Kingdom's Keys Fellowship

Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.

October 2011 Blog Posts (21)

In and Within 18 For Thine is the Kingdom

We have already briefly touched on the Kingdom back in “In and Within 11.” But now that Jesus is telling us to pray about it again we need to give it more than a brief look. What have we really been praying for? Note that the little word ‘for’ means the same as ‘because,’ “because it’s God’s Kingdom” we pray the way Jesus taught us, “Thine is the Kingdom.” It implies that we lift up its reality, the One in ultimate authority, the provision and its Provider, the reason and purpose foundational… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 31, 2011 at 1:28pm — No Comments

In and Within 17 Ah Wilderness, Thy Name is Temptation

“And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From the Evil One.”

Jesus continues His teaching on prayer with this third Father-dependent clause, which is more than a request---it is a plea. It is a plea to the Father not to have to deal with temptation. There is something ominous in this clause that Jesus knows full well faces us all. He’s been there. He faced it alone in the wilderness for forty days and nights. “He was tempted in every way as we are yet was without sin… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 29, 2011 at 6:30am — No Comments

In and Within 16 Matters of the Heart, It's the Heart That Matters

Second, forgiveness for our heart.

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

It’s one thing to believe we ought to forgive. It is quite another to actually forgive. The first is a mind issue, the second is a heart and spirit issue.

How many times don’t we use the word ‘heart’ to describe what we sense deep within us? It is the heart that makes us aware we lack something so basic that we use words like, ‘yearn’ ‘hunger’ ‘desire’ and are reminded by the… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 28, 2011 at 8:19am — No Comments

In and Within 15 Food for the Mind, Think About It

On to the second part of Jesus’ teaching on prayer where we grow by becoming Father-dependent (Mt.6:11-14). There are three parts to this section, nutrition, forgiveness and temptation.---‘give us this day our daily bread,’ ‘forgive us our debts’ and ‘lead us not into temptation.’ These are the three basic needs for spiritual living in a material world that make us totally dependent on God for every next moment. Having these needs met allows us to move confidently in Him as we open to Him…

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Added by HKHaugan on October 27, 2011 at 2:30pm — No Comments

In and Within 14 Praying Within to Live Without

There are really two parts to Jesus’ teaching on prayer:

The first is Father-centered---

“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

The second is Father-dependent,

“Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 26, 2011 at 10:48am — No Comments

In and Within 13 Who Are We Trying to Impress Anyway?

There are all kinds of little gems, pearls of wisdom that resonate within when you read or hear them. One came to me recently, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Catchy phrasing from the world inlaid with temptation to consider it as wisdom. Like all so-called ‘pearls’ that tend to grab your attention we need to ask what it really means. Right away we know it’s a prayer thing and we need the Lord’s teaching to get our bearings. Let’s look at it for a moment. Consider… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 23, 2011 at 7:20am — No Comments

In and Within 12 Spiritual Freedom

We continue to move in and within where Jesus tells us His Kingdom is. Arriving there through faith in Jesus we are carried into a spiritual realm of endless expanse. It is as though we are leaving gravity and crossing into a weightless consciousness with no boundaries, restrictions, inhibitions and barriers. We have our travel guide, Holy Scripture, which brings light as we go. Even though we are still on earth our mind and heart reach out in our spirit urged along by His… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 21, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

In and Within 11 Thy Kingdom Come

In the last section on ‘will’ I got ahead of myself as I was delving into Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Actually, ‘kingdom’ comes before ‘will’ so let’s get into that word now. Perhaps in a way it was good to have covered ‘will’ first because the purpose of God’s will is intimacy and God’s Kingdom is a kingdom of intimacy. Sin prevents intimacy, which is why Jesus went to the Cross and sacrificed His life to cancel the power of sin so that each of us could have intimacy with God restored in a… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 20, 2011 at 8:04am — No Comments

In and Within 9 Hallowed Be Thy Name

In and Within 9 Hallowed Be thy Name

We are still thinking about the Lord’s Prayer as a set of teachings rather than a recitation of a structured prayer. What the Lord is teaching here is that real prayer is opening our mind, heart and spirit to intimacy with the Father. That’s when prayer takes off. Our mind, heart and spirit are the image of God, the reflection of His creative mind, His loving heart and His humbling Spirit---Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As they are One, Jesus is… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 18, 2011 at 7:27pm — No Comments

In and Within 8 Our Father, who art in Heaven

In and Within 8 Our Father, who art in Heaven…

There is a country song that says, “Everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to go now.” Typical of our fallen nature is the longing for a place, ‘feel good’ place, where there is personal intellectual, emotional and spiritual security. A ‘Summer’ place, our ‘wish’ place, the ‘perfect’ place that goes beyond the imperfections of this world. Heaven is a return to the Garden of Eden, a utopia, a Shangri-la, the idyllic tropical… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 17, 2011 at 8:24am — No Comments

In and Within 7 The Light in the Window

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

If we continue what we started in the last writing then we will see the words above are more than just a set of words. They are… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 14, 2011 at 8:39am — No Comments

In and Within 6 From Recitation to Reality

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

Some questions to ask before we get into it:

What does it say about the Father?

What does it say about the… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 13, 2011 at 9:00am — No Comments

In and Within 5 Getting Our Bearings Within

"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense…

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Added by HKHaugan on October 12, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

In and Within 4 The Father---Near, Here and Dear

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Mt.6.6)”

Well we have gone into our room, our closet. We have closed the door and now we pray to our Father, who is unseen. Getting with the Father is a matter of understanding the Scripture and how it describes Him. There are three views of the Father, Jesus’, the Old Testament’s and ours. What we have to…

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Added by HKHaugan on October 11, 2011 at 6:28am — No Comments

In and Within 3 It's All About Attitude

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (Mt.6:5-6 KJV).” (I have deep affection for the King James Version.)

The…

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Added by HKHaugan on October 10, 2011 at 11:14am — No Comments

In and Within 2 One Step-Three Steps

Where do we start in the ‘In and Within’ theme? The first step within is always prayer. We go before our Father and wait on His wisdom. He is the starting place and the Lord Jesus is His voice. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.…

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Added by HKHaugan on October 7, 2011 at 9:24am — No Comments

From Out and About to In and Within

From Out and About to In and Within

Being a disciple of Jesus is no easy task anytime and anywhere. We have been dealing with our attitude when we are out and about, what we are like when we are out in the world with others, our self-conscious movement relationally. Outside among others with things to do and people to see we are constantly being challenged by circumstance. It’s time for a shift. We need to go ‘in and within.’ It’s not that we haven’t been doing that. This is not an… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 6, 2011 at 10:16am — No Comments

Out and About 25 Two Choices Every Next Moment

Our faith in Jesus as we are out and about in the presence of others is the mark of contact between all that is seen and unseen. Faith is the bridge between God and man. But it is what is seen that is in the judgment scales of those with whom we come in contact every day. Can they see the spiritual dimension in us? That is the question of authentic witness as are these following questions. Can they see the light of Christ? Can they gather the fragrance of His sacrifice and offering as we relate… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 5, 2011 at 7:23pm — No Comments

Out and About 24 Imitate God? Are You Serious?

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph.5:1-2).”

Imitate God? You’ve got to be kidding. How do we imitate God and live a life of love? A bit presumptuous to even consider such a thought you might say, but there it is. Paul doesn’t allow us to shy away from the truth. He is telling us what we are capable of. He is not mincing words here. He… Continue

Added by HKHaugan on October 5, 2011 at 9:39am — 1 Comment

Out and About 23 Gut Check

If any chapter in Ephesians sets you straight it is chapter 5. You can always talk about the Scripture being authoritative but its not until you ‘give Scripture legs’ that you really begin living it out. Chapter 5 calls us to do just that. It’s not only calling us to be different within but also without. True, Scripture gives us the heart and the mind but it’s what we do with them that the world around us sees.

There are some simple measures to help us face where we are…

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Added by HKHaugan on October 4, 2011 at 12:08pm — No Comments