LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AUGUST 31, 2023

 LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AUGUST 31, 2023

Greetings to the Saints of God throughout the whole earth,

We are ending the eighth month of 2023 and look ahead to what God has in store for us in the last four months of the year. As we live in the kingdom with the directive to “Seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God and to establish His righteousness…” are you looking ahead with great excitement or with fear and trembling?

Build up and establish are action words that call for a strong, faithful, diligent effort to labor and work for the kingdom and His righteousness. There is no time or room for idleness, slothfulness, casual attitudes or just leaving it to someone else. Each person has been designated by God to perform a life of service that will result in His Kingdom so that the world might see an example of God’s plan for all who choose to follow Him. That example, Zion, is very much needed now in the world as so many are turning away from God to all sorts of deviations, trying to find something of eternal value in their lives.

Sunday, September 3, 2023 is another opportunity given to us by God to renew our covenant relationship with Him and to renew a right spirit within us that will lead us to live in and reflect the Kingdom of God. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is to REMEMBER HIM-JESUS CHRIST and in that remembering come to the table following the instructions found in DC 85:20. “a. Behold, I will hasten my work in its time; and I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; b. yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean, c .that I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation, that I may fulfill this promise, this great and last promise which I have made unto you, when I will.”

Monday, September 4, 2023 is a holiday in the USA known as “Labor Day.” A day set aside to be mindful, of all who work and labor for the support of themselves, their families, and society.

All should be aware, that all things have a temporal and spiritual side to them. As we work/labor for our support, so also we work/labor for the kingdom of God. The two really cannot be separated.

As we go forth each day to our job, we have specific guidelines. A time to be on the job, job description so we know what is expected of us and we expect to receive a certain salary that we agreed on with our employer. So it is also on the spiritual side. The scriptures are full of examples of how we are to do the work of the Master, if we are to receive our spiritual “salary/reward.” There can be no interpreting for ourselves what the job description is according to the Master.

The scriptures are also full of many examples of where “God’s People” agreed to follow and serve Him as He instructed and then decided to do it their own way. Such behavior is not acceptable in the work-a-day world “temporal” nor is it acceptable in the Kingdom of God “spiritual.”

The time has come for many people who were fired from their temporal jobs because they did not meet the expectations of their employer. It will be no different when Jesus returns, as spoken in the hymn, “Work for the night is Coming.” “When man’s work is done, when man’s works no more, when man’s work is o’er.” There will be a time of reckoning for each of us. How many times over the years have we been reminded of the parable of the “Ten Virgins?”
If you follow the Daily Devotional published by the Conference of Restoration Elders (CRE), the new one for September 2023 is on their website eldersconference.org. The one for October-December will be available at the end of September.

God bless and keep you

Paul Gage