At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:26-29
It’s 6 a.m., and an African sunrise dawning over the Ngong Hills west of Nairobi guilds the skies with hazy orange. A new day has come, with new mercies and new things our loving Father has ordained for us. As I sip from a mug of Kenyan coffee, His Spirit beckons me to open the Word and come with a hungry heart and a mind ready to receive His message for the day.
My daily Scripture reading has landed me on Hebrews 12. Reading and re-reading verses 26-29 fills my heart with awe. A few verses before, the author describes what the kingdom is that we come to every morning when we seek His face:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Every time we pray and open His Word with a listening heart, we come into His presence – Mount Zion, the city of the living God, His angelic hosts, those who have preceded us into heaven, God Himself, and the risen Christ who has ready for us an endless supply of His blood that cleanses us from sin.
Imagine stepping into a giant throne room where you can see all that unfold before you and not be filled with wonder!
Routine and hasty morning devotions suddenly seem trivial. Reverent and awe-filled acceptable worship is in order as the sight of His unshakable kingdom unfolds before our eyes.
This is the kind of stuff that fuels our faith in an unshakeable kingdom that stands in stark contrast with the shaky world we live in. We must learn to see with eyes of faith what we have come to, are citizens of, and call our home every day.
It is easy to see that the world we live in is shaky. Alarm bells are rung every day about internet vulnerability of our computer-based infrastructure, threats of all-out war and nuclear attacks, shifting alliances, epidemics, pandemics, and economic downturns. And humanity is being pounded every year with natural and man-made disasters that are unprecedented in their size and scope.
Sometimes I think about what Christians who lived during World War I or II believed. The level of destruction and loss of human life that took place during those wars has so far never been repeated. How strong was their faith in an unshakable kingdom of light amid so much darkness, death, and doom?
The world is shaky on account of humanity’s sinfulness, but in addition, God shakes the heaven and the earth. During the last days – to bring humanity to repentance. And at the very end – to remove what is temporary and perishable so that only His permanent, unshakeable kingdom remains. Events so big and terrifying that my mind can’t even fathom what they must be like.
Those shakings, and the shakiness of the man-made world, underscore the importance of a deep faith in an immutable God Who reigns over an unshakeable kingdom. It’s a joyful faith that God wants us to have, which leads to awe and the reverent worship He delights in. The awareness of being part of His unshakeable kingdom arms us against fear, anxiety, and grief over times that are not changing for the better. It solidifies our consciousness that we are strangers and sojourners and are only passing through this world. And it shifts our dependence on the things of the unsteady world toward dependence on our steadfast God in and for all things.
Next time you pick up your Bible and devotional, with or without coffee in hand, and you start your day by seeking the presence of God, let this verse speak to you and fill you with reverence, awe, and deep delight in your citizenship in His kingdom through the blood of Christ, and faith in His unshakeable kingdom. It will make a difference in how you step into your day – I guarantee it!
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