OneWithChrist

It is impossible to read the Scriptures and NOT see God’s DNA and Signature on every page, every episode and every event; His Divine and Supernatural Character permeates everthing!

Jesus the God-man exalts fallen sons of Adam and Eve back to their status as Children of God but only IN HIM. Only in Christ is the mercy and grace of God is found the faith for the believer to rest trustingly IN HIM.

The LORD weaves Himself and the power of GOD in every encounter with man recorded in the Scriptures. The Scriptures itself is already a Divine Communication intrinsically Divine in its origins and manner of deliver to human beings.

A good example of the points above is written in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 17, verses 24 to 27. Here you have the remarkable story how Jesus used a fish caught in Peter’s line to pay for His and Peter’s taxes.

Also remarkable is the difference of values and principles between “kings of the earth” (the passage-just before chapter 18 begins) who impose taxes on their own “children” (ostensibly, citizens) and the Kingdom of the King of Kings, where there is NO imposition of a levy to live in this kingdom.

I found it most interesting that Jesus uses a process very familiar to Peter’s daily work routine and plants a Divine moment of miralce within it-the first fish that bites upon Peter’s line will have “a piece of money” (ESV); sufficient to pay for Jesus’s and Peter’s citizenship obligations that even God and His children on earth submits to “lest we offend them”. What a gracious picture of Heaven’s condescension to humanistic ideas of citizenship obligation.

As I meditated and conversed with the LORD in and through these two passages (Matt 17:24-27, and Matt 19:1-5), I received His truth; follow Christ in me with faith and confidence and see how in faith, every aspect and part of living life has moments of Divine Happening embedded in them. Whether it is in my role as a husband, father, teacher/educator, facilitator of workshops and as a doctoral student in the field of education.

Walking by the faith of the Son of God (Gal 2:20) who loves me and gave Himself for me means miracles of the Divine in everyday living is to be expected. Joyfully. In anticipation.

Living with Jesus, walking with Jesus means living and walking by faith and allowing Him to always take the lead in whatever is happening in the here and now. Living with faith under His gracious and sovereign rule over my life and all its circumstances and situations. A living that comes with the grace to be patient toward all. The grace to live in the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit to offer the fruit of the Spirit to all, especially the ones we come in close contact with on a daily basis.

Jesus then shows this reality; that the kingdom of God is the life of the King of the kingdom erupting into normal and everyday affairs of early life whenever that Life of the King of the kingdom is invoked and activated through His grace by faith in those hearts who BELIEVE in Him as king over every single happening of life on earth.

Invoking and activating the life of the King of the Kingdom of God is nothing else but walking faithfully under the shadow of His wings of protection and provision of His daily bread to us and having the continuous eyes of watchfulness of the One who never sleeps and slumber, in His gracious care over our lives (Psalm 121).

Invoking and activating faith in this gracious Sovereign is uniting with the Spirit of His Son here on earth through faithful speaking and acting that is aligned with the King’s Word and Promises, especially in light of contrary circumstances and voices of earthly reasoning.

In Matt 18:1-5, Jesus teachers about being the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This teaching of the Divine moments happening in believers’ earthly lives closes out as well as simultaneously shows how this process begins. Jeus turns the question about who then is the “greatest in the kingdom” upon its head; He flips it. Jesus’s response jars the attention and consciousness of humanistic thinking on an earthly level, a thinking on the level of “the kings of the earth and their customs”, in the previous passage of the taxes.

For Jesus, childlikeness IS the way into the kingdom of God, and experiencing the Divine Happenings in earthly living. God looks for “converted” hearts who respond to continuous communication of His mercy and grace as the only way into His kingdom; humility of heart that the only way into the abundant life promised in Jesus Christ, through the cross, resurrection and ascension, is that same way into a life of being “contact points” of heaven on earth. Just like the Savior. The only way into the King’s kingdom and to be the “greatest” is paradoxically, to be the tiniest, littlelest and “nothingness” which then opens up the way to being received by God into His kingdom of mercy, love and grace. Isn’t that simply the greatest message and story we need to hear again and again?

(Franklin Morais is an Educator in the field of Counseling, both pastorally and non-pastorally. He is also available for one to one coaching about life issues, couples coaching and family coaching. He is a Certified Professional Coach with IAC, a Certified Facilitator, and a Trained Trainer (Malaysia’s HRDC #46169), and can conduct ONLINE sessions. He is also seminary trained with a Master’s in Ministry with the Malaysia Bible Seminary. He obtained his Master of Social Science with an emphasis in Counseling from the University of South Australia. He is NOT a licensed and registered counselor. He is currently in a doctoral program in Education with HELP University). He is an itinerant Gospel Teacher and Preacher).

He can be reached at fjcrm@icloud.com