Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 39

“No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things — as we have explained to you before at length. For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh , which is his” (1 Thessalonians (1 Th) 4:6-8). You don’t see a lot of folks quoting the letters to Thessalonica, so I figured to give it a shot today as I just finished that letter yesterday in the latest translation I am reading. And this selection from the letter is a good reason to pick up the first letter because it gives some prudent advice about how Christians should act. It seems that the folks in Thessalonica needed some reminding about not wronging their brothers and sisters and that doing wrong makes us unclean. I mean, He did say to love God and to love your neighbor. And He does have a lot to say about the importance of doing good for one another and not doing wrong. So, rejecting the call to love our brothers, our neighbors, our enemies, is rejecting the love of God. That’s rejecting the Spirit of God.

That is something so heavy in its simplicity that I often fail to consider it. Loving others is how I show the world that I love God. And there can never be enough love. I am totally fixed on love right now. I have been fixed on this idea of love for a while now. I once told my pastor, “I don’t know how folks can be so worried about prophecy. I am still working on loving God and loving my neighbor. When I get that worked out, then I can worry about end times prophecy.” And I am still working on loving God through loving my neighbor.

Honestly, I think a lot of us need to spend a lot more time worrying about loving than we do about what happens when Jesus returns. I think we should worry about the love part because it is vitally important to what happens when Jesus returns. And rather than sitting around trying to map prophecy onto media reports, maybe we should be living out His command to love God and neighbor? I don’t know, BUT it sounds like something He would want. I don’t recall Jesus worrying about the prophecy. He was busy loving people and the prophecy was fulfilled according to His Plan. And I think the same can be true for us. Rather than worrying about His Plan, we should focus more on doing His Work of loving people. God’s Plan has a way of working itself out regardless. So, let’s focus on love. There is always much more love needed in this world. Let’s work on creating a Kingdom where, “They will never again be hungry, they will never again be thirsty, the sun will not beat down on them, nor will any burning heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them, will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation of Yeshua to Yochanan (Rev) 7:16-17). Let’s love our way to His Kingdom.

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. 37

“God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us valuable and superlatively great promises, so that through them you might come to share in God’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world” (2 Kefa (2 Pe) 1:3-4). Get to know God. I cannot overemphasize knowing God personally. I spent many years in conflict in turmoil because I took the word of other people for who God is rather than finding out for myself.

I still hear people talk about how religion is a tool to keep people enslaved. BUT a relationship with God sets us all free. My relationship allows me to personally know God in my life. And I don’t go to a church to know God, I can go to Him every moment of the day. I can access His throne and His promises at all times. I wake up in the morning and pray. I go to sleep in the evening in prayer. And I spend my day in between focused on living a life in alignment and in right relationship with Him. Do I fail? Do I fall short? Do I stumble? Emphatically yes, I do. BUT I get back up asking for forgiveness and in humility to work out His Way here.

When I started getting serious about knowing God, I sat down to read and study. And here I am still reading and studying. BUT also experiencing a relationship with Him. And though I don’t get how some other folks walk with Him and sometimes I don’t really get where people are walking, I still trust Him to lead me. I deconstructed. I fell away from church. BUT I never lost my relationship with Him. I have gone through a lot with Him. And He has always been patient and kind and forgiving and merciful. He has shown me grace and compassion when I was undeserving of grace and compassion. So, I still choose to walk with Him. BUT I walk the way He wants me and not how others choose to walk.

We all have everything we need to live a life of godliness. We just need to walk with Him today.

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