No King BUT Christ no. 4

“Those who keep sowing in the field of their old nature, in order to meet its demands, will eventually reap ruin; but those who keep sowing in the field of the Spirit will reap from the Spirit everlasting life. So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don’t give up, we will in due time reap the harvest” (Galatians (Gal) 6:8-9). Daily I have a choice of not where my day will lead BUT who will lead me through that day. I can rely on my own understanding or I can listen to Him.

I enjoy the agrarian metaphors in The Bible. The idea that I can sow the field of my old ways or sow in the field of Spirit is a metaphor that I can readily imagine. When the plague hit and I started sowing out of fear, a lot of my seeds didn’t grow. Some of those seeds began to grow and the crop was eaten by rabbits and deer. That first sowing was not very successful BUT it didn’t stop me from planting again. And this time, I planted with a purpose. I expanded my garden boxes and my efforts and sowed a lot more. If I would have relied on my success from the first sowing to influence whether I was going to sow again, then I wasn’t going to find anything promising or rewarding about my efforts. BUT I trusted in the process of expanding my garden and protecting my garden.

I was not tired of doing the right thing. I did not give up. I continued planting and began reaping the rewards of planning and perseverance. So, just like my determination to be successful in planting, I was dedicated to being successful in my change during the plague. Fixing my body and mind were not simple tasks BUT I continued with sowing a better future by working on each day. I persevered through the commitment to working out physically. I persevered through giving up poisoning my body. I persevered through studying about Him. I persevered through all the temptations to just quit and go back to the rut I had carved out as a life. The point is that I did not, “. . . grow weary of doing what is good”. And because I continued making positive changes, I did “reap the harvest”.

The power of changing my routine to take time to exercise each morning, read the Word, and pray have made all the difference in declaring who is going to lead my day.

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 #NotMyWayYHWH

No King BUT Christ no. 3

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God’s only and unique Son” (Yochanan (Jhn) 3:16-18). God did not send Jesus to judge the world but to save the world. How much less am I to judge the world?

The world is a mess BUT Jesus offers salvation. That is the Good News? Right? Remember the Good News? Jesus was walking around and spreading the Good News of the Kingdom of God. He wasn’t spreading bad news. He wasn’t telling folks they were already judged. He wasn’t professing condemnation. Jesus was offering a hand up by coming down to us. Am I coming down off my horse of religion to help offer a hand to the lost? Is my example a light upon a hill or a stumbling block?

I am not Jesus. You are not Jesus. He alone is Jesus. I may be trying to walk in His example, an example I will not attain because He is God. BUT a lot of folks like to compare their actions to His.

Jesus did this and Jesus did that. Are you walking on water? He did that too. Are you healing the sick? He did that too. Did you die and ascend to the right hand of the Father? He did that too. Looking to Jesus as an example is great until we start to put ourselves in His place. If you want to judge folks, go around and judge your fellow Christians and not the world. I constantly need reproving and redirection. I constantly miss the mark that He set. Or maybe turn that judgmental eye to the beam in your own eye as well? I definitely can use some reflection on where I fall short of His glory.

Remember that He is our King and we are not Him. He called us to spread the Good News of His Kingdom. “Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness” (Mattityahu (Mat) 4:23).

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 #NotMyWayYHWH