Kings and Kingdoms
“Jesus assumed the existence of a spirit world—so much so that a major theme of His preaching highlighted the clash between two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. The question is which worldview is the true one—the worldview of Jesus or our own contemporary worldview?” (Francis MacNutt)
“Let us never allow this divisiveness to prevail among Christ’s people. When partisanship appears within the Church, we become troubled. At church, we hope to experience the Kingdom God in peace and concord. Has not the Lord’s ministry of reconciliation been committed to us (2 Cor 5:18-20)? Has not the Lord told us to love one another (Jn 13:34)? Does He not pray that we might “all be one” (Jn 17:21)?” (Dynamis 7/22/2018)
“When the Kingdom of God enters a man’s heart, it is as though God takes away the veil of ignorance from his mind.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)
“We may be at war with one another—within our families, as races, as nations—but when we love Jesus, who is our rightful king, our love for one another has no option but to deepen.” (Philip Ryken)
“For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known…We seldom consider healing a necessary quality in a ruler. Control, authority, command, the settling of disputes – these are the activities and attributes we expect from kings. However, Christ Jesus is the king of healing. He demonstrates before the multitudes that He has the power to restore sight and speech, for a blind mute “both spoke and saw” (Matthew 12:22). Then and now, He brings “alleviation of every infirmity and every malady; for deliverance from ills of those who await salvation” that comes from Him…” (J. R. R. Tolkien, Dynamis 7/7/2020)
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