Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 44

“The righteous desire only good,

but what the wicked hope for brings wrath.

Some give freely and still get richer,

while others are stingy but grow still poorer.

The person who blesses others will prosper;

he who satisfies others will be satisfied himself.

The people will curse him who withholds grain;

but if he sells it, blessings will be on his head.

He who strives for good obtains favor,

but he who searches for evil — it comes to him!

He who trusts in his riches will fall,

but the righteous will flourish like sprouting leaves” (Mishlei (Pro) 11:23-28). What are we working for? I work in a job that is not for getting rich and powerful. Often I and others hear folks complain about the amount of money they make and, for years, I have told those people to find another job. Even when I was not a good follower of Jesus, I knew that there was more to my job than my pay. So often the goals of the world can influence our goals. We can be motivated by wealth and the comfort it brings here on earth. I am never going to say that I am not comfortable or rich in this life. BUT I have always had a foundation that money was simply another tool in life and not a goal.

Jesus talks about folks complaining about the fairness of their wages, “But he answered one of them, ‘Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ Thus the last ones will be first and the first last” (Mattityahu (Mat) 20:13-16). And He gives the greatest example of living a life in service and not concerned with riches on earth, “Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and burglars break in and steal. Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal. For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also” (Mattityahu (Mat) 6:19-21). And yet we still complain much like the young ruler when, “Yeshua said to him, ‘If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!’ But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy. Then Yeshua said to his talmidim , ‘Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God’” (Mattityahu (Mat) 19:21-24).

Is wealth distracting me? Am I too comfortable with the possessions I have? Am I too comfortable with my situation in life? It isn’t going with me. Nothing I have materially is making it through the grave and the fire. All I have is my allegiance to Him. Where are my treasures?

Seek first His Kingdom which rests on the foundation of love.

Grace and Shalom to your home. The Kingdom of God is now!

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #SeekFirstTheKingdom #NotMyWayYHWH

Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 43

“Then Kefa came up and said to him, ‘Rabbi, how often can my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? As many as seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ answered Yeshua, ‘but seventy times seven! Because of this, the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared with a king who decided to settle accounts with his deputies. Right away they brought forward a man who owed him many millions; and since he couldn’t pay, his master ordered that he, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold to pay the debt. But the servant fell down before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ So out of pity for him, the master let him go and forgave the debt. But as that servant was leaving, he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him some tiny sum. He grabbed him and began to choke him, crying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ His fellow servant fell before him and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused; instead, he had him thrown in jail until he should repay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed; and they went and told their master everything that had taken place. Then the master summoned his servant and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt just because you begged me to do it. Shouldn’t you have had pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And in anger his master turned him over to the jailers for punishment until he paid back everything he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts” (Mattityahu (Mat) 18:21-35). Forgiveness is not a suggestion. Forgiveness is not extra credit. Forgiveness is necessary to be like Jesus. And how much forgiveness are we supposed to show? A lot more than we think possible. Peter was probably being generous in suggesting seven times BUT Jesus increases that generosity. God is bountiful in forgiveness and mercy, “How blessed are those who show mercy! for they will be shown mercy” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:7).

Often we forget that our salvation is not something we own. Salvation, sanctification, and restoration are all paths created by the Way of the Lord. We have nothing to offer BUT ourselves. Luckily, that is all He wants, “When they kept questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘The one of you who is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote in the dust again. On hearing this, they began to leave, one by one, the older ones first, until he was left alone, with the woman still there. Standing up, Yeshua said to her, ‘Where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ Yeshua said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Now go, and don’t sin any more’” (Yochanan (Jhn) 8:7-11).

So, let us stop with the condemnation today? Let’s forgive our family, our friends, our neighbors, and our enemies. Not because forgiveness is easy. Not because forgiveness is weakness. BUT because forgiveness is the way that He treats us. If Christian is what I am, then behaving like Jesus is what I should do. And I need to spend a lot more time looking foolish in the eyes of the world than looking like the world to achieve that. What Kingdom do my actions present to others?

Seek first His Kingdom which rests on the foundation of love.

Grace and Shalom to your home. The Kingdom of God is now!

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #SeekFirstTheKingdom #NotMyWayYHWH