January 24, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

Luke 7:21 Once having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

Here’s another gold nugget I found in Skip Heitzig’s book entitled “When God Prays”

The story begins with a simple question:

“I want this pearl. How much is it?”

“Well,” the seller says, “it’s very expensive!”

“But how much?” asks the man.

“Well, a very large amount.”

“Do you think I could buy it?”

“Oh, of course. Everyone can buy it.”

“But didn’t you say it was very expensive?”

“Yes.”

“Well, how much is it?”

“Everything you have,” says the seller.

After some serious thought, the buyer makes up his mind. “All right, I’ll buy it.” he says.

“Well, what do you have?” the seller wants to know. “Let’s write it down.”

“Well, I have ten thousand dollars in the bank.”

“Good - ten thousand dollars. What else?”

“That’s all. That’s all I have.”

“Nothing more?”

“Well, I have a few dollars here in my pocket,”

“How much?”

So the buyer begins to dig around. “Well, let’s see: thirty, forty, sixty, eighty, a hundred - a hundred twenty dollars.”

“That’s fine. What else do you have?”

“Well nothing. That’s all.”

“Where do you live? He is still probing.

“In my house. Yes I have a house.”

“The house too then.” He writes that down.

“You mean I have to live in my camper?”

“You have a camper? That too. What else?”

“You mean I have to sleep in my car?”

“You have a car?”

“Two of them.”

“Both become mine. Both cars. What else?”

“Well, you already have my money, my house, my camper, my cars. What more do you want?”

“Are you alone in this world?”

“No, I have a wife and two children. . .”

“Oh yes, your wife and children, too. What else?”

“I have nothing left! I am left alone now.”

Suddenly the seller exclaims, “Oh, I almost forgot! You yourself, too! Everything becomes mine - wife, children, house, money, cars - and you, too.”

Then he goes on, “Now listen - I will allow you to use all of these things for the time being. But don’t forget that they are mine, just as you are. And whenever I need any of them, you must give them up, because now I am the owner.”

Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Matthew 7:21 Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord’ but they still won’t enter the kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.

Imagine how the church would look (how your congregation would look) if we all started living this way. . .

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January 9, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

There are times when God REALLY wants to get His point across to me. This past month has been one of those times!

First, I run into these two gold nuggets in the book “When God Prays” by Skip Heitzig:

The question isn’t, how much more do we need in order to be all that God wants us to be? but, are we using what God has already given to us? Are we utilizing our natural aptitudes and spiritual gifts to their fullest? God knew exactly what he was doing when he doled out our attributes and established our callings. He want us to be content with what he has given us and to be faithful to use what he has provided. When we compare ourselves to others and find ourselves wanting, we risk missing out on the very purpose for which God designed us - with our unique combination of gifts, interests, and aptitudes.

Therein lies an important principle for us - the principle of contentment. We should say to ourselves, “God has given me everything that I need in order to bring glory to him, I need nothing more or else God would have given it to me.” We may not have what others have in terms of talent or resources, but God in his wisdom has given us enough of what we need in order to please him. And God is glorified and honored when we make the same declaration that David uttered: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.” (Psalm 23:1)

Then, in the midst of a dinner conversation with one of our regular guests at the corps, he begins to share:

“I was born in the city, and raised on a farm, and I’ll pick the farm over the city any day. I have relatives that think I’m crazy to be out here in the middle of nowhere. My niece asked me what I’m into out here like I must be doing drugs or something. I told her I’m into God and nature. I’m not getting rich, but I’ve got enough money to pay my bills and do a little fishing and I’m content. They couldn’t pay me enough to move back to the city - I’d go crazy there!”

Now I don’t think my friend was bashing city life. He’s just experiencing the CONTENTMENT that comes from being where God wants him to be and doing what God has for him to do. And that’s to be a house painter in South Dakota who isn’t afraid to talk with others about his relationship with God.

And I don’t think he had any idea that he had just run an highlighter over everything that the Holy Spirit has been sharing with me over the past several days.

And perhaps that is as it should be.

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