What is the kingdom of God Like?

St. Luke 13:18–19(NIV)

“Then Jesus asked, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree and the birds perched in its branches.’”

When we read the question Jesus asked, we may wonder: Why did He ask this question if He already knew the answer? Jesus was not asking because He lacked the answer. Rather, He was teaching us and inviting us to understand the nature of God's kingdom. 

Jesus came to reveal the Father, reconcile humanity back to God, and bring us into the reality of what God had promised throughout the Old Testament through the New Covenant established in Him.

A mustard seed is small and seemingly insignificant. It can easily be overlooked, yet when planted, it has the potential to grow into something much greater. In the same way, the Kingdom of God may begin in a way that appears small, weak, or insignificant, but once it is planted, it has the power to grow and become a place of refuge for many.

The Kingdom of God can begin anywhere. It can begin in your heart, in your home, in your community, or through something that seems too small to matter. What matters is that it is planted and grows.

To seek the Kingdom of God first is to seek the face of Jesus. It is to desire what pleases the heart of the Master above everything else. To seek Him is to know Him, to love Him, and to desire His presence even when circumstances do not look the way we want them to.

Sometimes, things may not turn out as we expected. Yet our greatest desire should remain His Kingdom. We seek Him not merely for what He can give us, but because He is our greatest treasure.

Jesus said the birds came and perched in the branches of the tree. This is to say that there is room in the Kingdom. There is room for you, and there is room for me. God's desire is that we would come to Him, find refuge in Him, and experience the rest that only He can give.

Jesus says, “My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”

There is a peace that the world cannot provide and circumstances cannot take away. It is the peace found when we come to Jesus and make Him our dwelling place.

So today, come.
Come and find rest.
Come and find peace.
Come and seek His face.
Come and dwell in His Kingdom.

What may look small today can become a shelter for many tomorrow when it is planted in God.

There is room for you in His Kingdom.

Stay Revived!

Faith: Our Milestone Thermometer

When I first had the desire to build a children’s channel suitable enough to inculcate godly morals, I never thought my judgment would be shaped so much by the algorithm—its constant analysis and its attempt to curate a certain kind of content. Most times, it leaves me in a loop asking myself, “Am I able to create value out of this?”

But as I read through God’s Word in Romans, I am reminded that when God gives us an instruction, Romans 12:2 tells us that to know His good and perfect will, we must present our bodies to God. In doing so, we come into the knowledge of His good and perfect will.

Then Romans 12:3 says:

«NLT: “As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.”»

God is not asking us to judge our value by the world’s standards. Rather, He is asking us to measure ourselves by “how much faith God has given us.”

I am not asking that you go through this milestone on your own. But can you believe that God has given you the faith you need to make your measurement?

Can you trust Him enough to know that every time you give Him your ears, He is able to point you to that which will squeeze out the oil needed to produce something good?

That is God’s measurement scale: as long as He looks at you in that very moment and calls you good, then you have passed the test.

So today, as we go about our daily activities, can we weigh our value by asking the Holy Spirit:

“Is this within the concept of God’s good?”

In that moment, the pressure of the world can be exchanged for the peace of God.

Today, ask the Holy Spirit:

“Is this God’s standard of good?”

Stay Revived!

Bridle Your Tongue

James 1:26 (ESV)

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.”

Recently, I have found myself getting angry when things do not go the way I want. Then I began to use curse words: words I normally would not use. On one occasion, I was prompted to be mindful of my speech. Even as I tried to express myself, I raised my voice and eventually realized that I needed to stop talking.

There is need for constraints in the way we speak. As Christians, we are called to represent Christ not only in how we interact with people, but also in how we respond to the world around us.

The fact is, people and situations will sometimes make us angry. Things will not always go the way we want. But even in those moments, we must learn to bridle our tongues.

Persistent and consistent use of swear words can condition our minds and influence us to think and behave in ways that are contrary to the character of Christ. We are Christians, we are called to be Christlike. Our faith is not merely something we profess; it is a life we practice, with the goal of becoming more like Christ in our character, behaviour, and speech.

So today, learn to bridle your tongue.

Today, I admonish you: Bridle your tongue. It is better to remain quiet than to speak out of anger and lose control of your words.

Stay revived!

Quite the Chatter

Very often, God speaks to us, but the amount of chattering occurring in our minds makes it impossible for us to perceive what the Lord is saying at any given time. We often hear voices of doubt, voices of confusion and voices of conviction, so we find it hard to recognize which of these voices is truly the voice of God. There is a need to know that this chattering occurring in your heart is not new to the human mind, and it is normal. However, what makes you stand out in decision-making is the ability to discern which voice is the voice of the Lord because, at the recognition of His voice, the other voices become silent.

To be able to discern the voice of God, you must grow in your relationship with the Holy Ghost. Intimacy is built in a place of continuous communion. There are times we claim not to hear the voice of the Lord, but the thing is, we do not really know what He sounds like, so when He speaks, we are unable to recognize that it is He who is speaking.

John 16:13

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” – John 16:13

To recognize the Lord when He speaks, you must spend time reading His Word, studying His Word, and staying in His presence. When you do this, you grow in affinity with Him over time so that you can perceive what He is saying even when He does not speak directly. So today, I want you to reflect on where you stand in the Lord and see if there is any lagging within and trust the Lord to help you through.

Teach my heart to crave and yearn for You in this dark but uplifting world, that as I behold You, I grow into Your image.

Stay revived!