Seek First The Kingdom of God no. 13

“The beginning of the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God” (Mark (Mrk) 1:1). Last year, I made a commitment to read The Bible from cover to cover. And that meant reading several versions to read everything that is in the majority of Bibles today. I succeeded in that reading last year and read several different translations. And one thing that really stood out was the way it differs from the way I was raised to think about The Bible. I was raised to think that God’s good news was all about me and my salvation. It was about saving me. BUT after careful consideration, I think that is a rather selfish way to look at what God was doing through both Jesus and the Spirit.

What is the Good News? That is really an essential question to solidify what your testimony and understanding of God are all about. The Good News really is a framework for seeing the world and yourself within the world and your relationship to God. And I think there can be a problem when you are bombarded with biblical Good News and church good news. When your idea of the Good News is that you are important then there is a self-centered aspect of The Bible that makes me feel like I am the protagonist in the story. I get a first person perspective of my importance to the events and the action. BUT The Bible is mainly third person accounts of what other folks did. Sure, there are some second person epistles imploring folks of what to do BUT the bulk of the writing is by a narrator that is observing the action. That narrator stands aloof and mostly reports the events with little bias.

So, after reading The Bible several times over the past nearly two years in several translations, I am rather certain the Good News is more about what God did through Jesus and the Spirit than it is about me.

Jesus was out preaching the Good News before I was born. He was preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God a long time before any of us were born, “After Yochanan had been arrested, Yeshua came into the Galil proclaiming the Good News from God: ‘The time has come, God’s Kingdom is near! Turn to God from your sins and believe the Good News’” (Mark (Mrk) 1:14-15). In order to find the Kingdom of God I need to repent or turn from my sins and believe the Good News. Not my good news, BUT the Good News. I need to believe the Good News. I am not the Good News. The Good News is not about me. The Good News is about Him. So, the Good News isn’t about me. Isaiah talks about good news way before Jesus arrives physically on the scene, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, proclaiming shalom , bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation and saying to Tziyon, ‘Your God is King’” (Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 52:7)! Isaiah announces salvation and that God is King. That sounds like Good News. The Good News is going to have to be heard and it is going to cause me problems, “But you, watch yourselves! They will hand you over to the local Sanhedrin s, you will be beaten up in synagogues, and on my account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. Indeed, the Good News has to be proclaimed first to all the Goyim . Now when they arrest you and bring you to trial, don’t worry beforehand about what to say. Rather, say whatever is given you when the time comes; for it will not be just you speaking, but the Ruach HaKodesh . Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death; and everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered” (Mark (Mrk) 13:9-13). I need to tell everyone the Good News. And Paul tells the Good News, “As for us, we are bringing you the Good News that what God promised to the fathers, he has fulfilled for us the children in raising up Yeshua, as indeed it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ And as for his raising him up from the dead, to return to decay no more, he said, ‘I will give the holy and trustworthy things of David to you.’ This is explained elsewhere: ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ For David did indeed serve God’s purposes in his own generation; but after that, he died, was buried with his fathers and did see decay. However, the one God raised up did not see decay. Therefore, brothers, let it be known to you that through this man is proclaimed forgiveness of sins! That is, God clears everyone who puts his trust in this man, even in regard to all the things concerning which you could not be cleared by the Torah of Moshe. Watch out, then, so that this word found in the Prophets may not happen to you: ‘You mockers! Look, and marvel, and die! For in your own time, I am doing a work that you simply will not believe, even if someone explains it to you’” (Acts of Emissaries of Yeshua (Act) 13:32-41). So go out and spread His Good News.

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. 11

“Two are better than one, in that their cooperative efforts yield this advantage: if one of them falls, the other will help his partner up — woe to him who is alone when he falls and has no one to help him up. Again, if two people sleep together, they keep each other warm; but how can one person be warm by himself? Moreover, an attacker may defeat someone who is alone, but two can resist him; and a three-stranded cord is not easily broken” (Kohelet (Ecc) 4:9-12). Community is important for humans. Community is one of the main reasons we are able to survive in this world. God gave humanity the gift of family. His Church expands on that family by making us all family. Our church family should be a better example of the secular family.

I am a Christian, a son, a husband, and a father. I know a little bit about family. I grew up in a family both at my home and in my church. A lot of my church was my literal family as well as my spiritual family. And that meant that I got to know them rather well over the first two decades of my life. That time allowed me to see some of the greatness of spiritual family and some of the worst of spiritual family. And I spent another couple decades reconciling my experience with what I knew about God and His plan.

And I have to admit, I didn’t really know too much about God and His plan after spending my life growing up in church. What I did know is that family can hurt as much as they can heal. And I still see that now in returning to church. The gift of family is a tool of creation or destruction. I have seen family build each other up and tear each other down. I have seen family accept and love one another and reject and hate one another. So, I can very easily see why folks give up on family. BUT God hasn’t given up on family.

Family is essential to God’s plan. He created woman because man shouldn’t be alone. He wants us to be fruitful and multiply. And He reconciles us to Him in a family of believers. Family should be all about love and strength and encouragement and grace and mercy. Family is a great place to foster and nourish the fruit of the Spirit. Too often though, we get too familiar and too accustomed to each other and that leads to contempt and anger and a sinful heart of destruction. BUT it should not be like that for us. Yet, often it is.

Family fails us at times because, ultimately, family is made up of broken humans. BUT we have no other way forward. Too often I give up on God’s plan and look for something better. BUT there is no other plan that is better or perfect. And even though imperfect humans make up a family, family is still our best way forward. And family is only as strong as our forgiveness. “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’”(Mattityahu (Mat) 18:21-22)!

Today I pray that our hearts are forgiving and patient with the imperfection of others and, most importantly, the imperfection of ourselves. Forgiveness is something I need to practice to show love to God and my neighbor.

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