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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.

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