LIVING IN THE KINGDOM AUGUST 1, 2024

 

LIVING IN THE KINGDOM AUGUST 1, 2024 Greetings to all the faithful Saints in God’s Kingdom, Continue to be faithful, holding fast to that Rod of Iron and the Sword of the Spirit which are the WORD OF GOD. What is the “WORD?” John makes it very clear in chapter one, 1 In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made which was made. 4 In him was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men; 5 And the light shineth in the world, and the world perceiveth it not….13 He was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the same word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of him and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spake. He who cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. 16 For in the beginning was the Word, even the Son, who is made flesh and sent unto us by the will of the Father. And as many as believe on his name shall receive of his fullness. And of his fullness have all we received, even immortality and eternal life, through his grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but life and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 For the law was after a carnal commandment, to the administration of death; but the gospel was after the power of an endless life through Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.” THE WORD IS JESUS! In Him, we live and move and have our being. Why then are so many Christians including Restorationists so easily “rattled,” when some event happens. Whether it is a crash of the stock market, assassination attempt, olympics ceremony or what. What are we holding on to? We are told in Jude to “Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the Saints.” How do we earnestly contend for the faith? As one line in the CPRS school hymn states, “Rise up and take a stand today, for righteousness and truth.” We cannot be passive, laid back or afraid to take a stand for Jesus. A minister once announced, “Remain seated and sing, Stand Up, Stand Up, for Jesus.” sorry, but it is impossible to stand up for anything, if you remain seated. You might have it in your heart and mind, but somehow, sometime it must be transferred to the rest of the body. That includes the Church Body as well as the physical body. Contending does not mean contention. We have had and still have too much contention in Christianity and the Restoration as well. Refusing to stand up for Jesus might mean sitting down or staying uninvolved for the adversary. We talk, sing and dream of Zion, but if Zion is to be, for me, then I must respond to God’s commands and truly be about the task of “Building up His Kingdom and establishing His Righteousness.” We don’t want to be like the foolish virgins or those Jesus refers to in Matthew 7:30-33. Part of “Building Up His Kingdom” is being involved, or at least concerned and aware of things going on in our communities, especially here in Independence, Missouri. There is a very important election taking place on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 and in many other places. In addition to personalities, there are major changes proposed to the Independence city charter that will affect our lives in one way or another. Get the information and cast your votes, after prayer and go forth in greater effort to bring Zion into reality. God bless Paul Gage