The plan for today was to focus on another aspect of life in which God is sovereign, but I keep coming back to the idea of God being King over my time. They say that you can tell a lot about a person based off of how they spend their time. A person that spends a lot of time exercising values exercise. A person that delights in hours of time in an art studio values creating art. A person that devotes their time to reading the Bible and in prayer values a relationship with God. When it comes to time, I often feel under a pressure cooker. There's a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. However, I have been challenged by the idea of God being the King of my time. If God is King, then he knows how my time should be wisely stewarded so that I focus on the most important things. I'm reminded of Martha and Mary and their interaction with Jesus. The record of it is short, but it cuts to the heart. Let's look at it together: Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10: 38-42) In this passage, we see that Martha was distracted with serving. She has an opportunity to serve Jesus, and she uses the time that she has been given with him to spend it being anxious and troubled about a number of things. However, her sister Mary makes the most of the time with Jesus by sitting at his feet and listening to his teaching. Jesus tells Martha as she complains that "one thing is necessary," and he goes on to say that Mary chose what was best and necessary. The necessary thing is spending time at Jesus' feet. In a modern context, this looks like spending time with Jesus through reading God's Word and prayer. Jesus tells Martha that there is only one necessary thing, and that same thing is the only necessary thing to this day. At the end of my life on earth, I won't regret not spending more time on Instagram or cleaning or blogging. What I will regret is not spending enough time getting to know my King and growing in my relationship with Him before I meet Him face to face. When it comes to stewarding the time given to me by the King, there is only one necessary thing, and it's sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his teaching. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
You can view the rest of the posts from the series here.
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If marriage has taught me one thing, it's that I clench my fist around the illusion of being the master of my own time and schedule. I didn't know this about myself until I married a man that loves spending time with me. As an extrovert that spent a year having to learn how to be content being by myself, the transition from spending most of my post-grad free time alone to always being with someone was rather difficult. It wasn't difficult because my person was difficult, because I love my person. It was difficult because I learned that I value my "me time" at the expense of "us time". I hold my time with a tight fist, because I believe the lie that it belongs to me, when it actually belongs to another. We've spent the past two weeks on a journey to seek the kingdom. What we've found is that the kingdom is actually more about the fact that God reigns than where He reigns. We looked at how everything belongs to God, how His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and how His rule should affect the way that we live our lives. If everything belongs to God, then even our time and our days belong to Him. We see this in Scripture as David meditates on God's workmanship: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139: 13-16) God made us and gave us days, therefore our days ultimately belong to Him. Not only that, but He has created us to do good works and to make the most of our days: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10) While He is the owner of our time, we are the stewards. As stewards, we have been entrusted with our days and our time in order to do good works for the Lord. Stewards are called to manage what they have been given wisely: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16) With all of this in mind, my "me time" is actually God's time. Yes, God does call me to rest and to take time to be with Him, but He ultimately calls me to be a steward of the time that He has given me to accomplish the things He wants accomplished. I am not the owner, merely the steward. Learning this truth has been a hard road for a glory thief like me. I often want time to belong to me, but it belongs to my Maker. It has been given to me to steward wisely. What might this look life in my life and your life? Living in light of God being the King of time changes the way that we spend the time that we have been given. If we're going to spend time, we should spend it how God wants it spent. Ultimately, God wants us to spend our time loving Him and loving others. What does this look like practically? Here are a few examples:
These are just a few examples of ways to view the time that we have been given as God's time and to steward it rightly. In my own life, viewing God as the King of my time has led to repentance when I try to control my schedule and my day. If it doesn't belong to me, then I have no reason to get upset when my day is suddenly changed or when more time than expected is taken up by a project, task, or person. I'm more mindful of how I'm spending my time, and I'm looking for ways to eliminate distractions. I've started thinking through ways that I can love people better with my time or view my productivity as a way to love God and others. At the same time, it is very freeing to know that my times are in God's hands, that my days belong to Him instead of me. I'm a poor steward, and I often need to be reminded of God's grace through Jesus Christ in times when I don't steward my time wisely or when I try to take control of time. Praise God that He is the King and ultimate sovereign of our time. As citizens of God's kingdom, we need to view our time as belonging ultimately to the King. Our King has given us time to steward for the purposes of bringing glory to His kingdom. How might God be calling you today to submit to His lordship over your time? This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom. You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. For the past fifteen days, we've been on a journey to learn more about and seek God's kingdom. We've looked at how God is the King of everything, how we can be a part of His kingdom, and that if we are a part of His kingdom, we are citizens and ambassadors too. If we are a part of God's kingdom and His citizens, that changes the way we live. No longer do our allegiances lie with this world, they lie with our Maker. The night I first believed in Jesus as my Savior was also the first night I wanted Jesus to be the Lord and King of my life. That night I offered Jesus his rightful place on the throne in my heart, but in my sin, there are many times when I try to put myself back on the throne, when I try to be my own king. This next half of the series will be focused on what it looks like in the ordinary and everyday to live with Christ as our king, how it changes our hearts, our behaviors, and our character. Join me tomorrow as we begin more of the practicals and application of what we have looked at from Scripture so far. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom. You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. Today, I'm sharing links to posts from Desiring God that are focused on God's kingdom. As we continue on this journey, I hope that these posts are helpful aids on this journey. I found them helpful while thinking through aspects of the kingdom of God that I had never thought about before. Enjoy. Is My Life Worthy of the King? by Tony Reinke See the Invisible Kingdom by Ann Voskamp We Need a Real King by Brandon D. Smith Kings and Queens in Training by Daniel Hoffman The Allure of Middle Earth by Tony Reinke “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” - C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom. You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. Note: The Amazon link to the book mentioned above is an affiliate link. If you click on the link and purchase this book, this blog is supported at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting She Laughs Without Fear!
P.S. The above photo was taken my friend Chelsea while we were in Poland. Take some time to visit her blog, Go Giver Collective. Yesterday, we saw from Scripture that Jesus came to save sinners, and sinners are the ones chosen to enter the kingdom of God, but these aren't just any sinners. The sinners that enter the kingdom of God are those that realize their unworthiness and believe that the blood and sacrifice of Christ is the only thing that makes them worthy of inheriting the kingdom. Today, we're looking at the character of kingdom citizens. Jesus detailed what it meant to be a kingdom citizen in his sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7). Particularly, Jesus shared that those that are a part of the kingdom are very different from what the world would expect. Here are some of the characteristics: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-11) Do you see the characteristics that Jesus said are blessed:
Those that exhibit these characteristics are given promises from the Lord that relate to the kingdom of God. They shall:
Who wouldn't want these blessings that Jesus promised? However, the people that receive these promises are those that display the characteristics above. The people that display these characteristics are kingdom citizens, and these citizens are far different from the people of the world. Jesus even continued, calling kingdom citizens the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world" (Matthew 5:13). He called his citizens to be a shining example to the rest of the world so that others may see their "good works and give glory to [their] Father who is in heaven." If we are followers of Christ and citizens of His kingdom, we are called to live out our lives in this way as well. If as followers of Christ, we are experiencing these things, we know that there is a greater inheritance and kingdom coming. I don't know about you, but this is encouraging to me in the midst of day to day living. We'll explore this more tomorrow. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. A few weeks ago, Brandon and I joined a rag tag group of believers that walks around the streets of the city of Lebanon, PA every Saturday to share the gospel with people that happen to be walking down the street. They strike up conversations with people waiting for buses or anyone just walking by. Brandon was assigned to one part of the group, and I went with the other half. As we were walking and connecting with people, I asked one of the men in our group if he would share how he came to believe in Jesus as his Savior. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this man shared with me a story that I would not have expected based off of his person. He shared that he had a pretty hard background. Abuse which led to alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse that led to drug abuse. Drug abuse that led to becoming a part of a motorcycle gang, but this wasn't one of those gangs that goes for joy rides on Sunday evenings down the highway together. This gang hardened his heart to the point where he could shoot a man in the middle of the eyes and then go home and eat a steak dinner. It was desperation and brokenness that led him to Jesus. He and his wife found themselves homeless, living in a park, but a man found them there and invited them into a local church for shelter and meals. Through the love of the people there, his heart softened towards hearing the gospel. He looked at his life and saw the brokenness and sin, and thought he was too far gone for God's grace. A man shared with him that that was far from the truth. He wasn't too far gone. God wanted him, and Jesus died so that his sins would be white as snow. All he had to do was believe and accept the free gift of God's grace. This man did accept the Lord's grace, and it was a wonder and a miracle. I was amazed as I spoke with him, hearing his story, and seeing the stark contrast between the man I was talking with. We later encountered a young man walking down the street, who very much identified with my teammate's past. This young man said that he was too far gone for God's grace. The older man shared his testimony with me, and again I was amazed, watching this young man's eyes fill with life and hope. The older man shared the gospel with this younger man, and he prayed for his sins to be forgiven and washed clean by the blood of Jesus. The older man invited him to join him at church that Sunday to continue their conversation and help the young man learn more about God's grace. As Brandon and I departed from the group that day, Jesus' words to the Pharisees came to life in my heart: And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:10-13) Jesus came to call sinners. As such, the citizens of Jesus' kingdom are sinners. The kingdom is not comprised of those that were good enough or perfect enough or did enough good works in this life. The kingdom is filled with those that have been forgiven and made perfect and righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus later tells the Pharisees, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you (Matthew 21:31)." Those that enter the kingdom of God are those that understand they are the most unworthy. Jesus calls sinners, and their faith in him for the cleansing of their sins is what makes them citizens and welcomes them into the kingdom of God. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. I don't often think about my nationality, but when I do, it's usually because I'm in a foreign country. Oddly enough, the first time I thought about the fact that I'm an American was the summer I spent in Poland. For the first time, I felt defined by a culture, and it forced me to think about citizenship and culture in a new and different way. I realized that summer that I am a representative and ambassador for the United States, but I also learned that my primary citizenship is in the kingdom of God and that I'm first and foremost Jesus' ambassador. The word ambassador has a Latin origin that means servant or minister. If we are in Christ, we are His servants and as such, His ambassadors to the world. According to the US Department of State's website, there are three main purposes for ambassadors:
I would argue that servants of Christ do these same things. It might look different, but followers of Christ have similar purposes: Protect Citizens Ambassadors for the United States of American make sure that the citizens of the USA are safe in foreign countries. When I spent a summer in Poland, we had to inform the US embassy that we would be there for our safety. Followers of Christ are responsible to protect other followers of Christ. We remind each other where our true citizenship is, and it's with the Lord in His kingdom. We protect each other from the dangers of sin by pointing each other back towards Jesus and the gospel and speaking the truth in love. Support Prosperity Sending ambassadors for foreign nations opens up the door for more opportunities for trade and travel between nations. This ultimately supports prosperity for a nation. Ambassadors of Christ support prosperity but in the sense that more people learn about the kingdom of God. Ambassadors of Christ represent Jesus and encourage others to learn more about Him and to even join His kingdom. Work For Peace The cornerstone of what ambassadors do is work for peace between nations, particularly peace concerning terrorism, human trafficking, and the drug trade. Followers of Christ work for peace as well, but primarily the peace that comes when others are reconciled to God through faith in Christ. In representing Jesus, believers also work for peace in the same ways that ambassadors work for peace, but we do so because it brings glory to God. We work for justice when it comes to human trafficking, racial inequality, or making abortion illegal because God made mankind in His image. Therefore, every life is sacred and important, and we desire to see every life valued. Being an ambassador makes me think of being a disciple of Christ in a different way. I am ultimately Christ's servant, follower, and disciple, but I also get to be an ambassador for His coming kingdom. If you are a follower of Christ, you get to be an ambassador too. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. A Foreigner In a Foreign Land I'll never forget the summer I spent ministering in a little Polish city with four other American women. We were there to support the local Polish church of believers and pray over towns in Poland. Plain and simple. Three of us were learning from the other two women what it was like to be an American missionary in a foreign country such as Poland. We didn't know the language. We didn't know the culture or the customs. We just loved Jesus and wanted to learn. Learn we did. I'll never forget that summer. It was the first time I became acutely aware of the fact that I was an American and that I was a citizen of a different country. That might sound odd for a missionary survey trip, but one of the hardest things that I learned while in Poland is that I did not automatically fit in. I laughed louder than Polish people. I'm taller than most Polish people, which is saying something since I'm considered short in America. My features even give me away. I would be shopping for groceries with my teammates, and the cashier would ask if we were Hungarian, because we didn't look Polish, and the only logical conclusion was that we were from Hungary. I spent six weeks being an ambassador for the United States while engaging in ministry. It was the same summer that the plane crashed near Kiev, and people suspected that Russia was behind it. As an America, I was often asked what Americans thought of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. High schoolers would ask my teammates and I if we ever saw celebrities walking down the street. We would be asked about American customs and how birthdays are traditionally celebrated. What are weddings like? I loved being asked these questions, but I particularly loved when the people we were meeting would ask us about our faith in Jesus. I learned that summer that being a follower of Christ is like being an ambassador in a foreign nation. We have been sent to go and to share. Christ's Ambassadors I've been reading the book of Luke in my devotional time with the Lord in the morning. This morning, I was struck while reading Luke 10, in which Jesus sends out seventy two men that he appointed. They are to go before him to every town and place where Jesus would soon go. He tells them: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ (Luke 10:2-11) Jesus sent them out as ambassadors for his coming kingdom. He had them go to people and to see who would receive them. They were told to heal the sick and to tell them about the kingdom of God. Jesus didn't just call the seventy two to this ministry. He later called the disciples to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). Now he calls us to do likewise. If we believe in Christ, we have been reconciled to God and made a part of his kingdom. We are kingdom citizens that have been given a mission: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20) This is from the second of two letters that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Paul understood that God had sent him and Timothy as ambassadors to the Corinthian church, to implore them to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Just as Paul and Timothy went to Corinth and to other cities as ambassadors for Christ, we are called to go to others as citizens of the kingdom and ambassadors as well. An Ambassador In Our Own Country You don't need to go to a foreign country to be an ambassador for Christ though. We can live our lives as kingdom citizens and ambassadors in our home town. We carry the kingdom with us, in our hearts, if we are followers of Christ. Which means that every time I go to the grocery store, I am an ambassador for God's kingdom. Every time I go to Starbucks, or the coffee shop down main street, or the restaurant down the road, I am an ambassador for the kingdom. But what does it look like to be an ambassador for God's kingdom? We'll dive a little deeper tomorrow. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. They say that the sun never sets on the British Empire. It's the largest empire that the world has ever known, and it covered 13.71 million square miles of land at its height in 1920. There's a reason they said that the sun never set on the empire; there was so much land under the empire's dominion that the sun would set in one territory and rise in another. However, the British Empire's dominion in some areas did not last forever. The United States of America is an example. While the British Empire is still the largest Empire the world has ever known, it is not a kingdom that will last into eternity. However, it is an earthly shadow of a kingdom that will endure forever. We've been focusing on this kingdom for the past week, and I'm learning more about the kingdom while writing about it. One day, God's kingdom will have a far greater reach and dominion that the British Empire, but it started very small. Jesus spent time teaching the disciples about the kingdom of God with parables. In one such parable, he compares the kingdom to a grain of mustard seed: He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32 There is something so beautiful about the image of a tiny mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, being planted and eventually growing to be larger than all the garden plants. This little seed, that looks tiny and weak, actually grows into something far greater. Jesus uses this seed very intentionally to make a comparison to God's Kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed; it began small with Jesus and the disciples, and then it grew larger, and one day it will grow larger than all of the garden plants (kingdoms). Just like the birds in the tree, many people will come and find refuge in the kingdom. The kingdom starts off with humble beginnings and then will grow to a worldwide size, which many will find shelter in. At the same time, there's something that most people don't know about mustard trees. Pliny the Elder writes about it in his Natural History, which was published around 78 AD: "Mustard…is extremely beneficial for the health. It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: but on the other hand when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once." Mustard grows like a weed. When the seed falls, it germinates and grows at once. Once a mustard tree is fully grown, it is nearly impossible to get rid of it, and it continues releasing seeds that germinate. To the average gardener, the mustard tree is a pesky plant whose growth, once begun, is near impossible to stop. How true is that of the kingdom of God? When a gospel seed is sown in a person's heart, the seed begins to grow. Something so small, a little seed of faith, grows into a large rooted tree that spreads other seeds, which germinate and grow. It spreads and grows quickly. As well, It becomes a shelter to some and obnoxious to those that try to root it out. But there is no stopping the growth of the mustard seed, just like there is no way to stop the growth of the kingdom of God in the hearts of people. God's kingdom is like a mustard seed, and one day it will grow to be the largest kingdom that the world has ever known. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom. You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. Note: The Amazon link to Natural History above is an affiliate link. If you click on the link and purchase this book, this blog is supported at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting She Laughs Without Fear!
I'm taking today as a day of rest, and God's kingship and his kingdom still pop up everywhere. The passage below was the topic for the sermon at church this morning, and I found myself thinking about the kingship of God throughout the entire service. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “In him we live and move and have our being"; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we are indeed his offspring." Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:24-31 In the above passage, Paul addressed the Athenian men in regards to their worship of idols and false gods. In Athens, men and women worshipped idols (statues) that were placed in temples. Many people offered food to the false gods. This idol worship prompted Paul to share about the Only God with the Athenians. Here are some observations from this passage:
Hearing a sermon on this passage of Scripture this morning reminded me that I am created by God. As such, I am his creature, and I was made to seek and find him, which means that he is not too far for me to find. That is a beautiful promise, especially as we adventure on this series together in seeking God and his kingdom. I hope you take time to rest and enjoy God's day, and I'm praying that we would live our lives in light of God's lordship and his kingdom. This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. |
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