Reconciled

William’s Christian faith is the foundation that underpins his unique ability to listen well, offer deep compassion and lead others. From the unemployed to executives, he inspires and equips individuals and groups with his writing, coaching, and training.

William is a carpenter, communicator and sports nut. London born and bred, he’s based in Liverpool, although often on adventures elsewhere with Annika and his three children.

The Kingdom of God is here.

·

Life is all about seeing God’s Kingdom come, and His will done, in and through your life.

“I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, because I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus – Luke 4: 43 (My emphasis)

“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” – Luke 10: 9 (My emphasis)

Jesus leaves the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. He declares that Isaiah’s prophecy (Ch 61) is fulfilled in and through Him. He then tells the disciples that His purpose was to preach the Kingdom of God. This was the paradigm through which Jesus did what He did as He lived, not just what He said.

To these [the disciples] He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God. – Acts 1: 3 (My emphasis)

Luke is recording Jesus’s last activities before His ascension. If you had 40 days to ENSURE that the heart of your message was understood by those in whose hands you were leaving it in, you would. Jesus did. It was all about things regarding the Kingdom of God.

Jesus knew that this message of the Kingdom was going to be hard for people to take on board. He knew that it was going to bring division and, ultimately, lead to His death. So he had to tell them that they had to change their thinking, and then encourage them to commit to this new teaching with everything they were.

“Repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of sin” – Peter, Acts 2: 38. “Change your way of thinking, and submit yourself fully into Jesus’s teaching so that your ‘not a part of’ness can be sent away.” – This is another way of expressing what Peter was saying.

Why does this matter for you?

It matters because understanding the Kingdom of God, and your role in it, is key to your ‘why’ as a Christian.

Living a Christian life is about two things,

  1. Your relationship with God
  2. Your relationship with every other person on this planet.

Love God, Love everyone else. Simple. Also incredibly hard.

What’s the Kingdom of God? put simply it’s righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14: 17)

  1. Righteousness, peace and joy with God
  2. Righteousness, peace and joy with every other person on the planet.

The difference between God and humans, is that with God it’s a perfect from him to us, with us reciprocating to a greater and greater extent as we are renewed from glory to glory. With other people you have to be the initiator

whether or not they reciprocate

Which is just how God is with us!

This is the invitation we walk around, carrying (2Cor 5: 20), this is our why, and as we do it:

“…the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Hab 2: 14

Hallelujah. Come Lord Jesus.