God’s word, also known as the Bible or scripture, reveals what it looks like to live in God’s kingdom.  One of Jesus’ first teachings on this subject was when He gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7).  Reading these chapters reveals an important part of how we are to live in God’s kingdom.  Jesus speaks of how our hearts are to be inclined, He provides an outline of how we are to pray, He reveals how our pursuit of God’s kingdom should be our number 1 priority, and He teaches on many other important topics in those 3 chapters.

When we choose to follow Jesus as King, we are agreeing to follow His commands and recognize that He is the authority in our lives.  When we follow His commands, we demonstrate that we are friends of Jesus.  Our thoughts, words, actions, and resources are to be subject to the call and commands that our Lord gives us.  The good news is that, in most cases, we don’t have to wonder what His will is.  When you take the time to read God’s word, you find how He is calling you to live.  The epistles and letters (shorter books written to churches or individuals in the New Testament) are full of teachings concerning how we are to live with supernatural joy, peace, and contentment regardless of the circumstances.  This doesn’t mean that we don’t grieve or experience sadness or worry at times.  It means that we always have the peace of knowing that God is ultimately in control.  There is nothing that escapes His attention, and we already know that He wins in the end.

Here are some prominent teachings in the Bible directing how people in God’s family are to live. First and foremost are the 2 most important commandments in scripture.  All other commandments fall under those 2 categories:

Ø  Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Ø  Love your neighbor (everyone you encounter in this world) as yourself.

With regards to loving the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, follow these important commands:

Ø  Praise God, follow King Jesus, and honor God’s name in all circumstances.

Ø  Recognize the heart and mind that Jesus has and follow His example.

Ø  Seek God in prayer in all things.

Ø  Thank God in all circumstances.

Ø  Praise and honor God with your thoughts, your words, and your actions.

Ø  Let your thoughts, the things you read, the things you watch, and the things you say be only what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Ø  God must be your highest priority in life, and nothing else can eclipse His place in your life.

With regards to loving your neighbor (everyone you encounter in this world) as yourself, follow these important commands:

Ø  Grow closer in relationships with other followers of Christ through conversation, prayer, encouragement, exhortation, Bible study, fellowship, and fun.

Ø  Let your thoughts, the things you read, the things you watch, and the things you say be only what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Ø  Demonstrate love and care to all people, especially those in the family of God.

Ø  Forgive others as you have been forgiven.

Ø  Be slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to listen.

Ø  Do not let anger lead you into wrongdoing, and remember that God is the judge of all people.

Ø  Remain in God’s kingdom by avoiding the regular practice of wrongdoing (sexual activity outside of a marriage between a man and a woman, lust, pornography, impurity, sensuality, seducing, lying, deceiving, stealing, idolatry, sorcery, dissensions, outbursts of anger, slander, bitterness, gossiping, physical abuse, verbal abuse, envy, greed, drunkenness, using drugs, using foul language, coarse joking, pursuing selfish ambition, and anything like these).

o   Note that having tempting thoughts of these things that don’t lead to dwelling on them or practicing them is not considered wrongdoing.

o   Also note that if you stumble by committing one of these areas of wrongdoing, but change your heart and mind away from these things and confess your failure to God, you will be forgiven, but the continued practice of those things disinherit yourself from God’s kingdom.

Ø  Be generous with all you have, knowing that everything you have is God’s.

Ø  Be a good worker and do all your work (at your job, at home, away from home, volunteering, etc.) as if the work is being done for God Himself.

Ø  Provide respect and honor to your father and your mother, even if they don’t honor or respect you.

Ø  Treat others with respect and live at peace with all people as much as it depends on you.

Ø  When others in God’s family do wrong against you or against others, and they don’t apologize and change their heart, lovingly let them know and be willing to walk alongside them in loving help.

o   If they don’t apologize and have a change of heart, then bring another member of God’s family with you.

o   If they still don’t apologize and have a change of heart, then bring them before a congregation of God’s family.

o   If they still don’t apologize and have a change of heart, then you are to treat them as if they are no longer part of God’s family (you still love them and desire that they be reconciled and restored to God’s family, but this is being obedient to how Jesus has called us to respond in these situations).