What, are the Kings and Kingdoms in Your Life?

Years ago, our Masters IV Quartet sang a song by the Lanny Wolfe Trio that the chorus went like this:
"Jesus, be the Lord of all. Jesus, be the Lord of all. Jesus, be the Lord of all the kingdoms of my heart." The verses went like this:
VERSE 1
In my heart are kingdoms of a world that's all my own.
Kingdoms that are only seen by myself and God alone.
In the past when I tried to rule my world, it just seemed to fall apart.
So please, Jesus, be the Lord of all the kingdoms of my heart.

VERSE 2
I guess I only fooled myself, for I said I have yielded all.
But in a secret corner of my heart was a kingdom that didn't fall.
I surrender now, make my heart Your throne.
Rule its kingdoms, great and small, for if you're not Lord of everything, then You're not Lord at all.

Kings, kingdoms -- all those little vices, flaws and inner conflicts that keep us from peace and the abundant life Christ promised us. We may be well on our way of living a care-free, overcoming and victorious life, but discouragement, insignificance, disappointment, jealousy, bitterness, low self esteem, depression, anger issues, temptations, feelings of inadequacy, and so many other "kings and kingdoms" are around that we are still in the process of conquering. The point is....there will always be opposing forces to our successes and victories. That's why we hear in Ephesians 6:10-18, God's wisdom for how we conquer those kings and kingdoms:

​"​Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers​​, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.​ (My note: all those KINGS!) ​Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ​​In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.​ ​And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.​"

​I believe God is equipping us ALL, as He did with Queen Esther “for such a time as this”. Often we encounter "kings" in order for God to get our attention. He is raising up an army of FULLY DEVOTED followers of Christ, who are committed to being in a “preparation season” because He needs us to be His hands extended to a very hurting world.

We ALL should realize​ ​that we are here for specifically designed purposes by Father God, at THIS TIME. He has given us ABILITIES and the AUTHORITY, and like the little shepherd boy, David, ​and Moses and Joshua, ​He wants to ANOINT us to complete the ASSIGNMENTS He has given us. But before we head out into this day....into the battlefield, we need to be sure we put on the whole ARMOR of God. ​ Then we'll be in on the offensive side.... conquering king after king after king.​

Living on the LIGHT SIDE

Living on the Light Side
I must be on Star Wars overload.  Watching the newest episode 3 times, as well as watching several of the earlier episodes with my two youngest grandsons, and seeing them donning their Star Wars costumes and light sabers over the last week, caused me to ponder the notion of the “Light Side” versus the “Dark Side”.  The Jedi were major practitioners of the Light Side, and were the mortal enemies of the Dark Side of the Force.  Light versus Dark.  Isn’t that mankind’s opposing forces since the very beginning of time?

In the creation story in Genesis, God “speaks” things into existence “Let there be light….”  It’s a sign of God’s creative power that every single word He utters, brings forth something new, vibrant, and wondrous.  Then Adam and Eve fell to the voice of the “Dark Side” when the enemy tempted them and succeeded, that caused them to be banished from the beauty of the garden.

In 1 John 2:5-7, John writes “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is LIGHT and in Him is NO darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”   That’s the difference between the LIGHT side and the DARK side.  You can sure tell that jealousy, hate, bitterness and anger caused Anakin Skywalker and Kylo Ren to go wrong and turn to the Dark Side.  It’s quite possible, when we examine our hearts, we won’t find that we hate anyone.  But every little thing that we allow to remain in our hearts can have a “dark” effect on us.  We might not be in darkness, but we certainly might find ourselves in the “shade”.

The beginning of this new year is the perfect time to clear out those things that hinder the LIGHT in us.  Let’s open ourselves to His healing and empowering light.  When we declare with the Psalmist, “The Lord IS MY LIGHT and my salvation, who should I fear?  The Lord is my life’s refuge, of whom should I be afraid?” – then there will never be a shadow of doubt which side we’re on, and all the dark forces that try to draw us to their side, will never win!  The FORCE (the LIGHT source) that comes with peace and calm will always be in us and with us.

May THE FORCE be with you!