People ask me all the time, “What’s your dog’s name?” And I tell them, “Sky”. I named her that as a chance to do one of my favorite teachings. I love teaching people that God’s Kingdom is a “Sky Kingdom”, and her name gives me the chance to speak of that when I explain.

Jesus said for us to set our affections on things “above”, not of this earth. He told us “be not entangled in worldly things”. He said not to store up treasures in barns, but seek first the Kingdom of God. Seek those things which are above.

And one of my favorites is, He said, “Consider the birds.” And when I did, it led to a lot of interesting things. For one thing, I had to consider that birds have wings and can fly. If a bird don’t learn to fly, it won’t live long. God says we are spirit! Not flesh and blood. If we don’t learn to live by our wings, led of the Spirit, we won’t last long. We are not earthbound, but Heaven called.

You also have what I call birds of prey and birds of peace. The white dove is a bird of peace. The eagle, a bird of prey. The Bible speaks highly of the eagle, but it is listed as an unclean bird! (Old Covenant stuff.) Except for bugs and worms maybe, nothing has to die for a dove to live. As far as I could tell, the meat eaters were the unclean birds. It’s not about being vegetarian, it’s a picture of the cravings of the flesh.

Consider the birds, Jesus said. Clean and unclean birds. A great lesson of contentment is found in the story of the Children of Israel in the wilderness. They cried out for meat. They were tired of the mana and craving meat. The first time this happened. (Exodus 16) God brought quail right in the camp. God answered their request and it was blessed, even though they tried to store up more than they were supposed to. We never seem to know when enough is enough. We never seem to be content. The Apostle Paul said he had to “learn” this. We can “learn” to be content. We can “learn” when enough is enough.

The second time God really tested them on this. He did not bring the quail right into their camp. They were like a half day’s journey out. And it says they ran back and forth all that day, all night, and half the next day trying to get as much flesh as they could. They ran like rats in a wheel. They exhausted themselves. (Numbers 11: 30-34)

God judged them, many died, and the place was given a name that means “Graves of the Craving”. I may appear to be a person of low ambition to most people pursuing the American dream. They don’t understand my dream. I believe the supernatural of God works in very simple and humble ways when we learn contentment in all things, and seek first the Kingdom of God. We choose to be Sailboats. We mount up with the wings of the eagle. Our joy does not come from material things. We live smaller so we can fight bigger.

Ever since noticing what happened at the Graves of the Craving, my wife and I always try to ask, “What has God provided in the camp?” If it seems to far outside of the camp, we take it as a sign from God to let it go. Maybe God will move it closer? We will see.

Jesus recommended minimalist ways. Our salvation does not depend on that, but to be a good soldier, a soldier travels light and must not be entangled. He does not seek a comfort zone, but a battlefield. The heavy ship is first to sink. We do not want to end up in a cemetery named The Graves of Cravings.

Of course minimal for me will be different than minimal for you. It’s a relative thing. For many years my wife and I were raising five children. I had to work a lot. And I did not understand what I do now. We are commanded to provide for our family. The minimal for a person with children will be different than someone like me, now retired. But we are led of the Spirit in all things.

I named my beagle, Sky, because I like to be reminded on a daily basis that my Kingdom is a Sky Kingdom, and I can mount up with the wings of the eagle if I learn to wait upon the Lord. That whole verse of Isaiah 40:31 describes something that is completely supernatural. There is no other way to look at it.

So…I hope this inspires someone with a powerful vision of God’s Sky Kingdom, our home, as a vision to live by. To seek those things above, live by our wings and not the flesh, and know what a powerful life we have been called to.

We are birds of peace towards man and birds of prey against evil. The weapons of OUR warfare are not physical, but mighty through God. All we got to do is decide we will live by our spirit rather than the desires of our flesh. We are not earthbound like some. We are Heaven called. God is always calling us upward. To rise above!

Comments are treasured. Differing opinions welcome as long as they are done respectfully towards one and all.