Jesus answered, "My
kingdom is not of this world." —John 18:36
{CHAMBERS} […] Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with
observation….For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It
is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be
seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power
of a person’s life. […] In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and
the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a
disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus
Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others. […]
You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future
circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed
on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity,
instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption,
then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if […] time […] is
being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be
impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
{ELGIN} When I was accepted into flight school, on the first day I
did not go to the flight line, climb into a helicopter, and fly around the
airfield. There was a season of intense
preparation , ground school. Training in
the fundamentals before I ever got to smell aviation fuel for the first time,
let alone even sit in a helicopter. And
then training in a simple helicopter before I learned to fly a Huey, Cobra or
Chinook. In the same way, we must
prepare ourselves for our new life in Christ if we don’t want to crash and
burn. The disciples spent three years
with Jesus. Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd. Paul spent three years in the desert. There was a season of preparation. Their learning did not stop there. Their relationship with the Lord deepened as
they walked in obedience to His leading.
It’s the same for you and me. There
is much to do on the inside before a life that brings glory to God can be manifested
on the outside. The Pharisees were “whitewashed
tombs filled with dead men’s bones” (Matthew
23:27) They “praised God with their lips but their hearts were far from
Him.” (Isaiah 29:13) We very often confuse doing with being.
You will not be successful in your new life
if you do not first get your relationship on the inside right. Going to church once a week and reading
scripture on the screen is not enough.
Reading a devotion such as this one is good, but reading the Word and
praying is better. Joshua 1:8-9 says this “This book of the law shall not depart from
your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be
careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make
your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go.” In Ephesians
6, Paul describes our preparation for living the new life in Christ as putting on a
soldier’s armor. One of the things that you do in flight training is learn
emergency procedures .. what to do when something goes wrong … for the
Christian … what to do when life happens … as an aviator, you had to learn to
recognize the problem and know what to do, and in what sequence to survive. Same for a Christian. Don’t count on having an epiphany – a Divine
revelation – in the midst of a trial. You
have to be ready through preparation. And that is the truth whether you choose to believe
it or not!
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