If a stranger came and asked you this question: “What do I need to do to get into heaven?”—how would you answer?
Many from my evangelical tradition would say that you need to pray “the sinner’s prayer,” and some would add that you need to be baptized as well. The sinner’s prayer typically includes an admission of sin, a request for Jesus to forgive and save us, an acceptance of Jesus into our hearts, and a commitment to let Him become Lord of our lives.

The Kingdom of God is not of this world. The Kingdom which Jesus invited his followers to participate in is not of this world. The kingdoms of this world have values which advance those nations and their particular goals. Sometimes the line between truth and cultural value becomes blurred and we end up holding fast to a belief system which does not align with the cultural values of God's Kingdom, as seen in the Bible.

In our current moment there is great debate in our nation regarding how we should respond to immigrants and refugees. As Christians we should remember our origin. We have been grafted into the family of faith (Romans 11:17). Their origin has become our own. We were once alienated from God (Ephesians 2:12) but he graciously accepted us and treated us as his own. We are called to be welcoming and hospitable (Hebrews 13:2).

During this time of governmental and civic shift of mindset and policy regarding foreigners, immigrants, and refugees I wanted to take a minute to let the word of God speak. I have compiled a list of passages throughout the Bible's many writings and have placed them here for your examination.

We are saved from a life in constant opposition to God, to ourselves, and to others. Salvation is not only cosmic and eternal; it is life-transforming. Paul describes this transformation as "the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." Salvation is not only about what we will become in eternity—it is also about what we are becoming now.

Human beings have a love hate relationship with power. We love it when we or someone we like has it, and we hate it when someone we don’t like has it. I think J.R.R Tolkien described humanity's relationship to power well in his “Lord of the Rings” series. The characters were all drawn to the ring of power, imagining how they could use it to save life. Yet the power they sought to use for life became a means for death.

So, what does it mean for human beings to be made in the image of God? Does this statement imply the active role of striving to live as representatives of the God we serve? Having authority from him to carry out his will? Or does it suggest a passive role where humans are the conduit through which we display our love and affection for God?

It is worth mourning that, what was in not what is. Yet we are called to participate with God in turning what is, into what will be. Many of us are struggling with the reality that the culture which we grew up in no longer holds the same values that once felt unanimous. Many of us are feeling threatened by the competing world views that are now in the public sphere. And many of us feel a longing for things to return to the normalcy that we consider the “good old days”

What other God in history has so associated himself with the poor and lowly? From his birth in a stable with a feeding trough for a bed (Luke 2), to his proclamation that if you have cared for a person who lacks food you have cared for him (Matthew 25). No other God who is held out as being so great has ever associated themselves so strongly with those who are so lowly.

The kingdom of God, like the Garden of Eden, is supposed to spread over the whole earth by means of us. So look around you, in your city, your neighborhood, your family. Look and see those areas that need redeeming, and start living the good life.

Our call as followers of Christ is to rely upon the Lord, living with hands that are open to receive blessings on God's time and to bless those around us. His blessings, love, and favor are not meant only to come to us, but they are meant to come through us to others.

He was the King during the golden age of the unified kingdom of Israel. He expanded the kingdom back to its former glory. He was wiser than any man alive. He was richer than any man alive. He was the greatest lover his kingdom had ever known. He was a ruler, a philosopher, and a poet. He was Plato's ideal King. All of these things make King Solomon a mythical figure in our imaginations.