How many times have we had this happen: something that puzzled us becomes known and then we think: “Wow, I should have seen that!”? Often it happens when we consider another person’s thoughts, another person’s perspective, someone who notices something we didn’t initially, until that person points it out. This is how each of us can help each other. So many people throughout my life have unknowingly influenced me; they unknowingly contributed to my direction in life: some were positive influences and others were negative influences, but both influenced change in me. This is also a reminder to “be thankful in all circumstances.” when that influence contributes to a positive change, and even if the circumstance is negative. But sometimes the change was negative: a great reminder to be intentional with friendships.
Those are examples of “small details” in life, the bigger picture in life is something that I gradually became aware of, through other people who pointed out very obvious details that I’ve passed over so many times throughout my entire life:
There is a literal Kingdom that has been and is forming right in front of us; it’s a “right in front of your face” “secret” formation (only because we are “blind” to it), so subtle that many don’t see it!
Thinking about a “Kingdom” in a literal sense is not something a US citizen would necessarily embrace, and many others may not either because of the mistrust and corruption we see every day. But this literally is happening right now, but not by force as many historical Kingdoms have formed in the past; with this one, each of us is allowed and encouraged to decide if we choose to live in this Kingdom which is currently forming.
Something finally connected with me this morning, many people might know the words to this prayer, but many of us may have simply memorized it, not thinking about each and every word. Here is the prayer, the prayer Jesus gave by example of how to pray to God:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
This is what I see now, some of which I didn’t see before:
- Where is God? “in heaven“- a spiritual realm we can’t fully comprehend because we haven’t seen it, (click the links for supporting documentation).
- Hallowed: “greatly revered and honored”- God, and only God, is to be worshipped, nothing should be more important than God in our lives (the first 3 Commandments given by God, summarized here)
- your kingdom come: This is literal, I didn’t comprehend this until now! God’s Kingdom will be coming to us, to earth, a NEW earth with a NEW ruler (Jesus) pay attention to how many times Kingdom is referenced, Kingdom – of heaven, not only that but the bible references “heavens”, plural, not a single place where people will permanently be! There is a new literal place that is offered to those who accept God’s Kingdom and God’s commands/God’s Kingdom’s rules will live, a place so beautiful, so challenging to describe, so peaceful, without sickness or evil.
- your will be done: God’s plan will happen, but along the way people’s choices are allowed by God, but eventually His plan will prevail, Jesus was part of God’s plan, part of God’s plan from the very beginning, prophesized by Isaiah approximately 700 years before Jesus was born!
- on earth as it is in heaven -the Kingdom of heaven will be brought here, to earth, under Jesus as ruler (see prior links)
- Give us today our daily bread – if we seek God first, all that we need will be provided to us, Jesus said this.
- Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors – Jesus explained how important it is for us to forgive others, it affects us if we don’t forgive.
- and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. This is where we see that those who are still controlled by the devil, do not recognize Jesus; it is our choice to break from and abandon that (be born again) and with the help and power of the Holy Spirit given to those who obey and ask God for help in Jesus’ name, we can overcome that slavery to sin.
It’s pretty amazing how much is within this simple prayer and referenced in other teachings Jesus gave us and throughout the Bible! There are a couple of videos I recommend on this subject, if you, or someone you know prefers to watch rather than read ?
Video 1: The Kingdom of God -AOC Network
Video 2: Walking in the Spirit – AOC Network
Video 2: The Millennial Reign of Christ – Pastor Daniel Batarseh
This is something I certainly look forward to! I love to travel, so I think about the beautiful places I’ve experienced (like driving the Na Pali Highway in Oahu, HI), or other places I’ve only seen through photos….and God created all that, but He has plans for something even better than that, something new- now THAT is VERY exciting to think about!!
S.A.I.L. 