In the last few posts, I have talked about the Kingdom of God. I have talked about the importance of seeking the Kingdom and described what the Kingdom is. Starting today, I want to get down to some specific how-tos of seeking the kingdom. The first is perceiving the kingdom. Be on the lookout!

Our lives are filled with distractions. There is constant buzzing for our attention. Many of us are simply smothered and don’t have space in our lives. We are not perceiving what God is doing because we are not available. Our attention is focused elsewhere.

Think about the driver sitting at the red light and looking at their cell phone. The light turns green, but they fail to proceed because they are focused on the cell phone rather than driving. Finally, the person behind them honks their horn to get their attention. How many of us have God giving us a green light but we are looking somewhere else? We are not distracted drivers, but distracted Christians.

Be Still

A few months back, I encouraged you to take just 5 minutes each day to be still and silent. Turn off the TV, silent the notifications on your phone, and turn off all music. It is not time to pray. It is not time to do, but time to just be. Focus your mind and your thoughts upon God.

I encourage you to do this first thing in the morning. Often the first thing we do in a day will shape our day. It will direct our thoughts for the remainder of the day. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to be still and know God. What would happen if we were more intentional at focusing our mind on God at the beginning of the day? What if we started the morning with the purpose of makings us more aware of God’s presence?

Looking for Interruptions

There is no doubt that there will be an interruption to your plans today. There will be an interruption to your agenda. Even the most perfectly planned day is not free from interruptions.

But the question is, “how do you perceive those interruptions?”

Maybe that interruption is a leading by the Spirit. When the interruption happens, rather than be upset and frustrated, ask God what he is doing. Consider the opportunity he may be providing. Many of us spend our day doing our best at avoiding interruptions, but what if we began to seek out interruptions? 

The more experience I gain, the more I realize that there are no coincidences. There are God-incidents. But no coincidences. That annoying interruption gives me a reason to pause to consider how God is trying to get my attention.

No Such Thing as Luck

Sometimes we talk about luck. For believers, there is no such thing as luck. When people wish me luck, I will tell them that I don’t need luck. I have God on my side.

When good luck or good fortune comes your way, consider it God’s gracious provision. And consider how this good fortune enables you to serve the Lord in a greater way.

When bad luck or bad fortune befalls you, ask what God may be redirecting in your life. What is the lesson to be learned? What is the opportunity for growth? What is the false god you created? Where are your priorities misaligned?

Awareness

What I am getting at in all this is the beginning of seeking the kingdom is having an awareness of the kingdom. It is seeing things we have been looking at our whole life in completely new ways. It is to acknowledge God is at work whether we perceive it or not. 

Maybe you had had this experience when you bought a new car. Before you bought that car, you never notice that particular model on the road. But after you purchase the car, you begin seeing it all around town. It’s not that this model of car was not around. It’s just that you did not notice it.

That’s the kingdom. It is all around town. It’s not that it’s not there. It’s only that you might not have taken notice. It’s time to take notice. Increase your awareness! Be on the lookout, and you might be surprised at what you discover. 

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18)! Enlighten us to perceive your kingdom coming every day. Amen.

Jesus starts his ministry by saying:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15, ESV)

Throughout the four gospels, Jesus would make mention of the kingdom more than 100 times. Many of the parables told were about the kingdom. The kingdom is important. But what is the kingdom?

Think about what a kingdom is. A kingdom is where the reign of a king extends. It is all the territory which is under his authority. The Kingdom of God then is all the places and the people that submit to God’s reign.

The kingdom is not something to be experienced after we die. The kingdom is something Jesus came to establish in the here and now for eternity. The kingdom is not something we wait for, but something to take hold of now.

The benefits of living in the kingdom are God’s peace, joy, and love. It also affords his protection and help. When we are part of the kingdom, there is both hope and confidence that come by faith. There is blessing and healing with the kingdom. God wants a great eternity for you, but he also wants you to experience a greater life on earth.

The kingdom is about a lifestyle. It is about a way of living. The kingdom changes our attitudes and our priorities. It shifts us from fretting about temporary things to making investments in eternal things. When we live kingdom-minded, many of the things that once matter, no longer matter.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for God’s kingdom to come. We pray that his rule and reign would be established in our hearts. We also pray that others would know the benefits of living in the kingdom. Essentially, we pray for God’s kingdom to be extended wherever it will.

Unfortunately, there is sin. To sin is to reject God’s authority. Sin is rebellion against God’s reign. It is a choice to separate ourselves from his kingdom. So many of us in this world are living for and working to build a different kingdom, so we step out from under God’s reign. But what happens when we live outside God’s kingdom, we miss out on the benefits that it brings.

The mission of Jesus was to bring the kingdom of God into our lives. It is to restore the kingdom where there is brokenness, sorrow, hurt, and pain. God is bringing people back to himself. And as we enter into the kingdom, we join Jesus on his mission in extending that kingdom into the lives of others.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, ESV)

Seek first the kingdom. It does not say to seek it second, third, or fourth. It says to seek first. What do you seek first?

How about when you wake up in the morning? What do you seek first? A warm shower? A cup of coffee? Breakfast? The latest news on Facebook?

How about when you arrive home from work? A snack? A comfy chair? The television?

Before anything else, Jesus tells us to seek the kingdom. What if we were more intentional about seeking the kingdom first? If we are honest, there are so many other things that we often seek before the kingdom. Jesus is not saying to just make the kingdom important, he is saying to put it first. We make the kingdom important, but we do not always put the kingdom first. And that is why we miss out.

But there is a great promise in what Jesus says. He says that when we seek first the kingdom, he will take care of the rest. He knows what we need and he will make sure we get it. But it all hinges on the kingdom being our first priority. When the kingdom is not first, there are no guarantees.

A couple questions you might be thinking right now:

1. What is the kingdom?
2. How do I seek it?

No need to fear. We will take a look at that in the next post.

“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”” (Mark 1:16–17, ESV)

A good number of years ago, Pastor Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life. It was one of the best selling books of all time. People connected with this book because they wanted their lives to matter. They wanted to know they were here for a reason.

Indeed, God created you for a purpose. You are here for a reason. God does not make mistakes. But consider this thought for a moment:

• You are not here for your purpose.
• You are here for God’s purpose.

God has a purpose. God has a plan. God has been at work since before the beginning of time. He was at work before you were born. He will still be at work long after your days on this earth are over.

• God’s purpose is eternal.
• God’s purpose is greater.
• God’s purpose is more important.
• God’s purpose is more urgent.
• God’s purpose brings fulfillment.
• In the end, all that will matter is God’s purpose.

We have a way of making our plans, and then we ask God to come alongside us and bless our plans. Our pride tells us that our plans are big and important. But what if instead of making our plans first, we sought to discover God’s purpose and plan. What if instead of asking God to come alongside us, we sought to follow him and join him in his work.

This is the invitation of Jesus! It is not for us to ask him to follow us. His invitation is to follow him. That is to go where he goes, say what he says, and do what he does.

We are a week into 2019. I hope you have joined me on the 2019 New Testament Bible Reading Plan (or a Bible reading plan of your choosing). If not, there is still time to join. There are no readings on the weekends, so you can use those days to catch up.

A few readers emailed me to ask about how the New Testament Reading plan was developed. So I wrote this post to share my thinking behind this plan.

I know many people struggle with the discipline of daily Bible reading. After discussing the challenges with some of our church members, there was a consistent theme that I recognized. In the past, I had encouraged full Bible Reading plans that included both the Old and New Testaments. Many who tried to follow these plans had a difficult time keeping up with this plan because of the amount of reading required each day. They wanted something more manageable.

This was why I worked on a New Testament Reading Plan. It would still offer a sense of accomplishment at the end of the year but was less of a commitment. As I shared previously, the goal is not reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible. The goal is connecting with God on a daily basis. We are reading for depth, not breath. Reading just the New Testament makes the daily Bible reading easier to accomplish.

Another thing about his plan is that it is a 5 day/week plan. That leaves two days where there is no assigned reading. We all have things happen in life where our routines are interrupted. There will come a day when you miss a reading. With a 7 day/week plan, you would need to double up your reading to catch up. But with this plan, there are two days built in that add a buffer. Hopefully, you will not need to use these days very often. If you don’t need the days to catch up, you can use the extra days to go back and reflect upon the readings of the previous week. Or you can read ahead!

When you look at the plan, the first thing you might notice is that it does not go straight through the New Testament. It does not start at the beginning and go to the end. Rather, it jumps around from book to book. Keep in mind that the Bible is more than a book. It is a library that contains 66 books. The ancient Greek word for Bible means library. When you understand the Bible is a library it gives you the freedom to look at the Bible in a different way than you look at other books. The biggest thing it frees you from is the obligation to start reading on page 1.

With the freedom of not starting at the beginning, I tried to space the reading of the gospels throughout the year. I did not want to bunch the readings of all the gospels up front. We started with the Gospel of Mark on January 1 which is the shortest gospel. Then we come back to the other gospels during different seasons in the year. This allows us to keep coming back to the story of Jesus.

I also looked at the dates for Good Friday and Easter. I wanted the readings to be aligned with the observances and celebrations at that time of the year. You might also notice that there is special reading inserted on December 25.

My prayer is that this reading plan would be a blessing for many people and help them consistently read the Bible. I would love to hear your feedback. How has this reading plan helped you? Where do you struggle with daily Bible reading?