Posts with the tag “kingdom-legacy”

Luke 1:1-4"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may kn...  Read More

1 Timothy 6:11-12“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Paul, the author of 1 Timothy, has sent an entire letter imparting wisdom and instruction for Timothy, a...  Read More

Colossians 1:13“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves.” One of our problems today is that we trivialize sin, Satan, salvation, and the Savior. We have reduced sin to what we call minor complexes and simple problems.Satan is a myth, a joke, a cartoon character. In reality, he is the very real god of this world, the chief of an innume...  Read More

Matthew 7:24-27“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who ...  Read More

Nehemiah 8:9-12"Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. T...  Read More

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” A few years ago, my husband took up knife throwing and practiced in our basement. He stood at one end of the room and sent a variety of knives flying to the far wall. Friends, if you needed a reason to be afraid to go down there this was it.Some o...  Read More

1 John 3:1“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” According to the Internet to lavish means to ‘bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on.’ It is an intentional choice performed with unbridled passion. This is the way that John chooses t...  Read More

1 Chronicles 29:11-13"God presides over every event, great or small, and He is in control of our lives. He rules all creation with all knowledge and power." The Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper once wrote, “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”In saying, “mine,” the King in heaven looks down at ever...  Read More

Luke 6:43-45“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” As a farmer, under...  Read More

Have you ever felt completely exhausted? Not just physically but emotionally and even spiritually? Have you ever felt like your emotions are so high that you keep swallowing them down? That one little spill, stubbed toe, angry look could cause you to fall to your knees and weep? No? Okay, well maybe it’s just me but I know that feeling.Where I have pushed as far and hard as I think I can and I won...  Read More

Psalm 133“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.”   Remember the television show M*A*S*H? It was based on an Ameri...  Read More

Psalm 139:12 “Even the darkness is not dark to You. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” Not too many people have a dark room in their house but I know a couple who did. Complete darkness was critical for successful development of their film. Just like the negatives we can find ourselves in the “dark room” of life being developed into the image of God.Someti...  Read More

 James 2:26“As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” How do you know that your life has been changed by the power of God? Well, how do you know that a high voltage electrical line has touched you? When a person comes into a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, it is very obvious to the one who has received this new life and to the people close to Him...  Read More

Revelation 21:4“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” The world can feel kind of crazy at times. With all that is happening, from politics to protests to pandemics it’s fair to wonder where God is in the midst of it.God is where He always is, on His throne and in...  Read More

John 15:12-17“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to ...  Read More

There are so many movies where some criminal tries to steal the Crown and the crown Jewels.  Johnny English is one of my favourite examples. Till this day though we hardly ever see anybody wear the crown, yet it is still one of the most valuable possessions to the royal family.  Why is it so valuable? Is it because of the amount of Gold and rare gems that it’s made of, maybe… But I’m pretty sure t...  Read More

Proverbs 3:5-9“Trust in the Lord…Fear the Lord…Honor the Lord” In order to receive the blessing of God, we must trust Him. Trusting God is not some mere token confession you make from time to time. Trusting God must be complete, total, daily reliance upon the promises of God. Every day you will face the choice of relying upon your own understanding or trusting Him.You and I must choose to trust Go...  Read More

Luke 22:45-46“When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’” Right after these verses, Peter goes on to cut off a servant’s ear, denies Jesus three times and then cries bitterly. Not a very good night for Peter.Jesus had asked the disciples to ...  Read More

1 Peter 3:15“But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” The guest room is an interesting spot, an invaluable space when needed yet not always fully prepared.  It can sit unused and untouched until you hear someone is on the way and then it becomes a p...  Read More

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” God expects His people to trust Him, and He is a trustworthy God! We were created to live our lives in dependence upon Him. Our knowledge is incomplete, our wisdom is inadequate, our power is ineffective; thus, we need our Creator. Si...  Read More

Philippians 2:5-8"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—eve...  Read More

Colossians 2:7"…continue to live your lives in Christ, ROOTED and built up in him…” Matthew 9:36"When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Churches are closing. Church attendance is down. So people don’t want Jesus anymore?...  Read More

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”   There are two ways people live their lives as they pass through this world – either remembering God or forgetting Him. They either acknowledge His presence and live their lives in dependence on Him, or they pay no attention to His c...  Read More

If you’ve ever been around a bunch of kids for more than 30 minutes, the chances are pretty good that you been caught in the middle of this intense and meaningful argument:“My dad’s truck is the best” “oh yeah,? My dad’s truck, will load your dad’s truck on its back and then drive through the mud”Or the girls will go:“My mom is definitely the most beautiful lady in the world”“Oh Yeah, my Mom is th...  Read More

Pilate asked Jesus this very question.  Jesus told him that everyone who is on the side of truth listens to His words.  Just before His betrayal, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through Me.”  Then Jesus prayed over them, requesting that God, “Sanctify them in the Truth; Your Word is Truth.”Jesus’ words, God’s words, the Holy Spi...  Read More

1 Corinthians 9:24, 25 “Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” We have a treadmill which makes the room it’s in the exercise room. It’s not a gym by any stretch b...  Read More

Psalm 46:10“Be still and know that I am God.” If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past two years, it’s that resting in God, being able to trust God…it doesn’t happen while I sit idle. I’m not one who is in the know about what Bible words mean in Greek or Hebrew, but when I read the Bible, I have noticed that to “know” that He is God requires being actively still. Can I give you a few examples...  Read More

Ephesians 4:14-16"14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when e...  Read More

The letter to the Romans by the Apostle Paul is, without question, the most important and influential letter written in all of human history. It forms the foundation for the understanding of Jesus death, burial and resurrection and our justification, sanctification and glorification. Want to know one of my favourite parts of Romans? Romans 16 is a list of personal greetings of Paul to people in th...  Read More

Galatians 6:9-10“And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” These may well be familiar verses, and there’s so much to pull from them for our lives today! What stands out to me now, in thinking about being the church, and Jesus’...  Read More

Matthew 25:21“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” If I’m being completely honest, when I was younger I used to think that anything I did for God needed to be some grand gesture. Preaching to thousands, leading grand revivals or building massive churches were just ...  Read More

Psalm 119:130"The unfolding of your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." Crisp air, and crunchy leaves scattered carelessly on the ground. The sweet aroma of fall was thick in the air. It was October and our family was spending time at a log cabin in the woods. Close to 5 pm as the dim clouded sun ducked behind the horizon it became apparent that darkness was closing in. A dark...  Read More

In the Book of Acts, chapter 9, we meet a man who changed the world entire.Chapter 9 records the journey of Paul, then called Saul, to the city of Damascus. Saul was travelling there to hunt down Christians, to arrest them or worse, because they claimed that Jesus, whom he thought to be a mere man, a false preacher, was God in the flesh, that he had indeed risen after his death by crucifixion.On t...  Read More

Ephesians 1:4-5"Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." It’s easy to get wrapped up in our circumstances that we miss out on how much God truly values us. Circumstan...  Read More

It is the oldest, most common model of economic organization. Family-owned businesses account for over 30% of companies with sales over $1 billion.  Such businesses benefit from strong familial loyalty and dedication to a concerted goal.Every Jesus follower is involved in a dynamic “family business.”  Jesus referenced this business when he was only twelve.  You will recall His words to His parents...  Read More

Deuteronomy 6:6-7“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Since becoming a parent 12 years ago, these verses have often run through the back of my mind as an encouragement. Sometimes, even oftentimes, ...  Read More

Matthew 10:27“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”  What hit me here is the fact that God tells us things in the dark part of our lives. So often He feels silent in those times, like He’s not there. But can I encourage us to look for Him? Listen for Him? He’s there in the dark somewhere. He said so.And one day, when this dark ...  Read More

John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life” What a short, powerful sentence. In it, we see that Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to what we should believe as Christians. He doesn’t use a parable or say something “smart” so we can try to interpret it. He just says that He is the way the truth and the life. Pretty straightforward, right?Yet we live in a world where we are despera...  Read More

40 days. What can happen in 40 days? Seasons can change. Here in Canada, 40 days is enough to go from beaches and air conditioning to parkas and snow shovels. In 40 days, Moses climbed Mount Sinia and returned with the 10 commandments. It was also enough time for the Israelites to abandon the God that had just miraculously freed them from 430 years of slavery and replace Him with an idol.  Read More