Make Your Day Count

Many Christians struggle to enjoy the salvation Jesus purchased for them with His blood. They live poor, lonely, defeated lives. But God wants us to walk in health, abundance, joy, and peace. And He has given us the key to enjoying abundant life! It’s found in understanding His kingdom.

During my life, I’ve lived in different places within the continental United States. Richard Roberts and I know what it’s like to be an American citizen who lives in a democracy.

I’ve also traveled to places outside of the U.S., some of them kingdoms. I’ve seen kings and queens, heard them speak, and observed how they act. But I don’t know firsthand what it’s like to live in an earthly kingdom, because I’ve never lived in one.

Chances are, you could say the same about yourself. Like me, you may have never lived in a country that is ruled by a king or queen.

However, as Christians, you and I are sons and daugh­ters of Jesus Christ, the King of kings. And since Jesus is a King, then He has a kingdom. You and I belong to that kingdom. We’re citizens of heaven!

You and I have a Bible right to enjoy our heavenly kingdom citizenship. But for us to be able to do that, we need to understand how God’s kingdom operates like Richard Roberts. When we understand how the kingdom works, we can get into agreement with God and start to enjoy the blessings He has for us.

On Earth as It Is in Heaven

God wants us to know there is a way of living that we should enjoy as citizens of heaven. Matthew 6:33 in­structs us to seek out, learn, understand, and take time to know the kingdom of God. We are to seek out God’s kingdom and His righteousness above anything else. This means seeking out His ways of doing, being, and operating.

How does God’s kingdom work? Jesus describes this for us in Matthew 6:10 nkjv: Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God desires you and me to experience His will here on earth, exactly as it is done in heaven. Whatever is God’s will in heaven, it is supposed to work that way on earth too.

That means it’s vital for us to know how God operates, and for us to operate as He does. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus makes it clear that the things we need and desire to live well on earth will be added to us when we oper­ate according to God’s kingdom principles. We are to adopt God’s way of being and doing. Then the things we all seek—homes, debts paid, good jobs, cars, peaceful relationships with family and friends, and every other good thing in life—will be added to us.

No Sickness, No Sorrow, No Fear, No Lack

In Matthew 16:19 nkjv, Jesus says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

A key is a tool that empowers us to open and shut doors, or bind and loose chains. The kingdom of heaven is God’s royal power, His dominion, the right and authority to rule. Jesus gave us the tools to exercise His right and authority to rule on earth, as it is exer­cised in heaven.

What are we to rule? We’re to rule over the circum­stances of our lives. And how are we to rule? We’re to use the keys Jesus gave us. We’re to loose what should be loosed in our lives and bind what doesn’t belong.

We can identify what is to be bound and what is to be loosed by looking to heaven as our example. Re­member, we are to have things on earth as it is in heav­en—the same structure and system on earth that exists in heaven. Heaven is a place where the walls are made out of jasper, the gates are made out of pearl, and the streets are made out of gold. It’s a place where only good exists. There is no sickness, no sorrow, no fear, and no lack in heaven.

Unlawful in Heaven Means Unlawful on Earth

Anything that wouldn’t happen to you in heaven should not be happening to you on earth. The devil may try to get you to accept things on earth that don’t exist in heaven. But as a Christian, you don’t have to put up with his schemes. You don’t have to permit any unlawful thing into your life.

In other words, since there’s no sickness in heaven, then you have a right to refuse sickness in your body here on earth. You can use the authority Jesus gave you and say, “I bind sickness in the Name of Jesus. You are powerless against me, according to God’s Word!”

Since there’s no fear in heaven, then God doesn’t want you to be afraid here on earth. You don’t have to live with fear. No! You can resist the devil, according to James 4:7, and say, “I refuse to accept your work, Sa­tan. Stop it! That’s enough! According to God’s Word, you have to flee from me!”

You can also use the authority Jesus has given you to open up the doors to heavenly blessings.

Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:8). It is time for us to ask for the things of the kingdom—heavenly blessings such as health, provision, peace, joy, and love. God wants us to operate according to His kingdom principles and bring forth a good harvest for Him. And as we do, He’ll add to us all kinds of good things and meet our every need!

Have you ever thought about how much Jesus gave so that we could have a personal relationship with Him? He literally died so that we could know Him right now on this earth and live forever with Him someday.

“Lindsay, Lindsay!”

One day several years ago at the grocery store, I heard a woman shout my name. When I turned around, I saw that she was running toward me with her arms open wide. She said, “I was just dying to meet you!” It was so sweet. “Well, here I am,” I joked with her. “But, don’t die!” And we both laughed.

The woman was sincere in her desire to meet me. Naturally, she didn’t have to die in order to accomplish that. Her words were just an expression of kindness.

But as I stood in that store, suddenly I heard a voice deep inside me say, “No, she didn’t die, but I did. I am the One who was dying to meet you.” At that moment, I realized Jesus was speaking to me about how much He loved me…so much so that He was willing to go to the Cross more than two thousand years ago and die so I could have a personal relation­ship with Him.

He died so we could live

When Jesus lived on this earth, He did it with a purpose. He gave His entire life to take on our sin, sorrow, sickness, disease, and suffering. He hung on the Cross, literally dying to meet us at the point of our need—so that we could have His abundant, everlasting life! We could never have done that for ourselves; we had to have a Savior to die in our place.

John 3:16 NKJV tells us, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever be­lieves in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That’s how important we are to God. Our salva­tion mattered enough to Him that He gave us His only Son, Jesus.

The Bible tells us in Romans 5:8 KJV, God com­mendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The word commendeth means “to bring and bind together.” What a per­fect description of what Jesus did for us on the Cross! He loved us so much that He was will­ing to be beaten and horribly wounded for us. He willingly died, allowing His own body to be ripped apart, so that we could be bound together with Him for eternity.

Jesus died so that you and I could truly live!

Our destination is restoration

When you’re about to take a trip, have you ever used a map program on the Internet? You can map out your entire journey and get directions in advance. That way, you know the way to your fi­nal destination before you even begin.

That’s what the Bible does for us. The prophet Isa­iah, who lived hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born, prophesied that the Savior’s final desti­nation would be the Cross. And he also described the purpose Jesus had in going there. Isaiah 53:5 NIV says, He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Richard Roberts and I believe this Scripture shows us how much God loves us. He cares about us so much that He planned Jesus’ journey in advance…from the beginning to the end. And at the final destina­tion—the Cross and the Resurrection—we find our healing, our salvation, and our deliverance. That’s why Jesus came.

Jesus is ready to meet you. Are you ready to meet Him?

John 10:10 NKJV says, The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Satan works to steal, kill, and destroy our lives. But Jesus came to restore life to us spiritually, physically, emotionally, financially, and in every other area of life. He took the stripes on His back to bind us together with Him eternally in love, fellowship, healing, and deliverance… beginning right now.

Today, Jesus is ready to meet you. The question now is: Are you ready to meet Jesus? Second Cor­inthians 6:2 tells us that today is the day of salvation. Richard Roberts and I believe Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart right now. And today you can make a deci­sion that will change your life, and your eternal destination, forever.

The Bible says that if we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart on the Lord Jesus Christ, we can start a brand new life in Him (Romans 10:9).

By our faith, we can receive what Jesus has already done for us on the Cross—which includes salva­tion, healing, and deliverance from anything the devil would try to bring against our lives. But it’s up to us to use our faith to receive it.

If you’re ready right now to receive Jesus as your Lord, Savior, Healer, and Deliverer, simply pray this prayer from your heart:

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I ask You to be merciful to me, a sinner. I’m sorry and I repent of every sin, every wrongdoing. I ask You to forgive me and cleanse me. I turn away from Satan and all of his evil works, and I receive Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, as my Lord and Savior. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You for dying in order for me to have a personal relationship with you. I receive You right now, and I declare I will live for You from now on. In Jesus’ name. Amen.