Thank You, Father, for being with me throughout the last several days. I feel Your active presence in my heart and mind. I pray for Your continued touch in every aspect of my life. Amen.
Luke 17:20-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
I am sure that I am not the only man, amongst the multitude of men, who occasionally struggles when it comes to my ability to find things in my home when asked by my wife to do so. She says it is in a certain place and I can look several times in that location and cannot for the life of me find it. She, in exasperation, walks over and quickly picks the item up, under my very nose! (I will say, though, that I did find the extra container of Miracle Whip yesterday, after I asked where it was! …and I’m sure that Karen would go, “Whoop-de-doo!”)
As I was thinking along these lines, I saw a meme on Pinterest that read, “Sweetie, of course I know where we keep everything in the house. I live here, remember? Said no husband ever.” Well! I resemble that remark!
Here is today’s passage.
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” NLT
In the New Living Translation’s notes, it says that that last line “…is already among you.” can be translated as “…is already with you” or “…is already in your grasp.”
It’s like Jesus, in exasperation, is saying, “Guys! The Kingdom of God is right under your nose! And you don’t even see it for what it is!” Or more than likely there’s a good chance that they didn’t want to see it for what it was because it didn’t fit their idea of what it was supposed to look like or be like.
Unfortunately, we have that same tendency when seeking His Kingdom. Once again, my study Bible* makes a great observation.
The Kingdom of God…begins with the work of God’s Spirit in people’s lives and in relationships. We must resist looking to institutions or programs for evidence of the progress of God’s Kingdom. Instead, we should look for what God is doing in people’s hearts.
Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see where You are working in the world around us. And once we see Your Kingdom in action may we get on board without delay! Amen!
Oct 8th, 2020, Thurs, 7:46 pm
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
