Smaller Story vs. Larger Story

"Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."  -Matthew 4:21&22

Each of us has a story.  When we have completed our lives here on earth, a story will have been written.  But, what we do today determines whether we will have lived our smaller story, or whether we stepped out into our larger story.

What is a larger or smaller story?  A smaller story is written when we accept the adversity life has handed us as reality.  We stay stuck in ruts unable to move forward due to our feelings about where we are.  We let our circumstances and past define us, instead of letting God define our now and our future.  We hold on the grudges and resentment citing other people to blame for our problems.  We accept mediocrity.  We likely don't enjoy where we are in life, but don't have much hope about the future.

In contrast, if living our smaller story is about doubt and defeat, living our larger story is all about faith and victory.  It takes much more faith to walk in our larger story, even if we believed in Jesus in the first place.  There are many people who believe in Jesus but stop there.  They don't have the faith that He can transform their lives. 

If we want to live extraordinary lives in Christ, then we have to have the belief that anything is possible, no matter what we've seen before.  This may involved a process of emotional healing and restoration, training in the things of God, and the letting go of past hurts and resentments through the power of the cross.  This may involve trying new things and stepping out into situations that are uncomfortable for us. Whatever it is, if we want to step into our larger story, discomfort and faith is defininitely a part of this process.

Which story are you living?  Are you living your smaller or larger story?  Pray and ask God today to bring you into the larger story He intends for your life.

The Kingdom of God

"Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, 'The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, "Here it is," or "There it is," because the kingdom of God is within you.'" -Luke 17:20 & 21

 

Dr. Myles Munroe, senior pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, wrote a book called "Kingdom Principles: Preparing for Kingdom Experience and Expansion." In the book he describes the difference between religion (do's and don'ts) and the Kingdom of God that Jesus taught in the Bible. He calls the Kingdom of God "the foundation of God's plan for mankind." (p. 81) 

Jesus mentions the "kingdom of God" or "kingdom of heaven" about 85 times in the New Testament. In fact, if we read the entirety of Jesus' teaching in the New Testament, we will find He spent nearly all of His time on earth talking about the Kingdom! 

Why then is the kingdom so misunderstood? What is the kingdom exactly? 

According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a kingdom is: "a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen." In this case, the King is our Father God in heaven. From this we can gather that true Christianity has a lot more to do with a perfected and uncorrupted form of heavenly government then it does with religion. 

Dr. Monroe goes on to say, "Life in the kingdom is really about returning to the governing authority of God in the earth and learning how to live and function in that authority." (p. 158) Because of Jesus, we are now in the process of gaining back what was lost in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3)
Repentance and our acceptance of grace through Jesus Christ unlocks the door for us to enter God's kingdom. But, it doesn't stop there. Jesus teaches about many keys that, when activated, unlock the power of heaven in our own lives. 

There is so much we can learn about God's kingdom. Ask the Lord to show you His kingdom and the part He might have you play. He desires that we pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10) and that we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Matt 6:33). He promises that all these things will be added to us when we do.