Enter the kingdom as a little child.

What’s it like to receive the kingdom as a little child? I was reminded recently of a visit I had with a young family once. The youngest child was a girl of about four years old. She and I hit it off right away. She asked me to come play Duck, Duck, Goose with her. This is a game that requires several people to sit in a circle. I asked her how we would play Duck, Duck, Goose with only two of us. She told me she played it all the time with Jesus and the angels.

That’s how you receive the kingdom as a little child. With joy and innocence. With carefree abandon to what others think is right. With a clarity to see God where others cannot. But above all, with joy.

This is not easy for adults, but I believe it is ours if we want it. We have to be willing to lay down our own agendas and to want God passionately. Do you want to play Duck, Duck, Goose with Jesus and the angels? Maybe not, but do you want to worship with the angels and talk to the Lord about what’s on His heart? You can. You absolutely can.

Set your heart on Him and receive His joy. It will open a new world and heaven will come down and play.

God is working in you for your destiny.

If you became a believer as an older person, or even if you’ve been a believer for a while, but only recently realized there was so much more to the living in the kingdom, it’s not too late for your destiny to kick in.

Moses was an old man when God called him away from being a shepherd. Caleb was an old man when he asked to settle in the mountains because it was too challenging for everyone else.  Sarah had a baby!

The thing is, God knows all about you, and He’s known that since before you were born. So He is aware of the path you’ve been on, and your destiny, that calling that is yours alone, will have your history included in it. You haven’t lost anything. You just haven’t stepped into your destiny yet.

If you have no idea what your destiny is, ask God to show you. And when you do, pay attention to what you think of next. It may be an old dream or an idea that’s floated around in the back of your mind for years. It probably won’t be a surprise. It will probably be along the lines of what you know you’re good at, or always wanted to do. And don’t assume that it has to be a ministry. God uses talented people everywhere.

Don’t let age or time affect what God wants to do with you. Once you connect with His plans for you, it will be fun. Walk with Him and let Him open up doors of opportunity and development. It’s going to be awesome.

If you are a believer filled with the Spirit of God, you are a great and mighty warrior armed with power and might. You have all authority on earth to declare the Word of God and release His kingdom everywhere you go. You are a powerful light of truth to a world looking for life. So how do you arm yourself?

Humility is a powerful weapon.

The secret to walking in the power of God is humility. The Jesus mindset is to serve others. The first shall be last. Don’t worry, you won’t be left out. Gratefulness and thankfulness ground you in humility to keep you safe from ego and pretension.

Humility is an opposite characteristic to our humanity. We are naturally selfish, so it takes God to put His Spirit in us to change us. Ask for it. Ask for a lot of it. Humility is attractive. It’s absolutely beautiful, and God loves it.

Humility means that you don’t have to announce all your accomplishments or need to be recognized. It means that you want others to succeed, even in the area you want success. It means loving people. When you respond in genuine love, it feels good to put others first.

Hand in hand with that, is the heartfelt thankfulness for what God has done for you. When you know where you came from and what He’s given you now, you can be dazzled by His awesomeness and love Him with true gratitude.

Armed with humility and thankfulness, God can really use you, because He can trust that you won’t let it go to your head. Once that happens, you’re on your own, and it won’t be pretty. Guard your heart. Stay humble and see what God has planned for you. It’s going to be amazing.

You are responsible for being light to the world.

Be the light in someone’s life. You know who. It may be the person who drives you crazy at work. The cranky neighbor. The old woman who collects aluminum cans from the garbage. There is someone you can reach out to and bless.

Don’t make them a project. No one wants pity or condescension. Be genuine. See them the way God sees them. He loves them wildly and died for them. Reach out in love. It may take work. It may take asking God to help you change your attitude. Ask Him to show you why that person may rub you the wrong way, or why they act the way they do.

Everyone needs Jesus. Everyone. And you are right there with Jesus in your heart, so you’re the one to reach out. You are a missionary and your life is your mission field. Everything you do and everyone you touch as the capacity of being blessed by God.

Ask God for inspiration and revelation. What does He want you do? What can you do in your life that will release the kingdom of God? There is so much good that can be released and so many people need to feel it. Don’t be shy. Let God be God.

The awesome part of our new life in Christ is that our old sin nature is dead! Whoo-hoo! That doesn’t mean that we automatically stop sinning, because we are still human. We will still mess up. But it also means that we don’t have a sin nature anymore. We may have a sin habit and habits can be broken.

Paul said that we die daily. (1Cor 15:31) But that should not be our focus. Our focus should be to live for Christ. If we live for Him, we die to ourselves. The more we press in to allow the Holy Spirit to mold us and mature us, the more those old habits start to fall away. We replace them with the good aspects of God.

Life in the kingdom requires change. If we are not being changed, then our position in the kingdom is questionable. It means that we’re not listening to God and allowing Him to do what He needs to do in us. We need Him to do that. That’s how the bad habits get broken. If we continue to live as we used to, then His sacrifice for us meant nothing.

If you haven’t begun your transformation yet, then today is the day. Give yourself to Jesus and live.

We make too big a deal about ministry. “Ministers” preach from the pulpit while we sit and listen. Then we go home. That’s a scenario that Jesus never intended. And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15) He didn’t stop and clarify that He was talking only to clergy. It was a pretty open command.

Go into all the world.

There is no distinction between secular and non-secular. We are all called to be ministers of the gospel. Those who work in “ministry” can’t actually go into all the world, because their realm is typically in the church. It’s the rest of us with jobs and families that touch the rest of the world. It’s up to us to be “ministers” to them.

Everything you do is a testimony for Jesus. Will you act in generosity and kindness? Will you work in wisdom and revelation? Will you heal the sick and bless the brokenhearted? You have the capacity to be Jesus where the “church” cannot. It’s not just a good idea, it’s a command. God is relying on you to reach your community. That’s why He put you there.

You are a missionary whether you wanted to be one or not. Your life is to honor God, and when you do that, you touch all the world around you. Imagine if every believer took up that ministry! Be a blessing and release the kingdom.

Baptism is a happy funeral.

The Bible does not say that baptism is required for salvation, but it is important. When we receive salvation through the blood of Jesus, we are born again. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2Cor 5:17) We start a new life. Our old life is dead, and we begin a new life in a new kingdom.

Baptism is our acknowledgement of our death. It’s a funeral Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Rom 6:3) But it’s a happy funeral. All the old things that harassed us and hurt us in the past are put under the blood for Jesus to manage for us. He’s so much better at it than we are!

If you have not been baptized, it’s not too late. Make it your celebration of your life in Christ. It’s your acknowledgement that you belong to Jesus and are a proud card-carrying citizen of the kingdom of God. You’ll be amazed at the blessing that follows that act of love.