From: Paul Gage
LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AUGUST 18, 2022
Salutations and God’s Blessings to the Saints world wide,
Being past the middle of month number eight, and fall approaching, in the USA,
camps and reunions are now history, schools are back in session or soon will be. Life goes on or as some say, “Time waits for no man.”
Hopefully, the thought of “Living in the Kingdom of God” that is our daily walk with the Lord, is not becoming a routine thing. To think of living in the Kingdom of God requires each of us to turn our thoughts into live action. A question for everyone to answer for ourselves is, “Am I functioning as a Kingdom citizen?” This not an easy task as we all know. Dealing with all the ins and outs of life becomes a real challenge because it calls for us to do as Paul says in I Corinthians 11:28 and II Corinthians 13:5, we are to examine ourselves. Why would or should we do that? Because we know ourselves better than anyone else, except God. The scriptures also advise us to judge ourselves before we are judged by God.
In his book, “Tell My People” Patriarch Weldon Weldon, at God’s direction, states three times that on the level we are now living, we cannot obtain the Kingdom. This is also stated as such in Elder Earl Curry’s, ”The Endowment.” These words, as well as so many scriptures, are God’s way of encouraging us to strive with greater diligence to insure our Kingdom citizenship.
A beautiful and divinely inspired hymn, by Sister Shirley Mason, is hymn 174 in the 2007 edition of “Hymns of the Restoration. It is entitled, “Come Up Higher.” Verse three of seven says, “Seek out my counsels and commandments, and daily seek my will to do. Cast care aside, and worldly pleasure, My grace sufficient is for you.”
We have constantly before us not only the words Jesus spoke, but the example He set. Jesus lived the things He spoke and taught. In today’s world, anyone so desiring may have access to the Scriptures, but what the world needs is to observe those so claiming, to demonstrate the Kingdom of God. That is what God has asked us to do. As the camp song, “Do Lord,” reminds us, “If you don’t bear the cross, then you can’t wear the crown.”
The Lord bless and keep you as you live in the Kingdom and for the Kingdom of God.
Paul Gage
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