Tag: Bible-shaped life

How to Be the Story of the Glorious Kingdom, Part 3

… We are citizens of heaven, and are called to live in a manner worthy of our King and his Kingdom (Philippians 1:27).

So how do we do this?

The simple answer is far from easy: We become the People of his Book.

To consider the Holy Bible as the highest treasure of our hearts and the strongest connection to our King and our homeland is the simplest, most straight-forward way to live out our calling as Ambassadors.

The Spirit-inspired Scriptures are to be in our thoughts, words and actions – every day. We need to carefully, sincerely, and reverently read them, ponder them and pray them. We are to sing them, teach them, write them and live them.

But most of all, we are to love the Scriptures – because if we do, the rest will follow. 

"And now, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good." (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

Ambassadors appointed on behalf of their nation do not lose their distinctive language, traditions, customs, philosophies or citizenship merely because they are stationed in a foreign country. On the contrary – it is because they are constantly representing their homeland and government that they remain unmistakably different from the local culture around them.

We are called to live unmistakably different lives as citizens of Heaven.

We have been given the “Protocol Guidebook” of our nation’s customs, language, history, beliefs and laws – it deserves our daily, intentional, devoted study and thought. How else will we understand our own King’s laws? Speak our country’s language? How else can we explain to others why they should want to immigrate there, or how our King vastly surpasses any other ruler in excellence? How else can we accurately disciple and mentor other younger citizens (our children or any given to us to teach) so that they can one day fill their own appointments in their own embassies?

This should be our passionate desire – to be so deeply steeped in the Book of our King that if he should come on a visit of State, we would not be ashamed by how we have been representing him, but delighted to introduce the One we have so faithfully served to those around us.

And what joy to have those people say – “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42)

  • Wear your crown. Carry your sword. – Maria

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Unlock a Life of Purpose: An Extraordinary Assignment

Around 10:30 a.m. on the morning of August 7, 1998, trucks heavily loaded with explosives parked outside the United States embassy in both cities of Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The trucks almost simultaneously detonated. In what was discovered to be a terrorist attack from a then little-known group called Al-Queda, over 200 people died, with over 4,500 injured people – mostly civilians of Kenya and Tanzania.

This tragedy took lives, property, and a sense of security from thousands. Billions of dollars of damage and years of rebuilding were required in the aftermath. Lives were changed forever.

Yet.

These attacks, while ostensibly creating the panic, chaos, pain, and loss they sought, did not result in the toppling the United States. Not the government, not the people, and not even the work of the embassies. This is because an embassy of any country, while being a physical property, is actually more of a symbol for the government of the nation it represents.

The actual embassy is the group of people entrusted with a mission to a sovereign or government, especially in reference to an ambassador and his/her staff.

Because of this, any place in which an ambassador dwells and works from can in fact be an embassy. So long as there is a ruling sovereign or government to represent, an ambassador and any other diplomatic officials appointed can still carry out their work.

In the same way, we who follow Christ have been given a mission: We too are called to represent Him and His Kingdom to the people and places we find ourselves stationed. We too are tasked with the diplomatic job of declaring the glories and policies of our King, creating connections and relationships that cause others to become familiar with our “Homeland,” our Ruler, and His important message.

Because we are the ambassadors, an embassy of the Kingdom of God is anywhere we live and work.

Each day we must be actively communicating with and listening to our King’s communiqués, training ourselves in the ways of our Sovereign, and seeking to most accurately and winsomely reflect and represent Him to others. 

Each of us have been given a unique place to operate in and represent the Kingdom of God. We have also been gifted with certain abilities and strengths that were deliberately chosen for the mission we have been given.

Each of us will need insight, discernment, and an incredible amount of wisdom in correct protocol and interactions with others. Each of us are representing something and Someone much greater than ourselves – and we are strangely odd choices for the honor of these positions, with our brokenness, faults, and failings.

Yet in our dustiness and flaws, in our weakness, we have been given this incredible gift: we get to represent the most magnificent, powerful, and supreme Ruler in this and any universe. We get the astounding privilege of declaring the glorious, joyful assurance that our King has not only created a way for anyone who wishes to become a full citizen of His beautiful Kingdom, but that He wants to make every person who joins an heir-apparent, with the full rights and privileges of His own sons and daughters.

We have been chosen for this work, so that we might display our Sovereign’s beauty and love in a jaw-dropping way to the rest of the world (Ephesians 3:10-11).

And even when enemies come, even if my embassy is shaken or broken by attacks, pain, fear, and loss, even if I should lose my own life – I know my King and His Kingdom still stand, unshaken and perfect, for eternity.

This is our confidence. Our hope unshakeable.

My work, then, and yours – is to stay as closely connected to Him as possible, that we might represent Him the most accurately during the course of our sojourn here. And then – the mission’s end will be sweet, when we finally get to return to our real home, the one for which we have been homesick all our lives.

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 

(2 Corinthians 5:18-20, NLT)

Your Excellency, your assignment awaits.

– Maria

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Why a Bible-Shaped Life is Vitally Important to Any Parent

If you truly want to have a lasting impact and raise your children for the Kingdom of God, the Bible must have a foundational, central, and overarching role in your home and heart life.

Read it, speak it, sing it, pray it, write it, discuss it, study it, and memorize it.

“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

(Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NLT, emphasis mine)

Look for ways to honor and invite Scripture into your life and thoughts and routines until it becomes like second nature, your native language, completely familiar and beloved.

Because it’s going to be hard to tell your kids how crucial it is to them if it’s not essential to you, first. Kids are smart. They won’t buy hypocrisy, and they’re watching to see if it’s the real deal to you. So make it real!

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make it so addictive to you and so attractive you can’t miss it without missing it. Ask Him for creative ways to include it in your daily routine. Ask Him to help you with memorizing it. Ask Him to help you love it. Ask Him to help you make time to read it.

Then obey. Make time for reading it. Even if you start with only five minutes in the morning.

Busy moms still snatch a few minutes to eat throughout their day. (I know because I’ve been doing it for years.) Even if it’s later than everyone else, I still find a moment to eat something so I can keep going. I still make time for those two minutes of making my small cup of espresso each morning (and oh, the joy that creamy, deeply-rich-and-dark coffee brings my heart), so I know that I can also choose to take a couple minutes to crack open my Bible, quiet my heart, and let the words inspired by the Holy Spirit wash over me and feed my soul before I get into the flurry of a busy day with many little children. And often at the end of the day, I choose to spend a few more minutes with Scripture, as a comforting grace to hold in my mind as I drift off to sleep.

Time with the Bible shapes my thoughts and sets my heart in the right frame to handle my day with grace, courage, and intentional choices that lean toward righteousness. In parenting, I need this. (I’m guessing you might, too.) I can sure tell the difference on the days I miss my Bible time!

If you truly think you can only manage five minutes, perhaps start with just one chapter of the Gospels a day. Begin with the Gospel of John. When you get to the end, start Matthew, then keep moving through them. 

If you make more time, read one Psalm a day as well. If you accidentally skip a day, ditch the guilt and pick it up again the next day without hesitation. Keep going. Don’t stop – if you don’t feed your soul with the Word of life, it will starve. What this world has to offer is temporary and unsatisfying at best. Nourish your heart with what will truly sustain you, grow you, and transform you.

Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6, NLT, emphasis mine)

The Bible should so permeate our thoughts, words, and behavior that we are known for being people of the Word anywhere and everywhere we engage with others. It should carry a certain lingering fragrance and presence that wherever we go we are noted for leaving the undeniable tang and strength of a life steeped in and shaped by the Scriptures.

The Bible is our tangible link to knowing and understanding who the stunningly loving, all-powerful, glorious, terrifying, and holy Spirit-Being who created our universe and our human race is – and why He deserves our adoration and obedience:

Because He, in spite of His perfect power and glory, became a man, and suffered and died a horrible criminal’s death to bring us life – demonstrating His love by paying the cost of our wrongdoing. Then by rising again, alive forevermore, He once and for all broke the power of sin and death, demonstrating His power, authority, and worthiness of our love and allegiance.

And this story and revelations of His character, as well as clear guidelines for how to live our lives as well, are found in the inspired Holy Bible. This is not something to hold with little esteem.

  • Here is where the Holy Spirit can speak to us each day.
  • Here is where we can find hope for our lives and the future to come.
  • Here is where we recognize the beautiful kindness of God’s love that suddenly seems to gleam from so many aspects of our own lives.
  • Here is where we see the mercy of God in the histories of other broken people, and find inspiration and courage for our own.
  • And here is where we find the wisdom to teach and lead our children in a way that truly points them toward God and a life lived in His love.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

(Hebrews 4:12, NLT)

Time spent prayerfully with the Bible is time allowing God to transform us into the godly people He desires us to be. It is time that gives us the strength to overcome the long-term sins and temptations we struggle with. It is time coming to know and love more deeply our One, Truest Love. And that will give us the deepest, most delightful, pleasurable joy we can ever experience this side of Heaven.

I may daily come short of adequately demonstrating the holiness and beauty of my God, but His Word never will. And I would rather faithfully stumble toward Him and daily fight to pursue Him than carelessly dance on my way in a life full of shallow pursuits, low standards, and vain regrets. He is worth my all, and His Word is worth every moment spent with it.

How many minutes will you spend reading the Bible today? Will you commit to reading it at least five minutes a day for 30 days? (If you miss a day, just keep going on the next!)

May a love and a desire for the Holy Word of God be ignited in our hearts, and an earnest pursuit of time with it be vibrantly evident in our homes and lives.

Walking with you in this!

– Maria