No King BUT Christ no. 1

“I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot” (Sh'mot (Exo) 20:2-6). An idol is something created out of earthly materials that we serve. It is something that has no ability to save or protect us, however, we pledge our love and allegiance to the idol. When Jesus summarizes the Law, He says, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the greatest and most important mitzvah” (Mattityahu (Mat) 22:37-38). So, why are images that take love away from God still parts of American churches?

I think Americans have a sort of blind spot on idolatry when it comes to flags and patriotism. We know that we should have no other Gods before Him, yet so often we allow the representations of other nations to become part of our worship of Him. I pledge my allegiance to Him because He can save my body, my mind, and my spirit. I pledge my allegiance to Him because He saves me. I repent and follow Him and not any image created “in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline”.

I am not a fan of sending mixed messages in our assemblies. There should be nothing that could be a stumbling block. And I think for a lot of Americans, this mixing of national icons into the Kingdom can send mixed messages and cause folks to become unfocused on God. The very presence of these representations of earthly power are at direct odds with His Kingdom. And so introducing them into our sanctuaries gives them an equal standing with Him. I am a little concerned about iconography that is Kingdom related in our churches . . . So how much more concerned should I be about icons of other nations?

So, is there a place for sky cloths in our churches? Is that place the sanctuary? Is that place the front of the sanctuary? Do we need a sky cloth for our Kingdom? Is this idolatry? I think folks should at least consider the role that images within churches play into the message that is being sent about what we are. Are we a church of an earthly nation ruled by other gods or His Kingdom?

“Who can be compared with your people, with Isra’el? What other nation on earth did God set out to redeem and make into a people for himself? You made yourself a reputation by doing for your land things that even for you are great and terrifying, for the sake of your people whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt and from other nations and from their gods. You set up your people for yourself as your people forever; and you, Adonai , became their God” (Sh'mu'el Bet (2 Sa) 7:23-24).

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

People are Not Easy to Love no. 38

“From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, ‘Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near’” (Mattityahu (Mat) 4:17)! Folks always want someone else to change. They may need their neighbor to change or a stranger to change. BUT there is always someone else’s ideas or actions that need to change for folks to get the world they want. And that is the way my life was going for a long time. I had the solution and everyone else needed to figure it all out. That is no way to live and not very Christian. Living a life where everyone else needs to constantly change for you to have the kind of life you want to live, being a victim of the world around you at all times, is not a good idea.

Some folks even want to change God. A lot of biblical stories are all about folks wanting God to change. A lot of our prayers are even asking for God to change. Folks are living a life where they are the victim of God.

Even before I started walking this path with Christ, I could see the truth in biblical teachings. We don’t hurt people. We don’t take their things. We should be charitable. We should love our neighbor. We should help our community. We should help the victimized. We didn’t need any government to do these things. In Galatians Paul lists the gifts of the spirit and how we should act as Christians, “But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (5:22-23 AMP). These are outward signs that we are doing and living the way that God intended.

Have you noticed that it is alright to assault the beliefs of Christians? It even seems like a game any more for folks. That is because Christians can have their beliefs assaulted. We can stand the attack because we have the Truth and the Word to support our lives. We have the ability to either live the fruits or discard the fruits. We can live an example that shows that we are Christ’s or we can choose to falter and fall. We can be a beacon to the broken and the depressed and the lost and the hurting and the folks that are looking for help. Or we can be the stereotypical holier than thou church goer. We get to choose how we act and not how others act. We get to choose change.

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