Gospel Re-Formed

How great are his signs,    how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and his dominion endures from generation to generation. - Daniel 4:3 ESV I am reading through Jeremiah right now. It is about a prophet who is called by God to proclaim repentance to His people that have turned from the ways of God yet again. His people refuse the plead of Jeremiah over and over again, eventually imprisoning him (Jer 37:11) and forcing him into exile to prevent him from proclaiming God's words (Jer 38). His people would not listen. So God brings them to their knees through suffering in exile themselves, just like in the desert on the way into the promised land. God allows Babylon to forcefully take over His people and rule over them (Jer 39). Yet he will still shows mercy on them: “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans...

“But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33 ESV I have been reading the space trilogy by C.S. Lewis, currently in “This Hideous Strength”. It is an interesting story about an organization (named N.I.C.E.) that desired to purchase an unused portion of land in the middle of Bracton College. They wanted to clear it out and build something useful in its place to help society. Without giving too much detail, rather than building up the property to assist mankind they had an agenda to replace the town itself using less than desirable methods, mainly through violence and intimidation. One of the main characters, Mark, was offered a position there and was encouraged to visit their facilities to find out more about the organization. In one scene in chapter 4, he met up with one of the ‘Spiritual Leaders', Reverend Straik. Straik gave quite a speech connecting the work of the Church with their mission at N.I.C.E. He pro...

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:14-15 ESV (see also Mat 3:2, 4:17, Luke 4:43, John 3:3) I was reading through Mark with fellow believers and these verses struck a chord with me, but my mind kept being pulled to the words “Kingdom of God”. This was not a verse that was new to me by any stretch. “Kingdom of God” is mentioned 71 times in the New Testament. 71 TIMES! Kingdom of Heaven is mentioned 32 more times. But this time I decided to stop and ponder these words. These were the words that Jesus preached to the people from the beginning. “The time is fulfilled…” is how Jesus' proclamation starts. The narrative of the gospel is not something new, but the fulfilment of what God started in Genesis 1. His people were in the middle of this story, a love story if you will. Not a story of two people in love, but the accoun...