass.
We as the Body of believers are called to be warriors to enforce the victory won on the cross. "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. (emphasis mine) Luke 19:12,13-KJV
I asked the Lord how do I prepare to be an effective warrior in the days to come. One of the things he directed me to do was to prepare a 40 day devotional. I call it Fearlessly Devoted, a Devotional for Soldiers of the King of Kings, The Old Path Publishers. It is available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
Here is are some excerpts.
Foundational
View
As we look around at the
circumstances of the day, things seem pretty crazy. It would be easy to allow
fear and anxiety creep into our lives to destroy our peace, our joy and our
health. The world may seem to be crumbling around us, but we have to constantly
remind ourselves of several things:
Our God is God and nothing else is: not my understanding of him; not another religion; not the powers
that seem to be at the helm. Deut. 4:35
He, Jesus, is the one who saves and nothing else can: not the government; not my financial stability; not my own
strength or abilities. Acts 4:12
He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth: not some accident over long periods of time. Gen 1:1; Col. 1;16
He is the Truth, The Way, The Life: not whatever seems to be right in my own eyes or any other
individual. He is not like a man that He should lie. John 14:6
He is absolutely good: He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Heb. 13:8
He has said that he has called you by name and redeemed you: You are his. When you go through struggles, he will keep you. Isa.
43:1-3 He chose you, you didn’t choose him.
John 15:16
He has given me choices each day for life:
Elijah said, "If the Lord is God, follow Him." 1 Kings 18:21
Joshua said to choose life or death.
Deut. 30:19
Every day, we have to choose:
- live
to serve God and trust in His faithfulness to keep us to give us wisdom
and to help us walk according to His promise and character
- or
to follow things with our own eyes, our own understanding, my own
emotions, and our own circumstances.
We should have the mind of
the Psalmist when he says, “Make me know Your ways, Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead
me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.” Ps 25:4,5
Day 1
Who Is God”
Read:
Ex. 33:18,19; 34:5-7
How do we know who God is? The world tells
who they think he is, but who does God say he is?
The world sees a name as a differentiator
like George or Sally. The names of God,
however, all describe his character and what he does: El Shaddai (the all-sufficient
one), Jehovah Rapa (the God who heals), Jehovah Shalom, (God our peace),
Jehovah Sabaoth (the God of armies), etc. His name means who He is and reflects
his reputation.
Moses’ request was, Show me your Glory (kabod-weightyness).
God responded by describing who he is by proclaiming his names. When we see His
Glory, we see all that He is. 1 John 3:2
Reflect:
- Who do you
say God is?
- How do you
get to know Him?
- Knowing it is
the Lord who works his nature in you, what steps can you take to allow him
to come close?
Pray:
Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way. Ps 139: 23,24
Show me your Glory. Show me the difference
between who you are and who I perceive you to be in my own mind.
Further
Reading:
Lord,
I Want To Know You, Kay Arthur, Waterbrook Press ; The Names
of God, Ann Springer, Zondervan
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