CHRIST IS RISEN! Oh, that we could celebrate together in the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection! Today is the defining day of our faith–the day Jesus stands victorious. The day He steps out of a tomb, awake and alive. The day He begins making His resurrected self known to the people who love Him best. AllContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: Imperishable and Immovable”
Author Archives: Shelley Linn Johnson
Kingdom Living Now: Inseparable and Intentional
Hauling buckets of water and scooping mounds of sand, we worked hard to build a masterpiece. Our sandcastle had towers and bridges–even a moat that we could never keep filled. In all our efforts, however, we failed to notice that the tide edged closer by the minute. Till the one big wave came crashing in,ContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: Inseparable and Intentional”
Kingdom Living Now: Inhabit
King Jesus stands on the mountain for quite some time, preaching words meant to shape His listeners so they’ll be equipped to inhabit the kingdom He’s prepared for them. Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks words that differentiate true kingdom dwellers from those who are not: “Not everyone who callsContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: Inhabit”
Kingdom Living Now: Intimacy and Interaction
We flip the page to Chapter Six of Matthew’s Gospel, recalling that we’re still in Jesus’ great sermon. Staying grounded in our context helps us remember that Jesus is laying a foundation for our faith by teaching us what kingdom living looks like now. Holy Practices This part of the sermon hits on three importantContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: Intimacy and Interaction”
Kingdom Living Now: Inclusion
The Beatitudes not only give us a glimpse of what life looks like inside the Kingdom of God, but they also flip the world’s values upside-down. As Rev. Jay Smith says, the Beatitudes are a “radical reordering of our values.” That reordering helps us live rightly, but all this right living isn’t in an attemptContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: Inclusion”
Five Minute Friday — Easy
It’s so easy to look out the window at the red-headed House Finches fight for a place to eat at our feeder when I’m meant to be studying for my next project. It’s so easy to watch the wind blow through our naked oak tree, hopeful for the buds to break out in green, whenContinueContinue reading “Five Minute Friday — Easy”
Kingdom Living Now: Inheritance
Just as Moses once stood on Mt. Sinai, Jesus stands on a mountain, delivering a message that describes kingdom living. Moses’ mountain, shrouded by the cloud of God’s presence, shook with thunder as he passed along God’s law–a prescriptive way to live as righteously as possible so that God would remain with them. Jesus’ mountain,ContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: Inheritance”
Kingdom Living Now: An Interactive Life
We know Jesus by lots of names–like, Son of God and Prince of Peace. But there’s one that stands out and comes into focus as we venture into the realm of the Kingdom of God this Lent, and it’s King of Kings (Revelation 19:16). Most of us have only a faint understanding of how kingsContinueContinue reading “Kingdom Living Now: An Interactive Life”
Inhabit: God Dwells In Us
I’m so curious to know how you’ve reacted to the idea of Jesus tabernacling among us. I’ve tried to imagine what it must have been like for Him to leave His heavenly place and power to take on a tent–human flesh–and live among us. And I can’t. The only way I can reconcile Jesus choosingContinueContinue reading “Inhabit: God Dwells In Us”
Inhabit: God Dwells Among His People
Have you ever held so tightly to a belief that you refused to hear any other idea on the subject? I’ve personally dug my heels in a few times–like the years around age twenty when I thought I knew better than God on most things. I’d been taught the truth, but I no longer listened.ContinueContinue reading “Inhabit: God Dwells Among His People”