Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

  A man (let’s say his name is Charles) came to the area to get away from his recent past. He had just weathered the storm of a nasty divorce after 5 years of his wife’s infidelity and was looking for a new start. He sold his house and bought a new home in a friendly neighborhood with the intention of reestablishing himself with a new job and identity. His hope was that he could leave all those feelings of rejection and inadequacy behind. Charles was expecting that his relationship with God would take on a new or more dynamic dimension to rekindle the zeal he had experienced years before. His hope of finding true love for another woman had also been deeply diminished. The new neighborhood was located near the river, which suited Charles's disposition since he always felt a sense of peace around lakes, ponds, and other waterways. To get to know his new neighbors, he would take his dog Rusty for a walk in the early mornings and then in the evenings. Dogs can provide a good door ope

  As Scripture testifies in Matthew 2:2, the magi came from the east looking for the Messiah by saying, " Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him ." This occurred at a time when the prophecy of Daniel 9:25-27 was creating an expectation of Messiah's imminent coming within Judaism and beyond (i.e., Herod). Both John the Baptist and Jesus Himself declared: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand . The idea that Messiah was to be a king and take charge of the existing government on behalf of the Jewish nation was a common understanding among the Jewish masses, and this paradigm became a theme of his entire public ministry. The Kingdom Inside   The Pharisees ask Jesus about the kingdom of God in Luke 17:20-21, and His response is enlightening. He tells them that the kingdom cannot be recognized by physical signs that are observable but that the kingdom is " in your midst .” The Greek word ento