Armodoxy for Today: 10x One Minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, Part 4 –Your Kingdom Come
Before Jesus arrived at the River Jordon to be baptized, John the Baptist was proclaiming, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2) In common parlance use the expression “To Kingdom come” after words such as blow, blast, or send as a threat, e.g., “I’ll blow you to Kingdom come.” And so, often God’s Kingdom is seen as a location, someplace in the future which also signals an end to all things.
But as Armodoxy attests, the original message and Kingdom was ushered in with Christ. We read from Scripture, “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21) It is not by chance that Jesus was standing in their midst when he said these words.
Our request in the Lord’s Prayer is that God’s Kingdom may be revealed to us. We are asking for His presence in our lives, today, in the here and now.
This is the fourth of 10, one minute for Summertime.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/sunset-kingdom-741.jpg11251125Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2025-07-17 00:01:422025-07-16 18:15:46Your Kingdom Come – 4of10
Immediately after the Resurrection of Christ, Scripture tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples “Over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 1)
The Kingdom of God is often thought of as something or some place that is accessible only after we pass from this life. Jesus refers to the Kingdom as something accessible in the here and now. “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” was a message John the Baptist heralded even before Christ’s baptism. It was enacted by Christ and the active Church today.
Access to the Kingdom is available for everyone. The condition is to live a life of love demonstrated by action. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom predicated on our actions of readiness and good deeds. Standards of goodness have no limits for Jesus, as is demonstrated in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). Even more, non-action is grounds for expulsion from the Kingdom.
We read: Then the King will say to those on His left…, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed… for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ … He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
The world we live in is real. The problems that plague it are under our control. We are the agents of Christ. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, happens with our involvement. You can’t close yourself off from the suffering in the world.
We pray, St. Nersess Shnorhali’s 9th hour of prayer, All-provident Lord, place a guard before my eyes, so that I may not look lustfully, before my ears, not to delight in hearing evil discourses, before my mouth, not to speak falsehood, before my heart, not to think of wickedness, before my hands, not to commit injustice, before my feet, not to walk on the paths of righteousness; rather, guide my motives, that they may be according to all your commandments. Amen.
Cover: Once you see it, it’s impossible to not see it. (Quite literally too!)
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/b03ca8960de77645f95125359d9c1ba3.png269580Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2025-05-02 00:01:532025-04-29 21:41:49New Access, Negate the Negative
Armodoxy for Today: The Advent Series – Gate to the Present
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
This passage is often misinterpreted by connecting it to some future existence, that is, to an afterlife. It is taught in a way to suggest that the “gate” leads to rewarded afterlife, let’s call it heaven. But today you have been through the Advent journey and are nearing the end of these lessons about Christ’s essential teachings. You are taking this passage in context of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has enacted the Kingdom of Heaven. Now you are listening carefully to what the Lord is saying here, as well as throughout the Sermon on the Mount, and you find that Jesus steers us to a life lived in harmony and purpose in the here and now. The warning in this passage is to avoid destruction which is the characteristic of a life lived without purpose, a life void of meaning.
The narrow gate, indeed, is a more difficult path, but it leads to life. Jesus tells us that he has come so that we “may have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
We near the end of the Advent journey understanding that life finds meaning by the life we live, by good we do, and the love we share.
Let us pray, Lord Jesus Christ, you have given us the gift of life and the ability to share its goodness with our fellow man. Forgive me my sins so that I may forgive others. Let me enter my new life free from the weight of yesterday and allow me to build my life on a new and fresh foundation. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Gate.jpg11251125Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-12-31 14:01:482024-12-29 21:51:55Gate to the Present
Immediately after the Resurrection of Christ, Scripture tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples “Over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 1)
The Kingdom of God is often thought of as something or some place that is accessible only after we pass from this life. Jesus refers to the Kingdom as something accessible in the here and now. “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” was a message John the Baptist heralded even before Christ’s baptism. It was enacted by Christ and the active Church today.
Access to the Kingdom is available for everyone. The condition is to live a life of love demonstrated by action. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom predicated on our actions of readiness and good deeds. Standards of goodness have no limits for Jesus, as is demonstrated in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). Even more, non-action is grounds for expulsion from the Kingdom.
We read: Then the King will say to those on His left…, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed… for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ … He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
The world we live in is real. The problems that plague it are under our control. We are the agents of Christ. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, happens with our involvement. You can’t close yourself off from the suffering in the world.
We pray, St. Nersess Shnorhali’s 9th hour of prayer, All-provident Lord, place a guard before my eyes, so that I may not look lustfully, before my ears, not to delight in hearing evil discourses, before my mouth, not to speak falsehood, before my heart, not to think of wickedness, before my hands, not to commit injustice, before my feet, not to walk on the paths of righteousness; rather, guide my motives, that they may be according to all your commandments. Amen.
Cover: Once you see it, it’s impossible to not see it. (Quite literally too!)
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/b03ca8960de77645f95125359d9c1ba3.png269580Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-05-08 00:01:472024-05-07 22:38:49Negate the Negative
Along the road to Christmas, we journey to the outer areas of the universe on an Advent journey. What is the unlimited and indefinable nature of God? No need to check your brain-in at the door: The Kingdom of Heaven is within and without you! John Lennon – 30 years after his death – how do we reconcile all the injustice in the world? Is it true, “All you need is love?” As a child of God, find one unifying message – erotic, filial and agape – the message of Love in your life. How do you stay warm from the cold? Listener Harry Hagopian shares a message for World Vision and to all! http://www.premier.org.uk/worldvision;
Advent projects and more: http://inhisshoes.org
Song: “Amen Hayr Sourp” by Vazkenian Seminarians at Lake Sevan;
Ani’s Bubbles: “Short but Important Lesson”;
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for epostle.net
updated 041921 mm
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image-2.jpeg7681024Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2010-12-09 17:34:002022-09-03 01:09:45Unlimited and Indefinable Nature of God
