Establishing an Unshakeable Kingdom

God declares that He will faithfully remove the created things which can be shaken - the shakable kingdom. Why? so that the unshakable may remain. Created things give cultural Christianity its toehold. Created things defeat us and choke the Word - the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth (Matthew 13:22).

When we cross over the line and refuse Him who speaks, He will separate us from the created things - the idols, the shakeable kingdom - which dilute our devotion to him. If we cannot remain obedient, if we cannot be holy, then He will discipline us for our own good, "that we may share in his holiness". . .

Do not be alarmed if God shakes up your world. Though your first natural thought will disagree, it is a blessing. It is not a sign that you are unworthy - every one of us is unworthy. It is not a sign of hatred, but love. If He did not love you, He would let you completely self-destruct. As it is, He cleanses your life from sin. . .

When God disciplines you by removing created things, by shaking up your temporal kingdom, rejoice and be glad. Created things divide our affections from God and become competition to our devotion. They lure us into the wrong race. they consume our creativity and deflect our thoughts away from the Lord Jesus.

I became a cultural Christian. Created things became idols and divided me from complete, faithful devotion to our Lord. God removed most of the created things I accumulated. I built a shakeable kingdom, and God shook it. Words are inadequate to express the joy and gratitude I feel toward God for the wounds He faithfully inflicted. It may be the single greatest blessing of my spiritual pilgrimage.

-From Walking with Christ in the Details of Life by Patrick M. Morley; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Benefits of Being a Child of God

Image
In her book "Breaking Free", Beth Moore writes about five benefits God intends "to be the daily experience of every child of God." (p. 23) The first benefit is to know God and believe Him . Beth Moore writes that "one of your chief purposes on this planet is to know God intimately and with reverent familiarity. That intimate relationship begins, but was never intended to end, with what we call the 'salvation experience.' So the first question to ask yourself is, Have you received Christ as your personal Savior?" "One of the most beautiful elements of salvation is its simplicity. Christ has already done all the work on the cross. Your response includes four elements: 1) Acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself. 2) Acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and only He can save you. 3) Believe that His Crucifixion was for your personal sins and that His death was on your behalf. 4) Give Him your life and
Read more

Fuel Up with the Holy Spirit

Image
 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 Once we decide to get on the road with Jesus, we discover that the Bible is like a road map for our journey; helping us to live in a way that pleases God. If we spend time in the Word everyday, we will grow to be more like Jesus. A car needs gasoline in order to work. In order for you to keep going, you have to fill the tank up. Well, just like our physical bodies need food for energy, and cars need gasoline in order to go, our spiritual bodies need a kind of fuel too. This "fuel" is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and energy for life. We know that God created us. We know that Jesus saved us. But you might wonder who the Holy Spirit is. In John 14:16-17 we see that before Jesus was going to die on the cross, He told the disciples that God would send another Helper to help them. This w
Read more

The First Four Commandments

Image
The first four commandments tell us how we are to conduct ourselves before God. We can fulfill these first four commands by praying about our needs, thanking and praising God, using God’s name respectfully and taking time to rest and meditate on God’s Word.  –Exodus 20:1-8 The basic code in Israel’s divine law is found in Exodus 20:2-17; elsewhere it is called the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew words for Ten Commandments literally mean “Ten Words”. (Study note for Exodus 20:1) The Ten Commandments begin with the statement “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1) Warren Wiersbe points out that the phrase “I am the Lord your God” is used five times in this section (vv. 3, 5, 7, 10, 12) to show that God is the authority behind these commands and they weren’t just Moses’ opinions. The study note for Exodus 20:2 tells us that the Ten Commandments reflect the structure of the treaties of the time period. First there was a preamb
Read more