Welcome to today’s Daily Redemption — where we confront the radical truth that God’s Kingdom is both a present reality breaking into our world *now* and a future hope awaiting final fulfillment, and discover how Jesus redefined everything His original audience thought they knew about the Messiah’s reign.
Featured Scripture and Commentary
*Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.*
*Daniel 7:13–14 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man… He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.*
Corroborating Scripture: Matthew 4:17, Luke 17:20–21, Romans 14:17, Revelation 11:15, Matthew 6:10, Daniel 7:13–14, Isaiah 2:2–4
Are we in the Kingdom? Is this it? Are you? Am I? These are not flippant questions. They are fundamental and essential. What does it mean that the “kingdom of God is within us”? I got more month at the end of my paycheck. I feel frustrated almost all the time, especially when I watch the (fill in favorite team) or what they are doing on the other side of the aisle. Surely this can’t be “the Kingdom”? Is that what it feels like? What about the drones over New Jersey? Here is the thing to understand… negative gain can feel like nothing happened because of the ongoing rhythm of life and living. Stop, pause and appreciate how far you have come and behold the new creature that you are and the Spirit residing within. And maybe you will get a glimpse of the kingdom. Do you think that you understand the Bible? Remember also that so did the Pharisees and even the disciples. Jesus changed all that as he changes you moment to moment, and me.
Before I finally stopped worshipping a new age Jesus (not Jesus at all, Heaven help me and He did) after searching for why I was in this world at all for 50 years I was trying to wake everybody else up. I literally plastered round decals with question marks on them all over Austin Texas trying to get people to not swallow what we were being fed politically and to at least start to ask questions. Certainly not a person who was at peace in their own heart. When in 2022 the Holy Spirit staked claim to me I stopped questioning the Bible and opened the door – no more scrutiny, no more demanding answers, just a realization that the answers were there all along, in the Bible and in the Biblical Jesus and my real job was to seek to engage with and understand these.
This gained its first real threshold in me at my Baptism. It was a good one… I neglected to cover my nose it was a Baptism with bubbles. The miracle though was the peace that pervaded me and everything as the congregation sang “Old Rugged Cross” and I was cleansed. The feeling of peace was not understandable to me but I was ok to just marvel at it not grasp the meaning of it. And then came my baptism of fire. Literally, May 17th was my miracle day. Fire as in a fever of 106 degrees! And yet as I woke from a semicoma which the lord had mercifully slipped me into and was being told what terrible condition I was in and as I asked the medical technicians if I was going to be died I was at peace and I told them “I feel really good though”. And my own death possibly looming did not concern me except I was concerned for my mom and my cats. And apparently I survived. Sometimes, especially for one who spent a lifetime searching for what was right in front of their face it takes such in order to greater appreciate the transformation that had happened in them and their new home in the Kingdom which was in them but not observed.
So was I,as one of Levite ancestry, really so removed from the disciples and the pharisees in my misunderstanding of what the kingdom was when I was out there plastering question marks? Maybe in the Platonian sense “I knew that I didn’t know” but certainly I was looking for a societal change, a political one, a cultural one; a change of the hearts of the multitudes.While grasping that any movement can only occur one person at a time I was clamoring for upheaval. Well, I got it but it was inside of me and required transformation of who I was into a new creature in order to get there and see it. The kingdom is within us and it awaits us in greater glory. Let us not fail to observe the markers and milestones on our journey. If you experience anything differently today and realize it was not how you would have responded to it in the past – more tolerant, more peaceful, kinder, more joyful and gracious – rejoice. For the kingdom of God is within you.
*Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”*
*Luke 17:20–21 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”*
*Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.*
*Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”*
*Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.*
*Isaiah 2:2–4 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established… Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…”*
Homily
Jews under Roman rule expected a Messiah who’d overthrow Caesar and restore David’s throne. They wanted swords, not surrender. Thrones, not crosses. But Jesus shattered that script entirely. No army. No palace. Just a donkey, a cross, and words that turned the world upside down: “My kingdom is not of this world.” When asked when the Kingdom would come, He said, “It’s already here — among you.” Not in Jerusalem’s Temple, but in surrendered hearts.
This is the tension: **now** we’re rescued from darkness (Colossians 1:13), demons flee, sinners are forgiven. **Not yet** evil is fully crushed, bodies restored, justice complete. The OT pointed to a conquering King; Jesus revealed a crucified King whose reign grows by sacrifice, not force. You’re not waiting for the Kingdom to start — you’re living inside its invasion. Embody its righteousness, peace, and joy today.
Prayer
Lord, I’ve treated Your Kingdom as only future — A Distant land beyond the visible sky. Forgive me. Open my eyes to see Your reign breaking through *today*: in mercy shown, truth spoken, hope shared. Help me live as a citizen of Your Kingdom now — not just longing for then. Keep me faithful in the “already,” anchored in the “not yet.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
