Daily Reading: Luke 13
Scripture Focus: What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. (Luke 13.18-19)
Devotional Thought: "The kingdom is like a mustard seed? That tiny thing?" How so?
Just as the mustard seed is acted upon – a man took and sowed in his garden– so, too, the kingdom of God requires action on our parts. We must…
Take it. We take the kingdom of God by embracing a new system of governance. I recently watched a news program in which the correspondent told of his becoming an American citizen. He was obviously proud, excited, and sincere. In his thoroughly British accent, he described how he had pledged his allegiance to the United States of America. He was now subject to the laws and recipient of the benefits of American citizenship. He had a new government. Those who want to come under the governance of the kingdom of God must pledge their allegiance to a new King – Jesus Christ!
Sow it. The kingdom of God is not a precious jewel to be held in our hands or to be enclosed in a glass case. In order for the kingdom to be effective in our lives – to grow and flourish and multiply – it must be sown. Our gardens are our individual lives, our families, and our communities. Until the kingdom of God is released in these areas, it will not have an impact. When we sow the kingdom in our lives, we must be ready for it to take over and become the most dominant feature of our lives, like the mustard plant that grows and grows until the birds can build nests in it. Is the kingdom of God growing to be the most dominant feature of your life? Does it define you? Do others know that they can turn to you for shelter and support?
Prayer: Thank you, heavenly Father, for offering me your kingdom. I do now take it by making you the king of my life. And, Lord, I pledge also to sow it so that others may experience the abundant life of your kingdom as well. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 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. (Psalms 139:7-16)
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