Author: Elizabeth Mullins

Many years ago, a little village in Austria was about to be taken by Napoleon’s conquering army. It was Easter morning. At dawn the bells of the village pealed out across the countryside, celebrating that Christ was risen. A startled Napoleon thought the bells were celebrating the arrival of the Austrian army and so he retreated in haste. A victory was won without even fighting a battle. Peace reigned in the countryside.

During Easter, the bells are ringing again, celebrating the fact that Christ has risen. We do not have Napoleon’s army threatening us, but we struggle from without and from within. Battles that often make us feel defeated.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23

The cause or the sting of death is sin. Through Christ we have the final victory over death. No one can take this victory away from us or from Jesus. Christ defeated the power of darkness, the power of Satan by which we were subjected to it. Christ paid the price! We do not need to fear the future. The proof that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to overcome death, is seen in his resurrection.

Christ is risen! Are we joyfully celebrating the victory that we have won in Christ not just during this Easter season, but each day of our life? Or are we still living a life of discouragement and defeat?

Prayer
Thank you, God, that we can already be resurrected to a new life here on earth NOW! We celebrate that because Christ rose, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. You give all who believe in you a new heart. You gave us power to overcome. May our vision of Christ continue to expand our thoughts and hearts. Amen.

Santiago Lange, Pastor
Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

This devotion was adapted from an article. Read the full article here.

Citizens of God’s kingdom look to Jesus’ teaching to understand kingdom living. What did Jesus say about entering the kingdom?

We invite you to read the following excerpt from a 3-part series, “What Did Jesus Teach.” Read the full article here.

“The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you,” Jesus told the priests and elders (Matthew 21:31). How were they going in? By believing Jesus’ words about righteousness and repentance (verse 32) and by doing what God wants (verses 28-31). People enter the kingdom by repenting and believing the gospel.

We must “receive the kingdom,” Jesus said (Luke 18:17). He talked about how hard it was for rich people to “enter the kingdom” (verse 24). The disciples then asked, “Then who can be saved?” (verse 26). Here, we see several phrases used to indicate the same thing: receive the kingdom, enter the kingdom, be saved. These are different ways of talking about the same thing.

Jesus did not preach much about the details of the future kingdom. Rather, he preached about the way citizens of his kingdom can live and think in this age. He told us how our sins are forgiven. He told us to repent and believe the gospel. His disciples preached the same (Luke 9:6; Mark 6:12).

The kingdom of God is here, Jesus said. It begins right now. In the future the kingdom will have great glory — God will see to that. There will be fabulous future rewards, but the question that Jesus brings is, are we willing to be in the kingdom right now?

Right now, the kingdom is small (Matthew 13:31-33). Currently, the kingdom has both good and bad in it (verses 24-30). The kingdom is waiting for growth (Mark 4:26-29). Eventually, the kingdom will come in power, but now, it is small. The good news is that we can enter it.

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom would come (Luke 17:20). He replied that the kingdom already existed in their midst (verse 21). But they could not yet see it. The kingdom will eventually be seen by everyone, but the King had to suffer and die first (verses 22-25).

Jesus also told the Pharisees, “If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Matthew 12:28, Luke 11:20). The kingdom is here, he said, and the proof is in the power. The kingdom of God is demonstrating its authority over Satan’s rule — and this proof continues in the church today. Just as the kingdom could be seen in the ministry of Jesus, it is seen in the ministry of his church, too. Jesus predicted that his followers would do even greater works than he did (John 14:12). The kingdom is growing.

The kingdom of God is here, Jesus said. People did not need to wait for a conquering Messiah. God is already ruling, and we turn our hearts toward him now. The kingdom announcement demands a decision. It is a call to action. We do not need to wait — there are things to be done right now.

The good news about the kingdom is not just that it is near — it is that we can be part of it. Nearness is not good news if we miss out! Our sins would disqualify us, but in Jesus our sins are forgiven. We can believe in Jesus and turn toward God. We can be in the kingdom of God forever, and that is wonderfully good news!

Michael Morrison, GCS President
Glendora, CA, US

In February, a three-day transformative leadership gathering was held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Pastor Mauricio Diaz Burdett, our leadership team, and I hosted the gathering, titled “The Relational God and His Mission.” Pastor Marco Mejia, of the San Pedro Sula Honduras congregation, attended with 11 ministry leaders. One of our leaders from the fellowship group in El Salvador also joined us. We all came together in an atmosphere of deep reflection and spiritual growth, guided by the inspiring presentations of President Greg Williams and Pastor Heber Ticas, Superintendent for Latin America.

During the sessions, Greg Williams introduced the concept of the 5 D’s (Disruption, Discovery, Death, Design, Deploy) as experienced by the early church in the book of Acts, highlighting the transformative process within the first Christian community. He encouraged attendees to join the harmonious flow of the triune God. He reflected on Jesus’ movement towards us and through us by Jesus’ ministry of faith, hope, and love.

Additionally, he presented GCI’s vision and the path forward, reminding everyone of the building blocks toward Healthy Church and that the church’s fundamental mission is to be the healthiest expression of the Church of Jesus Christ that we can be.

Pastor Heber Ticas provided a valuable perspective on building a church MAP around the concept of the 5 D’s and how it relates to our local church’s movement toward Healthy Church. He also delivered profound teachings on faith, hope, and love, and their biblical and theological foundation that informs the practice of our ministry Avenues. He focused on building bridges between our current environments into a missional participation environment by identifying our focus group and developing a missional heart.

His presentation challenged all of us to activate our missional movements in a strategic manner. The Avenue champions from the Tegucigalpa congregation and their teams had the opportunity to reflect and map out a better path forward for each Avenue based on the teachings we received and the customized consulting that was provided by Greg and Heber.

The gathering culminated in an inspiring Sunday worship service attended by 98 participants, where Greg reaffirmed GCI’s commitment to being a healthy, Christ-centered church. The fellowship among attendees and the shared passion for the gospel left a lasting impact, reinforcing the importance of continuing to grow in faith and in our missional calling.

This gathering not only strengthened GCI’s vision in Honduras and El Salvador but also renewed each congregation’s commitment to moving forward in God’s calling and purpose for our church.

Joel Aleman, Associate Pastor
Tegucigalpa, Honduras