KyKingdomKum

I’ve come to believe that religion can sometimes blind us—not to the existence of God, but to His intention. Not because religion is evil, but because it often replaces knowing God with explaining Him. And explanation, when it stands in the place of revelation, can keep us from seeing who He actually is. Before commandments. Before sacrifice. Before sin-management systems. There was Genesis chapter 1. And Genesis 1 is before religion. It is simply what God did—and in doing so, it reveals who He is. God creates. God speaks. God blesses. God gives. He gives dominion. He gives fruitfulness. He gives authority. He gives the earth itself to man. And He does all of this knowing exactly who man is. That matters. God did not give creation to man because man had proven himself trustworthy. He gave it because God is trustworthy . Creation itself was an act of grace—bestowed before performance, obedience, or failure ever entered the picture. This is why something God says later through the proph...

Everyone has that scripture. The one that doesn’t just encourage them—it knows them. The one that feels less like a verse and more like a voice. For me, it’s Isaiah 43:1, then verse 2—in that order. And it’s my favorite not because it’s poetic—though it is. Not because it’s comforting—though it comforts deeply. It’s my favorite because it’s God loving me in my love language. There’s something unmistakably intimate about the way God speaks here. He calls out Jacob and Israel in the same breath and then makes a declaration that stops me every time: “Fear not… I have redeemed you… I have called you by your name; thou art Mine. ” That line alone would have been enough. But it’s who He says it to that makes it unforgettable. Jacob and Israel are the same person , but they are not the same man . Jacob is the name shaped by striving, failure, manipulation, and survival. Israel is the name God gave after the wrestling, after the touch, after the transformation. One name carries history. Th...

I grew up in the church, so I understand the desire to be blessed. I want my life to look like it. I want it to feel like it. I want the fruit, the peace, the stability, the joy— all of it . That desire isn’t wrong. What was missing for a long time was clarity about what the blessing is actually for —and even more importantly, who the reward really is . The Apostle Paul says something that still feels shocking if we slow down long enough to hear it. In Philippians 3:8 , he says he counts everything as loss— as dung —compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ . Not serving Him. Not being used by Him. Not receiving things from Him. Knowing Him . Jesus says something just as disruptive when He defines eternal life. Eternal life, He says, is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent ( Gospel of John 17:3 ). Not going somewhere when we die. Not achieving spiritual status. Knowing God . That reframes everything. A lot of us—especially those raised in church—were taug...