What will you do with the power that God gave you? Jesus described the kingdom of God in many ways, but when I think about it, it looks like a Ferrari. Once we come into the kingdom, we are filled with all the power and authority that Jesus had so we can do the things that He did. It’s just that we don’t recognize that we have it.

What will you do with that power that God gave you?

It’s like we have a big, beautiful Ferrari parked in the garage, yet we choose to walk to work, no matter how far it is. We walk because everyone around us is walking, so it seems normal. We’re not even aware that we own a Ferrari, even though the keys are in our pocket.

Some have come to know about their car and sit in it, wondering how to make it run. They dream of the day when they’ll back it out of the driveway and take off. And others are fully functional freeway drivers taking advantage of all that power.

There will be a day when you will stand before God and He will ask, what did you do with what I gave you? Where are the people who you healed and delivered from oppression? Show Me the mighty works that you did in My name. I gave you the keys to do it.

Ask God to help you be who you’ve been called to be. You’ve got everything you need already.

Our bad decisions can be be redeemed. I can’t help wondering what it would have been like if Moses had been allowed to enter the Promised Land. If the Israelites had believed Joshua and Caleb and gone straight in. If Saul had remained faithful to God. If Solomon had not followed after foreign women.

Let grace cover your bad decisions.

God allows us our own choices. He doesn’t strike us down when we make bad decisions, He just makes us live with the consequences. Thank goodness for His grace. Thank goodness that He forgives our worst mistakes and can redeem what had been lost. Nothing is impossible for Him.

But I also see how important our decisions are. How amazing God would be for us if we trusted Him. Ask Him to give you perspective on your life. Is there a place that you stopped believing Him? Do you need to go back and repent? It’s not too late. He can forgive and put you back on the right track if you let Him.

Don’t get to the end of your life and mourn lost opportunity. Allow God to be God for you today. Trust Him. Believe Him to be who He says He is. He’s waiting for someone to believe Him so He can do great and mighty things. Let it be you.

The kingdom of God is all about loving each other.

People are important to God, so they should be important to you. Yes, the greatest commandment is to love God above all else, but the second one is to love other people. (Mark 12:29-31)

It’s not good enough that we’re nice to people at church or at work. We need to be connected in community. Everyone should know who they can call in an emergency, when they’re lonely, or when they need someone to celebrate with.

We are family — brothers and sisters with the same Father. Not the dysfunctional family you may have grown-up in, but a healthy, lively, growing family. That means that we forgive each other easily. We help when we’re needed. We celebrate victories we’ve been waiting for ourselves.

It takes effort to be in community. You have to open yourself up to other people and let them in. But that’s what the kingdom of God is all about. It’s a kind, loving place where we love each other and celebrate God.

If you are not connected with other believers, then you need to work on that. Go out of your way and learn names. Say hello. Find out what’s going on with people. Share some food and make friends. The kingdom is a friendly place. Don’t be left out.