Skip to main content

Thankful For A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken


Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)
 
            Today's passage isn't about "in the sweet by and by." It says, "we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." I'm reminded of a story in I Samuel 15. The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant. There's a kingdom shaking event for the Israelites, but God doesn't share with us what happened in Israel. He guides the story to follow the Philistines. They put the ark before their god, Dagon. The first morning when they came to the temple, they found Dagon on his face before the ark. They set him back up. The second morning, they found his head and hands lying on the threshold, and his body toppled over. At that time, heads and hands were taken as trophies. The God of the Israelites had defeated Dagon. Their kingdom was shaken and shattered. Like the kidnappers in Mark Twain's "The Ransom of Red Chief," the "godnappers" returned the ark to Israel, and paid a ransom to get rid of it!
            I see something like this taking place today. "Godnappers" thought to remove God from society, not to hold Him for ransom, but to destroy Him and force their god on us. In their great confidence, they thought they had won, and their dream has shattered at their feet. God worked through an unfaithful nation to shatter their god. Instead of repenting, they are enraged and hateful. They think that they can put their Humpty Dumpty god back together by force of will and force of violence.
            It will not do for us to take pride in this victory, it is not ours. We did not win it because of our goodness or the goodness of our chosen candidate. We didn't win it at all. The kingdom within us that cannot be shaken is not the United States of America, it is the Lord who lives within us while we live in the United States. We need to be thankful for what God has done, and worship Him acceptably with reverence and awe because HE is good, not because we are. We need to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strengths, because He is the kingdom that cannot be shaken. We cannot pick up our Humpty Dumpty kingdom and put it together. That should not be our goal. The growth of His kingdom should be. We have reason to give thanks for that kingdom, because it cannot be shaken.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more