But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” Luke 18:16

Sherry and Jimmie met at a hard rock Black Sabbath concert.
Both were serious substance abusers.
Sherry became pregnant and a few months later, they got married.  But it was awful!
A divorce ended years of abuse.
Strangely enough, God drew them back together.  He had a plan for this family!
What did God use?
Little three-year-old Jason told the pastor, “I want Jesus to bring my daddy home.”

Months later, the couple asked the pastor to marry them.
He agreed if Jimmie would receive Jesus into his life as Sherry had done previously.
So Jimmie said yes.
Now he says,
“Jesus invaded our world that night.  We got up from there and were completely different.”

Now Sherry and blues artist Jimmie Bratcher are sharing Christ’s life-changing story with others.

Friend, your experience might be less dramatic, but God WILL change your life!

By Vonette Bright
used by permission

~~~~~~~

If you don’t know God and his forgiveness and would like to start living a life where he is at your centre, you can start that journey today with a prayer:

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I want to trust you from now on. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be. Thank you for enabling me to trust you in these uncertain times. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~

FURTHER READING

The Gift of Forgiveness – by John William Smith

A Moving Mountain

Searching for a Higher Purpose – Betty Lau shares her story

The post Completely Different appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).”

Born again? You must be kidding!

Put life in reverse? We can’t be born again.

Oh, but wouldn’t we like to? A try-again. A reload. How can this be? Jesus answers in John 3:16—the hope diamond of the Bible.

“For God so loved the word that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life“. A twenty-six word parade of hope!

If you know nothing of the Bible—start here. If you know everything about the Bible—return here! He loves. He gave. We believe. We live! “For God so loved the word that he gave his one and only Son…” John 3:16.

By Max Lucado
used by permission
From: 3:16 The Numbers of Hope

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://maxlucado.com/about/

FURTHER READING

• How to Know God Personally    What does it take to begin a relationship with God?
• Bible Stud:y:  The Way to Know God
• God Knows – Know God by Randy Ehle

The post Born Again appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Of all virtues, Jesus elevated meekness above the rest.

Why humility?

It is the door opener to grace, and no virtue enters our lives except that humility acknowledges our need and requests virtue to come. Without humility, we see no reason to change or appropriate future grace.

Yet, humility not only hosts the other virtues, it is also the life essence that sustains them. It is humility that recognizes when love is growing cold and humility that confesses our need for greater purity. Without humility, our virtues harden into lifeless statues; we are outwardly religious, but inwardly unable to change.

Humility is the taproot of true nobility. For it provides increase to wholeness, and life and maturity to all other virtues. It is the antidote to Pharisee-ism and the cure for a Jezebelian attitude.

A Child

Consider: when Jesus was asked by His disciples,

“Who then is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

He put a child in their midst. He said,

“Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mathew 18:1,4).

What a sublime wonder! In Heaven, the height of greatness is measured by the depth of one’s humility.

Consider Wuest’s Expanded Translation of Jesus’ statement:

“Therefore, he who is of such a nature as to humble himself like this little child, esteeming himself small inasmuch as he is so, thus thinking truly, and because truly, therefore humbly of himself, this person is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.“

Jesus came to establish Heaven in the lives of His followers. Thus, He introduces the realm of God to His disciples with the words,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

Beloved, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the “poor in spirit.” Who are these poor? They are people who “know their need” (Godspeed Translation). Beloved, there are people in Heaven who were sinners on Earth. The streets of God’s kingdom are filled with people who, at some time or another, failed and fell short. There are adulterers who’ve been washed and cleansed by Christ’s blood, ex-drug dealers and prostitutes whose hearts are filled with praise to God – all who came face to face with their need, repented and found forgiveness of their sins.

But there is not one proud individual in Heaven. There are no self-righteous beings in Heaven.

Here on earth we see the strutting pride – the air of self-importance – manifest in leaders and celebrities. Again, we behold the air of false superiority in our cultural prejudices. We see unrepentant pride in the conflicts that lead to divorce and the offspring of pride – envy and jealousy – in the inordinate desire of men to be glorified before other men.

Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit! Not the perfect, but the poor. Yes, we are called to standards of perfection, and strive we must toward that upward call. Yet, perfection in Heaven is measured, not in degrees of self-sufficiency, but in degrees of dependency and surrender. We can search for an eternity and we will observe truly: there dwells not one proud soul in all of Heaven.

Today, we cry for revival and pray for breakthroughs, and persevere we must. Yet the Lord’s eyes are upon a certain individual. He says,

“For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite‘” (Isaiah.57:15).

The disciples were arguing about who is greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus placed a child in their midst.

This is greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven: to possess a humble heart.

By Francis Frangipane
used be permission

Francis Frangipane
info@frangipane.org
www.frangipane.org
www.icitc.org
www.arrowbookstore.com

The post The Greatest in God’s Kingdom appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” Luke 13:18-19 (ESV)

I sat in the car listening to the sound on the roof.

It was raining and eventually my patience was rewarded as the clouds wearied of their charge.

I walked and after a while, a cold sensation touched my legs. I stopped to look down to see the rainwater’s tidemark on my trousers. My eye alighted onto a piece of rotting tree-trunk nearby. It was covered in grey-green lichen in bloom, its hues in beautiful contrast to the browns of the wood and the wet earth below. Unlike the raindrops, I gladly soaked this beauty in.

From this place of stillness, I looked up into the field of corn. As my eyes focused in on their target, I realized that what had caught my eye were the twitching ears of a doe hidden amongst the ears of cereal. Close by was another young doe, and as I moved towards them, they bounded off.

Recently I saw a Bullfinch with its vibrant red breast and black cap.

I perceive God’s presence in nature as I walk because, in the peace within this postage stamp of creation, I become attuned to the stillness of His indwelling.

I believe that as we are still long enough in His Word, Jesus is found indwelling by the revelatory presence of the Holy Spirit. Just like my experiences in nature that have soaked into my being during my walks in the countryside, He too is willing to show me new insights that soak and indwell.

As the mustard seed small in the palm of the Sowers hand that once planted and watered became a tree, so my relationship with Him has grown and brought security for me and others I pass this on to: those who come my way. They too, once planted, grow and experience Him on their own account.

PRAYER: LORD, Thank You Lord, for always being there when we reach out to touch Your presence by Your Grace. You have set us free to soak up life with You. Shine the light of Your Presence through all our doing and indwell our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

by Rod Marshall
used by permission

The post Reign in Me appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (NLT)

Who are you? What is your place in this world?

This question often baffles many. In our quest to be prominent or recognized we tend to overlook the obvious. There is a uniqueness we bring to this world. I have witnessed in my own life, the very area we tend to struggle in is sometimes the area God has chosen us to bring about change and healing in the lives of those that have been in a similar place.

God chose us to be vessels of His grace in the lives of others. The truth be told, it does not always look glamorous because we sometimes have to bare our souls or show our vulnerabilities, but we have been called for such a time as this to help transform lives. When we begin to embrace the call on our lives to be instruments of love and lead others to the divine grace of our Lord, we find that it is only by God’s grace that we are able to do what He has called us to.

He has equipped us with everything we need to carry out our function in the body of Christ. No, what we have been called to do may not look like the calling of others. It may not be our “ideal” assignment but our part is necessary in bringing the good news to those that we encounter in need of the same grace that we received.

Lord teach us to recognize our value to the Kingdom of God. You have called each of us to impact the lives of those around us. Help us to embrace the place that we have been called to even when it appears that our part seems small and insignificant. Help us to remember that we have been called to help bring Glory and Honor to your name and not our own. In Jesus name, Amen

Thought: If you have struggled with knowing where you fit in the Kingdom of God, ask God to show you through your everyday life what He has called you to. Keep your eyes open and attentive and begin to take notice of the people that seek you out for help.

By Mary Pinckney
Used by Permission

Further Reading

• A Moving Mountain– Have you ever heard of a mountain moving a person?

• My Life Has Purpose – Devotional by Helen Lescheid

• Destiny’s Child: He Chose Me First

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL: FOLLOW THIS LINK

The post There is Room for You appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 (NIV)

Jesus says, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:3 (NLT) He means we must come to the end of ourselves. We have to leave behind any self-sufficiency or self-righteousness and come to the place where we realize our only hope is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We must be desperate for God: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” Matthew 5:3 (MSG)

The original disciples did not have religious wealth, in the sense that they did not have ‘churchy’ prestige or position. And, as they followed Jesus, they were inexperienced in this new way. All they could do was follow Jesus for each next step; they couldn’t rely on well-worn traditions that are so easily leaned upon in place of a relationship with Jesus.

They had nowhere else to turn but to Jesus—and it should be that way for us, as well. If you really believed there was nowhere else to turn but Jesus, how would your life change?

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

You can learn how to start a new life with Jesus.  Read this explanation at:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws

The post Desperate for God appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying,” The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Revelations 11:15-16

In the change of  our national leadership, I could not help but think of the implications of the seventh angel in Revelation. As I watched the inauguration, I noted the prayers of invocation and benediction, the singing of God Bless America and the many references to God in various remarks from the podium, but most of them seemed ceremonial and obligatory and few could claim any apparent sincerity. The references seemed superficial at best.

Perhaps it was because I knew the background of the speakers and the many past comments they have made which sounded like there was no connection to God or desire for Him to get in the way of their own personal (kingdom) agendas.

When people proclaim that it should be legal to terminate the life of a human being in the name of a woman’s convenience or those who proclaim that it is alright to marry the person of your choice, regardless of gender, I wonder what connection with divine inspiration they really have.

When people say that a policy of celibacy in singleness and monogamy in marriage is puritanical or claim that church attendance is for the weak, who need a crutch, I wonder if they really desire God to bless America, or do they want God’s approval for their self-centered kingdom.

Some day, when the seventh trumpet is sounded, America will find out how insignificant their kingdoms are when the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of the Lord.

The plain truth of the Bible reveals that the “Kingdom of God” is to be a literal government composed of spirit rulers who shall rule over all nations on earth. It is to take over the governments of the nations at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Christ will become the “King of kings,” and He will rule by the law of God.

Jesus Christ will return to earth for the purpose of setting up the Kingdom of God and judging the nations. This time, He will not come meekly but with God’s wrath against a rebellious mankind! The nations’ political rulers will be furious when they realize that Christ has come to abolish the governments of this world and to establish the Kingdom of God, which will rule over all the earth. Then those who glibly ask for God’s blessing over their personal ungodly kingdoms and agendas will find out what the Lord’s kingdom really is. Lord, come quickly, because we can’t hold on much longer. 
(a thought on life from John Grant )

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2009/02/02/jg_kingdoms/

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