Twelve Living In The Kingdom Day By Day

3. There is only one way to the kingdom. Next, Jesus tells us that the only way to enter the kingdom is to “do the will” of his Father in heaven:

It is easy to focus here on the phrase “does the will of my Father in heaven,” and turn this section into a call to obey God’s will. Obedience to the will of God is central, but as I proposed earlier, for many that means keeping rules.

The best way to interpret this section is to focus on the four words I never knew you. Once again, it is about relationship—or lack thereof. Jesus is pointing out the centrality of a relationship with him, not merely doing good works. And notice the examples he uses: prophesying, casting out demons and deeds of power. He is not merely talking about attending church or reading the Bible. Jesus gives examples that would make us assume the person was a true Christian. But Jesus indicates that it is possible to do these powerful works and yet not be in relationship with him. According to Jesus, that relationship is all that matters.

4. There is only one way to build a good life. We have now arrived at the end of a careful study of this Sermon and its implications for our lives. We are also back to where we started. In the opening chapter of this book we looked at Jesus’ admonition to build our lives on the “rock.”

Everyone in Jesus’ day would have been familiar with this illustration. A home’s foundation is the anchor that holds the house together through the storms.

But Jesus is not giving a lecture on good home-building practices. He is ending his sermon with a very striking illustration about being or not being his apprentice. Jesus is saying, “There are two ways to live—either as my disciple or not. Being my disciple will mean developing an ongoing, daily relationship with me. Those who follow the principles of the kingdom will be strong and invulnerable. When trials come at you, you will be able to withstand it.” For the past three years I have been in community with a group of people who have been “pickling” in the kingdom together. Week after week we study the Sermon and labor to apply it to our lives. We have blessed those who curse us, experimented with ways to eliminate anger and actively sought the kingdom of God in our daily lives. I have seen a lot of great things happen in our lives, but the one thing that has stood out to me is how we have learned to face adversity.

One member of our group, a doctor, was wrongly sued for malpractice. Daily she endured lawyers who were trying to assassinate her character. Though it hurt, and many tears were shed, she stood firm and behaved with a kingdom heart. She was wounded, but she says, “I could not have made it through this several years ago. Before I knew how to live in the kingdom of God I would have been broken by this.” As an apprentice of Jesus she looks forward to a good future because she is in fellowship with a good and beautiful heavenly Father in a kingdom that has never been and never will be in trouble. A storm came into her life, and the foundation held firm.

The only way to nurture my relationship with Jesus is to set my heart and mind on the kingdom of God. The fundamental building block of an apprentice of Jesus is living closely to Jesus in our ordinary lives. If we can learn how to spend an ordinary day with our minds set on things above, we will have learned one of the most important spiritual exercises in the Christian life.

To build our lives on the rock of Jesus’ teaching, we need to take control of our time, instead of letting time control us. The most frequent excuse for not growing in our spiritual lives is lack of time. Most of us live at the mercy of our schedule, instead of planning ahead and arranging our schedule around our apprenticeship to Jesus.

The spiritual tool for this week is perhaps the most transformational of the Apprentice Series. It is one of the main ways I keep the fire burning on a regular basis.

A spiritual discipline I have found particularly helpful comes from Madame Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717), who lived in France and wrote a lot on the spiritual life, her most famous book being the classic Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ. Madame Guyon suffered a great deal in her life, but she managed to develop a deep relationship with God that brought her great peace.

Madame Guyon wrote a treatise to her daughter concerning how to order her daily life around her faith. She titled it How to Pass the Day Devotionally. It is a short and simple yet profound way to pause throughout the day in order to reconnect with God. On pages 216-17 is her account of how to do this. I would like you to consider following her pattern for at least one day this week, and more if possible. I think you will find it encouraging, and you may want to live this way every day. Read through her instructions first, and then I will offer some advice about how you can incorporate some of the Apprentice Series exercises in conjunction with it. I hope you see how this exercise brings together many of the previous practices in the curriculum so far.

How to Pass the Day Devotionally.

1. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. Where there is no set time you cannot establish a pattern. In order not to sleep in too late in the morning, be sure you stay up no later than ten o’clock at night.

2. As soon as you awake, present your first thoughts to the Lord, and offer him the first fruits of the day. As soon as you arise, remember to fall on your knees before God in an act of honor due to his supreme majesty.

3. After you are dressed for the day, spend half an hour in devotion. In that quiet time reflect on the sacrifice that Christ made of himself to the eternal Father, and offer yourself to him, that he may do with you, and in you, what he pleases. Let your principal exercise be an absolute submission to the whole will of God. Remember, to serve him is to reign.

4. Never pass the morning without reading some spiritual book, such as Thomas à Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ. Do not read too much, but what you do read, read with relish and an aim toward application. Read slowly.

5. And when you come from this time of devotion, be careful not to let your spiritual thoughts fade away, but preserve what you have received as a precious gift you do not want to neglect. The fire kindled in prayer soon goes out if it is not kept up the rest of the day. The fuel you must feed it with is frequent recollection, through prayers of love, thanksgiving and the offering of yourself to God. As you go through the day turn your mind inwardly, for there you will find God, who is the center of your soul.

6. In addition to times when you pause for prayer, whenever you have free time you must read the Holy Scripture. This will give you guidance as to how to live as a Christian. Read it often. Make it your principal study. Let it be your daily bread. You will learn there, from Christ himself, what you are called to do, and how not to offend him. Therefore, my dear child I advise you not to pass one day without reading at least a portion of the Bible. Sometimes you may read where the book opens, but let your general method be to read it in order, beginning where you left off last, that you may better understand its beauty and relish its sweetness. Read with humility, with an open and searching mind, in order to edify and nourish your soul. Ask yourself as you reflect: Based on this passage of the Bible, what is God calling me to do today?

7. You may pass the rest of your day at work or in visiting your friends. But have this goal in mind: Never spend an entire day without reserving some part of it for recollection and prayer.

8. As you prepare for sleep try to examine yourself, particularly, your thoughts and words and actions of the previous day. Do this with a contrite heart and make a resolution to improve tomorrow and ask God for his assistance. Bask in the peaceful presence of God until you drop asleep. This will make you rest well. Rise again in that same disposition of humility and adoration and surrender, and do the same thing the next day.

This exercise is a great blessing to me, and if it is for you, I recommend that you do it as often as you can.