I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Between Two Kingdoms
Did you know we are living between two kingdoms?
The kingdom of God is anywhere God has rule and reign over His people. Prior to having a relationship with Jesus, all of us lived within the darkness, or as Colossians 1:13 says, “the dominion of darkness.” We all were captive to our previous way of life—a life marked by wrongdoing.
When Jesus came to earth, He brought a new kingdom which included a new way of life. This means that rather than being held captive to darkness, we can walk in the light. We are made new by the power of Jesus within our lives. Paul says that this new reality comes through believing in Jesus and the forgiveness of sins.
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He has opened up a way for us to have a relationship with Him, and experience this new life. Having been forgiven, we are now part of the kingdom of God—and this is something Colossians 1:13 confirms. But even though we are part of Jesus’ kingdom, we are still awaiting Jesus’ return when He will make all things new. This means we are living between two kingdoms: We are made new in the kingdom of God, and yet we are still living in an imperfect world.
In the meantime, our job is to expand the kingdom of God by telling others about Jesus. This is the mission that Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20. As we tell others about the love of Jesus and point others toward a relationship with Jesus, we bring more people into the kingdom of Jesus and away from the kingdom of this world.
As members of God’s kingdom, we should always be thinking about the ways God wants to work within us. Have you considered your own role within God’s plan to bring the message of hope to those around you? You play an important role in God’s Kingdom. Think about how you can be bold in sharing that message with others.
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, ...
Fulfillment of God’s Promises
Hundreds of years before Jesus, the people of God were in trouble.
They were stuck in life, unable to help themselves, and perhaps beginning to doubt that God would save them. Have you ever felt the same way? If so, you might relate to the original audience of this verse—the exiles in Babylon.
The Babylonians conquered God's people and land, sending them hundreds of miles away. Maybe they thought that God had abandoned them, or that He couldn’t hear their cries. But God is always close—especially when His people call on His name.
Isaiah let his people know that God would provide a way out of Babylonian captivity. And God kept His promise, allowing His people to return home.
Generations later, many of God’s people saw themselves as being in a new exile. They were home, but all was not well. So they remembered this verse and its promise—that no matter how dark or desperate our situation might be, God is able to provide a path out of brokenness, ...
