Take It With You 03.20.2016

“Hosanna!”, which means “God saves.” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

The people proclaimed these words in celebration as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in what would be the final days of his life on earth.

They waved palm branches.

They set out their cloaks on the ground before him as for royalty, for indeed they were welcoming their King and Deliverer.

But as history shows, their expectations of the Kingdom Jesus would bring was completely different than God’s design: healing, wholeness, restoration, salvation; a kingdom not of governments and brick and mortar, but a present and eternal Kingdom of the heart, the Gospel message incarnate in flesh and blood, of serving one another as if serving Christ himself.

Had it turned out to be the earthly kingdom for which the desperate crowd clamored, I dare say it would have been merely a passing historical footnote instead of the living and breathing, life-giving thing that has transversed the years, influenced our world beyond description, and continues to come alive through Jesus’ Church still today.

I really like how the apostle Paul, writing in his letter to the Romans, encapsulates the “wonder working power” – as the old him puts it – of this Kingdom Jesus unleashed upon the world:

I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believeing resonse among the outsiders. (Romans 15:17-21, MSG)

As Jesus hung on that cruel cross I believe this was part of that joy set before him (Heb12) –  His life, work, and teachings proclaimed in the words and deeds of his followers for generations to come.

What a beautiful thing whenever and wherever we see the Spiritual fruit of this heaven-come-to-earth Kingdom! I saw it this week through the #CrossStory video testimony of a friend of mine, Allen Thompson, declaring the grace and love of our Savior. I felt it in the strong words of another friend of mine who has been living clean for years because he vowed not to go back to the same places and people that fed his addictions.

Blessed is He…Blessed are you who come in the name of the Lord! God saves!

– Giles Blankenship