Entering God’s kingdom

By: Alistair Begg – September 14, 2026.

Key points

• Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. – John 3: 5.
• Security breach at IHL affecting Office of Financial Aid occurred Monday, not Thursday when IHL created it known.
• General Atomics confirmed second expansion this year, bringing 125 more jobs to Shannon.
• Mississippi coach Pete Golding intends to eradicate erratic play in Week 2 against Charlotte.
• When we read the Gospels, we discover that a sizeable part of Jesus' ministry involved preaching the good news of God's kingdom.

When we read the Gospels, we discover that a sizeable part of Jesus' ministry involved preaching the good news of God's kingdom. He traveled through towns and villages telling individuals, essentially, There is a kingdom, and I'm the King. You're not in the kingdom yet-but if you'll follow Me, you will be the King's subject and a citizen of the kingdom.

When we pray "Your kingdom come" (Luke 11: 2), therefore, our desire should be that men and women would be brought into Christ's kingdom by new birth-that they would become committed followers of Jesus. We pray for those who live in rebellion against God to be "delivered. From the domain of darkness and transferred. To the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Colossians 1: 13). Jesus created it perfectly clear that the only way to enter into His kingdom is by this new birth.

Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus in John 3 underscores this truth. Nicodemus was a religious man, a man of authority and influence-and yet he was still restless, still seeking. As he engaged Jesus in conversation, Jesus pointed out the necessary prerequisite for both seeing and entering His kingdom: to be born again by the Spirit. This new birth is brought regarding, He stated, not by nature but since of God's Spirit working a miracle in the human heart. No one is able to enter the kingdom without Him working in them; no one is too far away from the kingdom for Him to work in them.

When we pray for God's kingdom to come, we are asking for eyes to be opened and ears to be unstopped so that men and women may be born again. The King is coming to usher in His everlasting kingdom, and the King is at work today by His Spirit to bring men and women into that kingdom. Until the day of our King's return, may your awareness of the way individuals enter Christ's kingdom produce increasing wonder over your own conversion and a burning passion to pray that the Spirit would do what only He can in the hearts of the lost.

Regarding the Author(s).

Alistair Begg has been in pastoral ministry since 1975. After graduation from The London School of Theology, he served eight years in Scotland at both Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church. In 1983, he became the senior pastor at Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio. He has written a number of books and is heard daily and weekly on the radio program, Truth For Life. His Daily Devotionals are presented here via a syndication agreement. Faith Alistair Begg September 10, 2026. Welcome at His table.

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Taken together, the developments around entering God’ s kingdom point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.