We’ve been talking about the importance of a Kingdom focus, and I think it’s safe to say that a Kingdom focus and a God-focus ought to be the same thing although according to Pastor Brad Edwards of Lafayette, Colorado, it’s not always:

If secularism is the pursuit of the Kingdom without the King, Evangelicalism has come to worship the King without the Kingdom. –Brad Edwards, September 8, 2020

That’s an intriguing quote, but it’s certainly true from my experience growing up in a tradition that worshipped Jesus, to be sure, but relegated his teachings to “another age” – maybe a future millennium. I’m learning that it’s not a “future Kingdom” but a present one. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4.17)

And if we are subjects of a King, then best we be about doing what he wants us to do and becoming what he wants us to become. The late Dr. Howard Hendrix said:

The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner but to make you like the Savior. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts but to transform your life. – Howard G. Hendricks

So as we read the Bible this year, let’s be open to how God wants to change us and let’s be available for advancing his Kingdom where we are. May we be peacemakers in these volatile times.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5.9, ESV)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life… (Philippians 2.14 – 16, ESV)