Thy Kingdom Come (The Lord's prayer).

Most of us have a word we use very often. 'Basically' is one I hear a lot, especially from people being interviewed on the radio.

I remember someone telling me at the end of a service that I had said the word 'significant' about five times in my sermon - and I hadn't been aware I'd said it once.

If Jesus had a favourite word it may well have been 'Kingdom'. The Kingdom of God, or of Heaven, was his message, the great truth he had come to reveal.

He didn't just talk about the kingdom - he demonstrated it, in a very important sense - he was it.

"If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then surely the kingdom of God is here," he claimed.

So it is a pity that this word, which Jesus used and valued so much, seems obscure to many readers of the Bible.

When Jesus spoke of ' the kingdom of God' he meant, essentially, where God holds sway, where his rule is absolute. In one sense, of course, God is king of the whole universe, as its creator.

But by his own decision he has given human beings the freedom to 'opt out' of his rule.

He wants us to choose to obey him, to choose to love him. It's a vital part of being human. The kingdom of God is good news.

Being subject to the rule of tyrants like Herod or power crazed emperors like Nero and in our own day the late Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein was obviously bad news.

But to live our lives voluntarily under the rule of the king who loves us and whose only concern is for our ultimate good - that really is good news.

This coming of the kingdom is the hope of the nations of the earth.

Nations will continue to be troubled with wars and rumours of wars until God's kingdom comes.

But under the rule of Jesus Christ, they will turn their destructive weapons into instruments for humankind's welfare. Peace will reign in God's kingdom.

This Weeks Thought: You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long.