Week 4: Kingdom Minded Living

I hope you are enjoying our study of Matthew thus far. I have appreciated this fresh perspective on Jesus' ministry and His call for us to be Kingdom-minded. As I learn more about the Kingdom, I gain a greater understanding of how "Meghan-minded" I am instead of Kingdom-minded. This is a humbling teaching regarding character. Over the past few weeks, in our study we have noted:

• John the Baptist urges the people (and us too!) "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."(Matthew 3:2)

• Jesus, the long-awaited King of the Kingdom, is here!

• Jesus asks some fishermen, His disciples, (and us too!) to follow Him.

• Large crowds follow, watching and listening as He proclaims the good news of His Kingdom from place to place. He has much to say about His Kingdom, and the teaching is topsy-turvy to the ears of the disciples and the crowds of people. This is a world turned upside-down way of living and loving others.

• Jesus describes the character traits of the Kingdom, painting a picture of Kingdom-minded citizens. (Matthew 5:1-12)

In our passages this week, we see how Jesus corrects the character traits of the kingdom and spurs the characters—His followers (and us, too!) into action. He encourages us to be change agents for the Kingdom. Did you know that as a believer of Jesus Christ, you are a change agent? A change agent is something that changes the environment. A chemist would say, "A change agent is a catalyst that transforms something from its current state into something different. 

Isn't that our Jesus? Jesus is our change agent! "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us [changed us] to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14) And now, with Him in us, in His power, He calls us to be change agents. That sounds like a big task, a bit daunting, definitely impressive, and quite impactful, in my opinion.

Do you think of yourself as a change agent? A world changer? Probably not; most of us think of ourselves as ordinary. How many of us even feel ordinary? I know I do, and Jesus knew this too. Our great teacher intentionally used two ordinary things —salt and light to show us how ordinary, everyday things, are powerful change agents. You may feel as ordinary as table salt. You may feel as unspectacular as a table lamp. But try living without salt and light for a while and you’ll see what an extraordinary difference these ordinary things make. In fact, the Romans had a proverb: “Nothing is more useful than sun and salt (Nil utilise sole et sale).” Perhaps they are very ordinary, but they are very much needed and even useful. Isn't what we desire to be useful for God, faithful as citizens of the Kingdom? (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

When Jesus changes us, we become agents of change in a dark, broken and twisted world. We are called to be different, ordinary people who can make a difference. We may not think we can, or doubt what He is asking of us, but He reminds us to "Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (Philippians 2:14-15) And then in regards to our speech, He tells us, "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." (Colossians 4:6) When we live a life of surrender, because of Jesus in us, we will radiate as change agents, influencers, to the world around us.

❤️ Meghan

Week 3: Kingdom Minded Living

Last weekend, I curled up on my couch to watch a movie. It is relatively rare for me to do this, but the socks were matched, the work of the day was done, and Mary Poppins Returns was in the cue. There is an amazing scene in that movie where Mary Poppins and the children visit Mary's cousin, Topsy-Turvey. For Topsy, the world turns upside down on the second Wednesday of every month. At their visit, the kids walk into a house flipped over. Concerned, they ask Topsy, "How do you manage? Topsy replies, "When the world turns upside down, the best thing to do is to turn right along with it."

When Jesus sat down, and his disciples came to Him, we don't know if it was the 2nd Wednesday of the month, but what we do know is that when He opened His mouth and spoke, His sermon turned the world upside down. Most likely, what the disciples and the crowds thought He was going to say was not what was spoken.

Before He opened His mouth (Matthew 5:2), the presence of God came to dwell, He sat down with His people. That in and of itself was upside down. On a previous mountaintop, Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19), God spoke to his people in a loud thunder; the chosen people were not permitted to come near the mountain; there were rules and boundaries set. Now, here was Jesus calling, with a calm voice to all people, and sitting down with them.

Did He leave His home in glory with a political agenda, a conquering military force, like the world expected of the promised King, the Messiah? No, He turned the world upside down and came with a spiritual agenda as a meek servant and humbly conquered sin.

The Jews who expected the political agenda wanted to see victory over the surrounding nations, but Jesus gave them the opportunity for victory over sin instead!

On Mt. Sinai, God wrote the commandments on tablets of stone; on this unnamed mountain, Jesus is teaching a new commandment, speaking to hearts of flesh. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

The Jews may have expected a reminder of their story, but Jesus turns the world upside down and is telling us His story; he is describing Himself.  

If the disciples yelled out, "Jesus, our King, our Rabbi, has arrived; the Messiah is here, and He is teaching us how to follow Him! Learn how to obey his commandments, learn how to love one another as citizens of the kingdom!" I am sure many around wondered, like you and I, "How do we do this hard teaching?" Some walked away (John 6:66), but as one commentator said, "Jesus didn't chase down people or force them to hear and apply His teaching or love one another. He was training leaders to be Kingdom-focused— Kingdom Minded.  They made the decision to follow Him. His teachings were never meant to be absent of Him. Each idea is upside down, mind-altering. The truth is, we can't do it in our own flesh, not without Christ in us. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Jesus' topsy turvey teaching begins with a personal heart check—character correction. It is as if He could have started with, "Do you want to know the character of the citizens in My kingdom?" The Jews may have expected political correction or curses to flow from his mouth, but instead, Jesus spoke blessings. Though we deserve curses, we receive blessings (beatitudes) because Jesus became the curse for us. Now that is upside down, undeserved grace.

Matthew 5:1-11 and what is to come is challenging, not because it doesn't align with the world's teaching, not because it is impossible, but because it is impactful, life-altering. Christians engaged in Kingdom-Living in a depraved, sinful, and corrupt world looks upside down. It looks different. But, we shouldn't just look different (outward appearance) from the world around us but we ARE different (inward change). Jesus picked us up and turned us around. We have been transformed by the Holy Spirit and flipped on our heads, hearts of stone turned to hearts of flesh.  We are forever changed because of the cross and Christ's love for us.

When the Bank's children opened the door, they found a different world, and they asked, "How do you manage? Topsy replies, "When the world turns upside down, the best thing to do is to turn right along with it." This upside-down world, as Jesus describes is the Kingdom of God, and, as Pastor Kyle said in the sermon last week, "The doorway to the Kingdom is not opened by trying harder but by surrender." So we can stop all that striving! I think, Topsy and Kyle have the same idea, Jesus too. Surrender to Jesus and give Him the control you are gripping in your hands, not because you ‘must’ but because this is the only appropriate response to our King. 

❤️ Meghan

P.S. If you want to spend some time worshiping our King, check out this song, That's My King by Cece Winans.

Week 2: Kingdom Minded Living

It was a sunny Saturday, the wind was blowing, and the ball fields were packed. The baseball tournament was well underway, and the crack of the bats and the cheers from the stands made it challenging to hear the person next to you. We were lugging our coolers, tents, chairs, and toys, and I was looking for the field number or the Nationals jerseys —something to give me direction and guide me where we needed to be. Behind me were five little boys tripping over their equipment, throwing their balls in the air, and knocking over one another. We had just made it through the parking lot and were heading up a steep hill when I said, "Follow Me."

Reading through the passages this week, I pictured young men, disciples, trying to lug their prior understanding, their nets, their occupations, and families with them as they set off to follow Jesus. I find great encouragement in the disciples who left it all behind and immediately did an about-face turn to follow Him wherever He was going when they didn't understand where that was. We may even be convicted and motivated to consider what we need to about-face turn from to follow Jesus in this way

On that Saturday, when I said, "Follow me," my boys obeyed, but they didn't consider how close. As each boy walked along the path, they grew tired and weary. One paused to pick up his fallen ball, another picked up their fallen self off the muddy ground, and another fell behind by the weight of the burden they carried. One by one, they were slipping further and further away from me. Even little Ben, who was holding my hand, was hanging back behind and not next to my side. They were still following me, but they were following at a very far distance. Due to distance and the chaos of the ball fields, when I spoke, they could barely hear my voice, let alone understand what I had said.

How close does Jesus want you to follow Him, and what does it look for you to be His disciple? How close do you have to be to drink from the well and quench the thirst for Him that is in each of us? In Matthew 5:1, Jesus opens his mouth and teaches. Using His voice, He speaks with earnestness to the crowd around Him. Certainly, the closer you were to Him, the better you could hear His voice. Jesus is calling us to a more intimate and deeper walk with Him. Follow me, He said. He wants us to follow closely. He wants to walk along this path of life, teaching and instructing you as you go.

Salvation by grace alone is unconditional, a gift that God has bestowed immeasurably upon the believer. I'm not talking about whether or not you are following Jesus, this is salvation, my boys were following me. We are in a relationship with our Father; nothing can change that. God's grace provides us with the relationship, but intimacy allows us to experience it fully. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you". I'm talking about how closely we are walking with Him; how near can we get? How intimate do you want to be to Him? Are you relentless, pressing in toward Him in every way —constant in your pursuit to get closer and closer to Him? Are you close enough to hear the still whisper of His voice, or are you slowly falling behind and lagging back? Jesus is calling us out of the perimeter. He is calling us toward Him to be closer to our Messiah, Christ our King. As we look ahead in our study this week, when Jesus opens His mouth to teach His ways and blessings, are we close enough to hear? Do we have the faith to believe Him?

❤️ Meghan

Week 1: Kingdom Minded Living

CrossWay Women,

We have completed week one of our Matthew study and are now into week two, I am a bit behind in sending this. I am excited about what God is going to do among each of us if we desire to be transformed as we open up His Word. Two weeks ago, we drank tea together and enjoyed time with one another. After the tea, each cup and saucer was hand-washed, clothed in bubble wrap and prayed for. This year, we can expect God will do mighty work in each of us. As I cleaned each vessel, I asked that we would be empty vessels, ready and willing to be sanctified and changed for His glory.

This past week in the passages, we hear John the Baptist proclaiming, "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand " (Matthew 3:2). John may have been preaching to the people near him, but His words are true for us today. Repent means to turn away, to intentionally change your mind. It doesn't mean changing your ways (that would be your works), but true repentance is a change of the heart.

This change of mind/heart results in a change of allegiance. Friends, we can only serve one ruler, one king. We must decide, this day, now, whom we will serve. Will you serve Satan, the ruler of this world, and all that glitters of gold and attraction here, or Jesus, the King of Heaven and eternal mercy and love? Right out of the gates, even before Jesus begins his formal ministry, John the Baptist makes clear the two options we face. It is as if he is saying, "Change your mind about your relationship with God." John warns us, and the Jews in front of him, that the time has come when the wheat and the chaff will be separated and burned. To which group do you belong? That is the question we all have to face. Am I the wheat or the chaff? Is my destiny my Father's house, or the Father's wrath? If you are unsure, flee to the Savior, run to the cross, and surrender to Jesus, repenting of your sin and allowing Him to forgive, cleanse, and transform you into a Kingdom-Minded Woman who bears fruit in keeping with repentance.

This isn't following your parent's faith, like the Jews were following Abraham, or faith in knowledge and talk (faking it till you make it) like the Pharisees. This is a real-life change, and it takes a real-life surrender, a change of allegiance, a turning away from what the world is offering you, and a turning toward our King. I mean, "… the Father [who] has qualified you (every outcast around) to share in the inheritance of the saints (to be part of HIs family) in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness (Satan) and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:12–14) The Kingdom of God is where He reigns. “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”(Luke 17:20) Does King Jesus reign in you and what are you willing to sacrifice for Him? What was He willing to sacrifice for you?

❤️ Meghan

Intro Teaching: Kingdom Minded Living

Launch: Kingdom Minded Living

CrossWay Women,

Summer is quickly coming to a close; many of you have sent your kindergarteners off to school, your college students are tucked into their dorms, your grandchildren have returned to their homes, and you have returned to your homes. Some of us have had a summer with family and friends, and others have had to say goodbye to loved ones. Regardless of the season and our path, isn't it wonderful to know that God is sovereign and trustworthy? His Kingdom and His plan are in motion, and we can rest in the truth that our King loves us and knows our hearts more than we can imagine.

Last year, through the Garden to Garden study, we used our wide-angle lens to view the metanarrative of God's story through Creation, Rebellion, Rescue, Intermission, and Home. This year, we will change the lens on the camera to macro. Join your sisters as we zoom in for an up close and personal view of what it looks like to be kingdom-minded. As we begin this study, ask the Lord to open and soften your heart. My prayer for us all is that we would eagerly desire God's Word to transform us into Kingdom-Minded women.

❤️ Meghan