LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD JANUARY 15, 2026

 LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD JANUARY 15, 2026

 

New year greetings and blessings to all God’s people around the globe,

 

We all should have our new year up and running as we are half way through January.

 

Did you make any “Resolutions” for this year? If so, how are you doing with them? If not, like a line in one of our hymns state, “Tis neer too late, while life shall last, a new life to begin.” Resolutions and even repentance are only as good as our hearts desire is for them to be successful. Many times we slack off or falter completely because we try to do things in our own strength and power.

 

A good reminder for us is found in Doctrine and Covenants 2:1-2b

“1a The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated; neither can they come to naught, for God doth not walk in crooked paths; 1b neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left; 1c neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; therefore, his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
2a Remember, remember, that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men;
2b for although a man may have many revelations and have power to do many mighty works, yet, if he boast in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.”

 

What we see in the world, our own countries, Christianity, the Restoration as a whole, and Restoration Branches is conflict, turmoil, confusion, contention, separation, and mistrust. These plus many other similar words we could have used are not characteristics of God’s Kingdom. They are characteristics of the adversary and have been since the war in Heaven and the Garden of Eden. A song by the Kingston Trio in 1959 said it then and it still echoes today.

They're rioting in Africa They're starving in Spain
There's hurricanes in Florida And Texas needs rain

The whole world is festering With unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans The Germans hate the Poles
Italians hate Yugoslavs South Africans hate the Dutch
……….And I don't like anybody very much …………………………………………….

But we shall be thankful and tranquil and proud
………..For man's been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud …………………...
And we know for certain that some lovely day
Someone will set the spark off and we will all be blown away

They're rioting in Africa There's strife in Iran
What nature doesn't do to us Will be done by our fellow man

 

Examples are found throughout all the scriptures. Make your own list of at least five examples in scripture, Church History or current events where the meaning of the song is illustrated. When we choose our way, instead of God’s Way, the result is disaster. So what are we going to do in 2026? As we examine ourselves, will we really be an integral part of the Kingdom of God when it comes to earth? The time to search for an answer is NOW. We may not have another breath.

 

God bless

Paul Gage