Serve One Another in Love no. 2

“Finally, all of you, be one in mind and feeling; love as brothers; and be compassionate and humble-minded, not repaying evil with evil or insult with insult, but, on the contrary, with blessing. For it is to this that you have been called, so that you may receive a blessing. For ‘Whoever wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, turn from evil and do good, seek peace and chase after it. For Adonai keeps his eyes on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of Adonai is against those who do evil things’”(1 Kefa (1 Pe) 3:8-12). Loving people is difficult. Anyone that says the way of love is easy truly hasn’t tried to love people. A lot of people make it truly difficult to love them.

Often when you give folks love, the love you give will be returned with an insult, a curse, a harsh word, or even violence. BUT loving one another is what we are called to do despite the reaction of the other.

And this is where we see the difference between a Christian and a nonChristian, “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” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:46-47)! Folks are out there “matching energy” and “cutting people off” and that is not how it is to be with us. Folks are out there turning backs on their family and their enemies, that is not how it is to be with us. Radically loving one another is something the world notices because it is something the world does not understand.

The world understands hatred, insults, snarkiness, and violence. The world wants us to talk in the language it understands. The world will go low and try to take you with them. BUT we are sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters of the King, so we need to act out of His indwelling Spirit of love. “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” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:44-45). “But for now, three things last — trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:13).

Serve His Kingdom by serving one another in 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 #ServeOneAnotherIn Love #NotMyWayYHWH

Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 45

“Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim , immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh , and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age’” (Mattityahu (Mat) 28:18-20). Talmidim or disciple is not someone that believes something. A disciple is someone that knows the teaching so well that they go out and teach the teaching as well. The disciple goes out and becomes so much like the teacher that the rabbi and talmid do exactly the same things. The disciple and the teacher live out the examples of the same teaching.

Jesus is not only with us as the Spirit indwelling within us, Jesus is also with us as the example we live. I would be a horrible teacher if I did not live out the importance of what I teach. I take seriously the job of reading and understanding. Even before I was walking as a Christian well, I took the time to study and research and read and learn. Now that I am a Christian, I use those skills, those gifts for the glory of His Kingdom. What I learn, I go out and share with the world, Christian and nonChristian.

Living an example of Jesus is not something that should be a secret. Jesus calls us in the Sermon on the Mount to be, “. . . light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:14-16). Like the popular children’s church song reminds us, “Hide it under a bushel - NO!/I'm gonna let it shine” (This Little Light of Mine).

So, I am going to do my best to be an Ambassador of His Kingdom to a world that needs more of Him. The world needs more love, more grace, more mercy, more Jesus. And it is not going to learn about Him if I don’t live that out for others. To make disciples, I have to be a disciple. To be a disciple is to internalize all the teachings of Jesus and live those out every day as Him. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us the importance of a solid foundation in His teaching, “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)! So let’s use that foundation as His disciples, His ambassadors, His brothers and sisters. And let us be the light to the world. Stop living in fear and live boldly for Him.

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