Kingdom Is Near

For years I’ve read how - first John the Baptist, then Jesus himself preached the same message. That simple one line message can be found in Matthew 4:17 which says:

"From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'"

All of this time, I thought that when they preached this message, they were saying that the kingdom of heaven is soon – that near was referring to time. It could’ve been referring to Jesus fulfilling his role as the messiah through his life, death and resurrection. Maybe it was referring to the idea that time is short and that we need to accept Jesus now because the kingdom of heaven comes upon us without warning. Maybe both of these are true. Or maybe, Jesus and John the Baptist were saying that the kingdom of heaven is within our grasp. So not near as in time, but near as in proximity. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near today, it is within your grasp. If you haven’t believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you still can. Heaven is within your grasp. It isn’t far, it isn’t impossible to obtain. But because of Jesus, it is very near.

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The kingdom of heaven is near – it is within your grasp today. Tomorrow is promised to no one. Making a decision for Jesus isn’t something we should take lightly, nor is it something that we should wait too long to make. Jesus, the son of God and John the Baptist, the one of whom Jesus says, “there is none on earth greater than him”, preached the same message. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”. So I encourage you to heed these words. Repent and turn to Jesus, because the kingdom of heaven, right now, is within your reach.

Inheritance

You’ve probably heard the term “born again” in reference to our new life in Christ. First Peter reminds us of our new birth into the living hope through Jesus, in a way that both humbles and excites me. In first Peter 1:3-4 we find these words:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you,"

I love how he explains that our new birth comes with an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade and has been kept in heaven for you. How incredible is that?! If you happen to be one of the privileged few who have been left an inheritance on this earth, you know that that gift had nothing to do with anything you’ve done, but it has everything to do with who you were born to. Likewise, our heavenly inheritance is given to us only because we are born again in Christ. And unlike an earthly inheritance, this one will never perish, spoil or fade and is waiting for us in heaven.

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I love it when the bible gives us a glimpse into what our eternal future holds. As we spend our lives playing in this sandbox that God created for us, with its finite laws of nature, time and space, one certainty always remains. Life as we know it will one day end for all of us. But for those of us who are “born again”, who chooses to bend our knee to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we have an inheritance in heaven that will never perish, spoil or fade. If you haven’t accepted what Jesus did for us when he died to cover our sins, I encourage you to do it today. And if you’re struggling with the concept of Christianity, I’d be happy to email you information that will help you understand it more clearly.

High Priest

You probably know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. But do you also know that he is our high priest? Did it occur to you that Jesus coming to earth in human form was almost like on-the-job training for how to really relate to humanity? And that his understanding of us and our suffering would give him a clear indication of how to make atonement for our sins? Well, it hadn’t fully occurred to me either until I read Hebrews 2, verses 17-18 which says:

"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

The best way for Jesus to understand what it is like to be human was to actually become human himself. He understands our suffering and in that, he is now the perfect high priest for us. I’m convinced that God is God and didn’t really need to have Jesus experience humanity, but I think it was more for our benefit. When we’re able to look at the life of Jesus, understanding that he felt sorrow, joy, temptation and anger just like we do, it is easier for us to accept that he can identify with us. I’m so thankful that God chose this method in making Jesus our high priest, don’t you? Because he could’ve done it from the comforts of heaven if he wanted.

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Jesus is our high priest and because he became human, we are assured that he understands humanity. And in experiencing life first hand, the bible tells us that has become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus knows temptation even though he has never sinned. And in knowing temptation he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The Passover

If God has gotten a hold of your life and you’ve allowed him to transform you from the inside out, your life may look totally different than it used to. One danger is that those who are faithful and obedient may fall into the trap of feeling a bit self-righteous. The Holy Spirit can break addictions, influence your circumstances, and inspire you to walk in obedience. But I encourage you to not let your transformed life blind you to the truth – that we, including you, still need to blood of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins, just like everyone else. Remember the story in Exodus? On the 10th plague, God told Moses to have the Israelites smear the blood of a lamb without defect on the doorposts of each of their houses because God was planning to kill the firstborn in every house of the Egyptians. Exodus 12:13 says:

"The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt."

Just like the lamb’s blood, we have to remember that it is the blood of Jesus that makes us righteous, not our own deeds. When things are going well in our walk with God, it is easy to compare our lives to other believers and non-believers, and pride can make us feel as if we’re somehow better than other people. We can never forget that if we don’t have the blood of Jesus on the doorposts of our hearts, it doesn’t matter how good we think we are, we would be on a path to hell. It is only the blood of Jesus that saves us – that sets us apart from anyone else on earth who will face destruction. So, let us not deceive ourselves.

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Just like the smearing of lamb’s blood on the doorposts of the Israelites houses saved them from God’s wrath, so does the blood of Jesus save us from eternal damnation. It really has nothing to do with how good we are. It is by grace through faith that we are saved. So, we shouldn’t fall into the trap of looking down on others who aren’t as obedient as we may be in our walk with Christ. It’s great if your walk is strong. And if your walk is not, this truth doesn’t give you a license to sin. But when we boil it down, it all starts with the blood – without which not you, not me, no one could enter heaven.

Keep The Faith

If you’ve watch our television show, “Christian Music Videos”, and have paid any attention to the credits at the end, you may have noticed that the series is produced by our non-profit company, KTF Productions. And maybe at some point you might have asked yourself, “What does the KTF in KTF Productions stand for?” Well, I’m glad you asked. We named the company after our very first project, which happened to be our very first movie called, “Keep The Faith” – which means our company is actually Keep The Faith Productions. The movie was inspired by the verse of scripture from 2 Timothy 4:7, which says:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Paul says these words to Timothy as he passes the torch onto him, so to speak. He encourages Timothy to be ready to preach the word in season and out of season. He warns him that a time is coming when people will not listen to sound doctrine and will go wherever their itching ears take them. But regardless of what the future holds, he encourages Timothy to endure to the end. Then almost as if he is speaking the words that might one day be on his headstone, he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” The phrase, “Keep the Faith” is meant to encourage you in all situations to stay faithful to God. And the KTF in KTF Productions, reminds me of that as well.

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Paul often described our walk through life with God as a race. He warns us about being disqualified, and he encourages us to run our race as if we are in a competition. I challenge you to follow the sentiment of Paul’s words to Timothy when he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Like Paul, we should think of our life as a race – a race that will one day end. And yes, it matters how we run it. So, I want to encourage you to always keep the faith.