God loves too much to be willing to forsake His glorious kingdom of grace for my self-absorbed little kingdom of one.

And so it begins. Or is that continues? It begins this devotion; it continues the conviction. There have been several over-arching themes in NMM. One is the horizontal vs vertical. Another is this one: the little kingdom of me vs God’s kingdom. He pulls no punches in this one:

“Sin causes me to anoint myself as king and to live my life with kingdom purposes. I set myself up as sovereign over my kingdom of one. I want my will to be done. I know what I want, when I want it, how I want it, where I want it, and who I want to deliver it.”

WOW! As I write that and substitute “I” for “we” I am struck by the number of times I use “I.” That is in direct opposition to God’s rule in my life. In God’s kingdom I will never be the center of attention; never will it be about me; never will I rule; never will I do what I want to do. I sometimes wonder if God is standing there shaking His head saying, “Bill, when will you learn this is not your deal?”

“Father, my petty kingdom collides with your magnificent kingdom and doesn’t stand a chance! But you aren’t interested in forcefully submitting me. You want me to willingly lay down my sword, my kingdom, my throne and humbly give myself to you. May I be willing to do that without kicking and screaming and dragging my heels and offering all kinds of resistance. Let me serve your kingdom not mine.”