THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

JUNE 17

 

Luke 17:21

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!

For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

 
Jehovah erects his throne in the hearts of his people.
 
He reigns over the world, but he reigns in them.
 
The Christian is at once the habituation, the temple, and the kingdom of God.
 
In us he dwells and reigns.
 
This kingdom includes reconciliation to God, friendship with God, and entire submission to the will of God, brought about by the application of the atonement, the manifestation of divine favour, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost.
 
Where Jehovah reigns, the soul is justified through the righteousness of Christ, enjoys holy peace and fellowship with God, and is happy in a sense of the paternal love of God.
 
The enmity of the heart is slain, the darkness of the mind is dispersed, the carnality of the affections is removed, and the person is brought into subjection to the obedience of Christ.
 
The will of God becomes law, the person and work of Christ precious, and the glory of God the object sought.
 
The enemy is a friend, the rebel a loyal subject, the alien a beloved child.
 
If the kingdom of God is within is, we ought to be in the church of God by a scriptural profession and should so walk as to please God.
 

Reign in me, Jehovah, reign,

Let my rebel lusts be slain;

Righteousness and peace impart,

Fill with holy joy my heart.

 
James Smith