Daily Reading: 1 Corinthians 4
Scripture Focus: The
kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (1 Corinthians 4.20)
Devotional
Thought: "Bluster, n - loudly boastful or threatening
speech; syn.: babel, blare, cacophony, chatter, clamor, clangor, din,
discordance, noise, racket, rattle, roar."
(Webster's dictionary)
Looking at that definition, there is a
lot of bluster these days, isn't there?
But the Bible says the kingdom of God is not like that. The kingdom is not bluster, but rather
blessing.
It is tempting to make the kingdom all
about 'talk': preaching, debating, winning arguments... That is bluster. Bluster theorizes about love, but lives to
dominate. It talks about holiness but
lives under the dominion of sin. It
talks a big game, but wilts under pressure.
Bluster refuses to go out on a limb, to takes risks or to make
sacrifices. That's not the kingdom way
of doing things.
When the kingdom of God is about power,
things look different. By the power of
the Spirit, we can love others without conditions. We are enabled to live holy and godly
lives. We can stand for Jesus when we
face opposition. We can testify,
"In the name of Jesus rise up and walk." The Spirit gives us power to be generous, to
live free from addictions, to forgive the sins of others. In power we testify to the life and
resurrection of Jesus. We love those not
like us and treat others with dignity and respect. We sacrifice our own personal comforts and
causes for the sake of others.
I would rather operate in the power of the Kingdom, live by the power of the Holy Spirit - than
to talk about it. How about you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for making me a part of your
kingdom. Help me to live out this
kingdom life with power. Forgive me when
my talk doesn't match my walk. IN the
name of Jesus, Amen.
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