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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: The United Kingdom (01/22/09)
Matthew 12:25 says: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

In the history of the church, this has been taught to every generation of Christians.

Pastors have taught me that this refers to a person’s home and family. It is imperative that a family be in unity so that the enemy does not have a chance to divide and conquer.

Secondly, I have been taught that Jesus is referring to individual churches, stressing the importance of harmony among a body of believers so that the church will be a united force in their community.

Although I am not disputing these emphatic teachings, I have discovered yet another way to interpret this Scripture. I have found that the Lord is talking about His Kingdom that is within me!

In my walk away from life in a satanic cult to finding true freedom in Christ, I have learned that His Kingdom reigns in me. Because I have accepted His gift of salvation, He has set up His Kingdom in this earthen vessel, and rules and reigns from the throne room of my heart.

The Lord’s prayer that I can recite word for word says, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven.” I am that “earth” -- made of clay, formed by the Potter’s hand. When He became my Lord and Savior, my desires became His desires, my will yielded to His will. I want to fulfill my destiny by fulfilling His perfect will for my life. I can do that because He reigns from within me, and His Kingdom is established in this earthen vessel. I am His, and He is mine, and we cannot be separated.

I look at that Scripture verse and realize that any kingdom divided will bring desolation to that kingdom. Any city or house divided against itself will not stand. I do not want His Kingdom in me divided. What can I do to avoid it? The answer is quite simple -I can believe that He is in me, and that through the power of the Holy Spirit I can do all things for Christ. I will prosper when I realize the power that is in me because He has established His Kingdom in the “earth” that He created. I invited Him to set up that Kingdom within me.

What can separate me from the love of God? Nothing, but I can be divided. When I am having a rough day, and am reliving some of the horrors of my past, I have a choice to make. I can choose to stand on His truth and believe who He says I am. Or I can choose to believe the voice of Satan, tormenting my mind, telling me I am not even a Christian after all I have done, whispering that God certainly cannot forgive one like me.

When those times come, I see His Kingdom in me begin to shake, because lies shake the firm foundation I am standing on. That is how powerful the enemy’s lies are as he fights in the battleground of my mind at every opportunity. If I allow my mind to be thinking anything other than “Kingdom truth,” then I am on shaky ground, and I risk being divided.

The Word instructs me by saying, “Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, think on these things.” Why? Because then my mind lines up with the will of God and cannot cause the Kingdom to be divided. My mind, will and emotions have no choice but to unite with my spirit (where His spirit lives) when I dwell on “these things.”

Jesus Christ has established His Kingdom in the throne room of my heart. Nothing can break my relationship with Him, but the enemy can try to divide His Kingdom within me as he attacks my thoughts. If I dwell on his negativity instead of the freedom Christ brings, I am at risk for desolation. That desolation would be the heartbreaking reality of never fulfilling His destiny and perfect will for my life. What a desolate place that would indeed be!

I have His Kingdom within me, founded on God’s truth, direction, power and love. This United Kingdom will never be divided against itself if I stand firm on His foundation that rules and reigns within me!
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Jan Ackerson
01/31/09
Moving testimony and a good devotional.

This is probably off-topic, though, as the theme this quarter is "geographical places" (like the USA and Australia) and this is about a spiritual kingdom.

It's very well-written and full of much-needed instruction.
Karlene Jacobsen 
02/03/09
Very good devotional. THose words are so true.
Myrna Noyes
02/03/09
I like this article about God's "United Kingdom"! (In fact, a similar idea had crossed my mind when thinking of what to write for this topic!) His Kingdom is the only one that can be truly united, when we let Him rule as the Head! You have a nice writing style, and I appreciate what you have to say. Blessings on your writing!