God invites me to....

I am enjoying getting the CRM Empowering Leaders Lenten devotional emailed to my inbox daily through Lent.  (CRM stands for Christian Resource Ministries...see their Lenten Devotional by clicking here.)  Thought I'd share today's devotion with you on this blog. The Kingdom of God CRM 2012 LENT DEVOTIONAL: DAY 29 MEDITATION We are driven by our desires. We'd like to think it's our theology or our personal mission statement that animates our lives, but in the real-time moments of everyday life, it's what we want that really affects what we do and the choices we make. And what we want—what we desire most—is shaped by the things we give ourselves to. In these parables Jesus tells his followers that there is really only one thing in this world worth pursuing at any cost—one thing that changes everything else—and Jesus calls that one thing the Kingdom of God. That’s what Jesus wants us to want. That’s what Jesus wants us to give ourselves to. But what is it? Dallas Willard describes the Kingdom of God as the place where life is experienced as God intended it to be experienced. It’s the realm where what God wants to happen, happens. It’s life as it was meant to be lived in all its fullness and wonder. We recently asked our community in San Diego to personalize the Kingdom and describe the life God invites us into in our context. Here is some of what we wrote: God invites us to… Show the world his goodness and extend his forgiveness   Be at home with God and invite others to come home   Feast with God at his table and rest in his courtyard   Step into our destiny and participate in the greatest story ever told   Leave the world of darkness and confusion and enter the light of God, which brings peace and clarity In our neighborhood, the Kingdom of God is experienced and extended when the owner of a new bistro chooses to donate the profits from all his sales on Sunday to local development initiatives; when we gather leaders from other churches to join us in worship and intercession for our city; when we walk and talk with our neighbors who are recovering from addictions of all kinds; when a shop owner in our community helps feed families in Tijuana by selling their artwork in her store; when we share our homes and choose to live on less; and when we commission those we have come to know to go out and extend the Kingdom of God in other neighborhoods, cities, and countries. That's what Jesus challenges us to pursue, and that’s what he invites us to extend to the world around us. Like leaven in bread, these small Kingdom acts find their way into our lives and begin to change who we are, and ultimately what we desire most. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 1. Take a few minutes to write a Kingdom invitation that God might be extending to you by finishing this sentence, “God invites me to…” 2. What is one thing you could do this week to act on God’s invitation? ABOUT THE WRITER Rob Yackley and his wife, Laurie, live in downtown San Diego, California where they are part of a missional, apprenticing "wineskin" called NieuCommunities. They have three grown children: Melissa, Jonathan, and Brittney.

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 13:18-21 and Matthew 13:44-46 ESV He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened." The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.