Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 41

“You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor — and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:43-48). Do you have someone that bothers you? I think we all do have that one person that knows how to push our buttons. That one person that despite all our best intentions chooses to be our enemy. Maybe we have done things in our past to deserve that sort of response. Maybe we have done nothing to them at all and that is just the life they choose. Regardless, one of the things I take from my life in the past is that we control only our own actions. And that is both liberating and frustrating.

Freedom is liberating in that we are truly able to make our own decisions. And making decisions is a cornerstone of walking as a Christian. Every day I choose to pray or not to pray. I choose to read and study or not. I choose to exercise or not. I choose to eat healthy or not. I choose to live in love or not. I choose to live in peace or not. And no matter what the world may throw my way. No matter what obstacles, situations, or dilemmas come into my path, I have a God that has already won those battles. I just need to claim His victory. Too often folks want to walk around and blame everything on everything else BUT their choices. BUT God shows us there is a way to take ownership and to walk in obedience. And that all involves making a choice. Just like God chose to suffer the pains of this world through His Son, I get to choose to walk in His path or not.

Freedom is frustrating in that I have to live around enslaved folks. It is frustrating to point out shackles and stumbling blocks that I have found along the way to others and just watch them accept them. It is frustrating to see folks fall into traps and pits and snares and then lament that it was God’s fault. God is trying to help us. BUT we have to let Him. He points out a very specific way through Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. I only need to follow. And that can be so frustrating. To see folks stumble over His clear and simple way is frustrating.

Freedom is liberating and frustrating, however, freedom is also the only way to understanding and right relationship with God. As Johnrelates in his Gospel, “Yeshua answered them, ‘Yes, indeed! I tell you that everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain with a family forever, but a son does remain with it forever. So if the Son frees you, you will really be free'”(Yochanan (Jhn) 8:34-36)! Let’s live a life free in the Lord and the indwelling of His Spirit today. Let’s be free to choose His Way, His Kingdom, and His Grace

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. 38

“Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So, when you do tzedakah , don’t announce it with trumpets to win people’s praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! But you, when you do tzedakah , don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you” (Mattityahu (Mat) 6:1-4). Tzedakah is righteousness, charity, or justice. King James translates the word alms, Young’s Literal translation uses kindness, and the New International uses righteousness. BUT tzedakah is our love for another, in this case, shown in deeds. And Jesus warns to not do charitable, righteous, or just things in expectation of glory on earth from the world. Act unselfishly in humility.

Too often in my past I wanted praise for doing the right thing. And I still see that attitude in family and friends and strangers. Folks are seeking praise for their works rather than giving God the glory. And that comes from a lack of humility. The greatness I have is not of my own doing. My greatness is dependent on the grace and mercy and love of God. Too often folks take God out of the equation and look at what they have done as their own doing. BUT thankfulness to God and humility for what He has allowed us to accomplish helps align our perspective with a right relationship with Him.

So, I needed to stop acting like a hypocrite and wanting the praise because there are way too many hypocrites out there to add one more to the mix. Become based on the foundation of Jesus. As Jesus warns later in His Sermon, “So, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on bedrock. The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed — and its collapse was horrendous” (Mattityahu (Mat) 7:24-27)! A solid foundation, a base on principles outlined by Jesus on how to live are the key components of a life of tzedakah, righteousness, justice, charity. I need to listen to these instructions because He also warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we expel demons in your name? Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’ Then I will tell them to their faces, ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Mattityahu (Mat) 7:21-23)! And too often we forget that our actions speak louder than our words. Our actions reveal what we truly value. What I do in private says more about my character than the carefully cultivated persona I portray for the world online and in person. What I do is what I believe. And my actions should help bring about tzedakah with humility.

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