I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Live in the Kingdom

The Ordinary Series – Part 2 The kingdom of heaven wasn’t meant to stay behind stained glass windows. It was meant to walk into living rooms. To show up in office break rooms. To interrupt grocery store runs. To bring light into dark places and hope into broken hearts. And the ones who carry it? They look a lot like you and me. Carpenters. Fishermen. Business owners. Moms. Students. Retirees. Ordinary people who listened for the Spirit’s nudge—and obeyed. That’s how the early church turned the world upside down. And that’s how the kingdom still comes—when we choose to live it out in the ordinary. When Jesus declared, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17), He was announcing something radical. Heaven wasn’t far off—it was near. Not just a someday promise, but a present reality. He didn’t just talk about it—He embodied it. Through healing the sick, forgiving sins, casting out demons, and teaching truth with authority, Jesus brought the reality of heaven to earth. The King had come. And where the King is, the kingdom reigns. But He didn’t stop there. Jesus commissioned His followers to bring that kingdom to others. “All authority in heaven and on earth has

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I Choose Today to Venture Beyond the Familiar

I live outside the greater DC area. It is a small, tucked away place where it is quiet, peaceful, stunningly beautiful, and dare I say, magical. It is tempting to stay here in my bubble of bliss, of utopia, and never go out of my area again. But moving around so much has taught my husband and myself to get out and explore the area and see what it has to offer. Even though we love where we live, we enjoy seeing the different cultures, people, food, and beauty in other areas around us. But there are people in our area who don’t explore and are content to stay in their bubble of bliss. This became apparent when I took a friend to the airport in DC. She grew up in my area, but rarely leaves it to explore the city. I took her to places she had never seen before, places I frequent. She was surprised by how easily I navigated my way without even a GPS. We went to a fun diner and had a wonderful meal in a neighborhood she had never experienced. It was fun to show her the city she spent her life near but

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I Choose Today to Build in Faith

A little while back, a pastor friend of mine wrote a sermon about the faith of Noah. He pointed out that Noah is listed in the “Hall of Fame” of Faith: “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before.” — Hebrews 11:7a (NLT) Noah had great faith because he obeyed God—building something that had never been seen, built, or even imagined—simply because God said to. Noah obeyed and built the ark. What’s remarkable is that the ark’s design stood out from every other ancient boat. Unlike boats meant for navigation, the ark was built for survival, not direction—it had no rudder, no sails, no way to steer. It didn’t need them, because God was in control of its course. We don’t need to steer when God is leading. At that time, rain had never even fallen (Genesis 2:5-6 suggests the earth was watered by mist). Yet, Noah obeyed. He built a massive ship for a phenomenon he had never seen, purely on faith in what God spoke to him. Even when we don’t understand, obedience is our part—God

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