Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read John 18:33-36.
This is probably not a passage you expected to be reading on Thanksgiving Day weekend! Tomorrow is “Christ The King” Sunday on the “Christian/Church calendar” so our readings this week have been selected with that in mind.
My focus from this scene comes from what Jesus says in verse 36: “My kingdom is not of this world.” I am reminded here of the temptations Satan presented to Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. One of those temptations was an offer of all the kingdoms of this world. Jesus rejected that temptation at the beginning of his ministry and was therefore prepared to reject it throughout his ministry, including in this moment as he stood before Pilate. He certainly had the power to take over the Roman empire and all the world. But that was not his mission. He is not about ruling the kingdoms of this world by force. He seeks to be invited inside each person, to rule their life in a much different way.
Since Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, how would you describe it? When we pray “thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth….”, what do you picture that to be in daily living? How do you seek to be an agent of this kingdom in your life each day?
Personal Worship Option:
Offer a prayer to Jesus, letting him know that he is the ruler of your life and asking for wisdom and courage on how to better represent his kingdom each day.
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