Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

This is an extremely familiar Scripture, courtesy of a musical setting for it and verse 19 that I’ve been singing for close to 50 years. Too many people think of religion, and Christianity specifically, as a set of rules and regulations, particularly prohibitions. They think of the 10 Commandments as entirely negative, when it has positive commands in it as well, most famously, the one to honor our parents. Even the one to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy has been turned into a negative, even from well before Jesus’ day, with emphasis on all the things not to do on the Sabbath. Paul very rightly turns that on its head, focusing on the very positive elements of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Norman Vincent Peale famously wrote a book on The Power of Positive Thinking. I haven’t read it, but he has a point. Positive, optimistic people get a lot more out of life, and are a lot more fun to be around, than people who are the reverse. That isn’t at all an excuse for license, a throwing off of all rules. After all, Paul starts his short list with righteousness, which can be defined as doing what is right and acceptable to God. The second item is peace, which is to say, stop fighting God! As I wrote two days ago, far too many people are at war with God, which is a recipe for futility and defeat. And then, Paul follows up with joy in the Holy Spirit. Far too many people don’t even know how to seek joy, and so seek pleasure and material and physical satisfaction. Those things aren’t necessarily bad (unless perverted by the devil) but they are fleeting, being tied to this passing world. Genuine joy transcends all that. We get to taste it in this world, but its fulfillment comes in the next, when nothing will interfere with the free flow of the Holy Spirit in and through us. That’s what the kingdom of God is all about!

As I have written before, I once had a taste of such intense joy in the Holy Spirit that I literally told the Lord that if He had anything more for me to do on earth, He’d better back off a little, because my physical body couldn’t take it! That was in a small prayer meeting with three brothers in Christ, and I can’t imagine how it will be when I am with the assembled saints before the Throne! Meanwhile, I do enjoy life in the here and now, to the point that a non-Christian friend brought friends of his to meet me, because he said he wanted them to meet someone who enjoyed living. I think that comes from my focusing on being right with God and not fighting Him. As a pastor teacher, I seek to let others know how they too can experience the kingdom of God here and now, which of course starts with repentance and faith. To go to the specific topic Paul was writing about here, I have no dietary restrictions – other than to not eat too much – and I feel no need of stimulants, either liquid or pharmaceutical. It is easy to recommend my lifestyle to anyone who is interested, because I believe it is what God has laid out for us for our good.

Father, thank You for Your incredible grace toward us all. Help me be more and more effective in helping others recognize and receive that grace, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!