Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 8

“Do not let what you know to be good, be spoken of as bad; for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh . Anyone who serves the Messiah in this fashion both pleases God and wins the approval of other people. So then, let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding” (Romans (Rom) 14:16-19). I get to choose how the world sees Jesus. And I get to make that choice daily. I can choose whether to let my love for God and neighbor win out or whether I let my love of my self win out. And in America where personal accountability and personal achievement and personal freedom are all too often used as excuses for being selfish, I have to make the choice of being selfless. And that is really difficult in the midst of a selfish society.

I am a selfish person. I too often want to live my life on my own terms regardless of what damage that might have to my family, my community, and The Church. I don’t want to obey worldly authority. I don’t want to be a good servant to others. I don’t want to give of my self. Doing that is exhausting. Doing that gets me no recognition. Doing that gets me taken for granted. Being selfless is not going to make me rich or famous or popular. It is often going to make me poor and forgotten and ridiculed. And isn’t that the point?

I like to say that God has a plan. BUT too often that plan is too difficult for me in its simplicity. It isn’t that I can’t be selfless. It is that I don’t want to be selfless. It is much easier, much more acceptable, much more gratifying to be selfish. In a world full of selfish people, it is far too easy to make the same choice to be selfish. It is far too easy to do exactly what the Goyim are doing and align myself with their values. To act like a selfish person is not only easy BUT also valued in my culture.

And that is why I need to serve The Christ in both a way that serves God and serves my neighbor. I don’t get to serve me. And most of my life has been about me. Sure there have been moments of service BUT all too often it has always been about me. And that is what needs to change in my heart. I need a service heart rather than a sinful heart. I need a selfless heart rather than a selfish heart. I need a heart that wants what is best for others. I need a heart in service to my family, my community, and The Church. God called me to be part of a relationship with Him and with others. He wants to restore ALL the relationships in my life. He isn’t only bringing a restoration to Him. He brings restoration to ALL relationships. And that is only going to happen when I choose to deny self, take up the cross, and follow Him obediently. And that means really taking the first part, denying self, seriously. How can I build up others today for His Kingdom? That is all part of His plan.

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. 7

“Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves — look out for each other’s interests and not just for your own” (Philippians (Php) 2:3-4). I was thinking yesterday about the whole idea of hating the sin BUT loving the sinner. And how often it is easy for us to love the sinner that we are while hating the sinner that someone else is. Too often I focus on the sin of other folks rather than focusing on my own sin. And that is definitely part of the problem with my walk at times. It is way too easy to set my focus outward on the sins of the Goyim or of the short-comings and failures of my brothers and sisters while overlooking my own sins and failures. “If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing. If we claim we have not been sinning, we are making him out to be a liar, and his Word is not in us” (1 Yochanan (1 Jo) 1:8-10).

Too often I want to advocate against the sins of others and neglect to work on my own sins and failures. And what I need the Spirit to do is work on aligning me to a right relationship. I can’t save others. I can’t even save me. God does all the saving. And the Spirit that dwells inside me needs to continue to work at getting me into alignment with Him. Too often I get concerned with the sins of the world when I should really be concerned with the sins of me. At least there I have some input and control over what God is going to do in my life. That input and control is obedience and faithfulness to His commands. That input and control is pledging allegiance to Him. Looking at everyone else’s sins is a form of vanity that elevates myself above others. I should know that I need a lot of work and that I need to get that work done in harmony with Him. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things” (Galatians (Gal) 5:22-23).

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