Psalm 146:10 NKJV SAYS,
The LORD shall reign forever
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!
Over the past few months of 2007, the Lord had been leading me to remember my calling and my first love as it relates to the Kingdom of God and to the body of Christ. In my view, we sometimes separate the two – but the Lord never intended that separation. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and we are to be a living thriving relational body within that kingdom. As we walk in a relationship of intimate worship with Him, that relationship permeates our human relationships. As we exalt Christ in all we do and lift Him up, He draws men to Himself.
For the past several years, Melinda and I had been involved with the body in a place we always thought we would be for the rest of our lives, but on January 6, 2008 it became apparent to my wife and I that the body of believers we had helped establish so many years ago was no longer the place the Lord would have us call home. The grief I felt at leaving was helped somewhat by the truth that it was indeed the Lord calling us away…but that didn’t bring a stop to the pain.
The next day, my heart was in turmoil as I wrestled with the Lord as to whether or not I was hearing/sensing Him correctly. As I learned to pray a long time ago, I began to pray again….”My Father in heaven, Holy and exalted is Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done…on earth as it is in heaven.” As I began to ask the Lord to show me what His kingdom truly looked like in my particular ‘calling away’ this song began to fill my heart.
Even when staying put where I had been for all those years would have been a good thing, I desired God’s best and asked Him to show me what His kingdom coming in this part of my life could possibly mean. All I can hear these days is to remind the body of Christ that Christ is King and is to be praised regardless of our situations. The world will see and hear and know that God is on the throne when we, the believers, act like it. My beliefs transcend my human ability to understand a God even our best theology isn’t adequate to fully explain. He‘s so much more.
My faith transcends my human need to be understood by those around me (or to even understand everything myself!) because man’s attempts at religious institutions aren’t adequate to fully explain a God who is unexplainable. My hope transcends the written Word of God in the sense that, while I love the Word of God, I do not have a relationship with a book. The Book guides me to the living, breathing, intimately indwelling Word of God – Jesus Christ! He lives in me. The King of the Universe lives in me! And if He is King, I will follow wherever He leads!
In what areas do you need to see His Kingdom come? In what areas in the life of the flock you lead do you need to see His Kingdom come? use the Word of God to remind yourself and others that there is one King and that He rules over every circumstance of life…if we will let Him.
Revelation 19:11 NKJV says, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”
Let us bow our knees to the King Who is called Faithful and True this week. Let us seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…by seeking intimacy with Him. The truth is, He reigns regardless of what our circumstances might be and in spite of how we might feel and in spite of what the world around us is doing. Jesus is King of Kings…and He reigns! Let Him reign in you today.
Dennis Jernigan
Listen to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast dealing with this subject matter and hear the song, Reign, King Jesus, at http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/reign-king-jesus/
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