- Nov 11, 2022
- 4 min read
The Lawe of the Lord is perfite, conuerting the soule: the testimonie of the Lord is sure, and giueth wisedome vnto the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right and reioyce the heart: the commandement of the Lord is pure, and giueth light vnto the eyes.
The feare of the Lord is cleane, and indureth for euer: the iudgements of the Lord are trueth: they are righteous altogether,
And more to be desired then golde, yea, then much fine golde: sweeter also then honie and the honie combe.
Moreouer by them is thy seruant made circumspect, and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Who can vnderstand his faultes? clense me from secret fautes.
Keepe thy seruant also from presumptuous sinnes: let them not reigne ouer me: so shall I be vpright, and made cleane from much wickednes.
Let the wordes of my mouth, and the meditation of mine heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalms 19 7-14 GNV
And when hee was demaunded of the Pharises, when the kingdome of God shoulde come, he answered them, and said, The kingdome of God commeth not with obseruation. Neither shall men say, Loe here, or lo there: for behold, the kingdome of God is within you.
Luke 17:20-21 GNV
I do not have all the answers. And today is going to be one of those days when it is painfully obvious that I need to spend some more time in pause and reflection. And that pause and reflection is about the wisdom around the Kingdom of God.
That is why I begin today with a passage from Psalms 19. A lot has been made of the word service. And it is going to be bandied about a lot more today than it typically is in our society. We don’t see a lot of true service. Service is literally being of use to another. Christ lived a life of service. We see a life of service lived by the disciples and apostles after His death and resurrection. We see the servant’s heart of Sha’ul in his letters to others quoted very frequently. Service is at the heart of what makes us followers of the Way of the Lord.
We have a duty to serve our God, our neighbors, and our enemies. What better way to reflect a servant’s heart of love than to serve? We need to be useful to God, our neighbors, and our enemies.
And that is where my struggle today to find the answers begins. Because saying we are servants of the Kingdom of God and living the act of serving the Kingdom of God are two distinctly differing things. We need to be useful to Kingdom of the God and the Way of the Lord. And that is often going to put us out of alignment with the way of the world.
Service of the Kingdom is totally different from service to the world. And there is a distinctly different Spirit involved in serving the Kingdom of God and serving the way of the world. And that is the difference in the way that service, that usefulness is accomplished. And there is a line that is being crossed in our lives to conform to another spirit.
Service of the Kingdom requires that I be an ambassador to, and not a citizen of, the world. And the lines get blurry at times. Churches are getting down into the muck of the world. We are getting down into the muck of the world. And that is exactly where we should be as servants to our neighbors and enemies. The problem lies with letting the muck of the world overcome us or overcoming the muck of the world through Christ. And I think therein lies a lot of danger that folks overlook.
If we are not resolute in our commitment to the Way of the Lord, If we are not firmly entrenched in being ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, If we are not careful in our stewardship and service, then we can find ourselves back in the muck that was washed away by the sacrifice of Christ.
I am never saying to not get down in the muck. We are supposed to be down there helping and serving. I am supposed to be down there being useful. I just want to warn that when we are out of alignment in our minds, our hearts, and our all, that we can find ourselves led astray by the ways of the world.
I know we want to be self righteous and proud and think that will never be my road. But temptation to do wrong is very real in a broken world. I pray we keep our eyes on being useful to the Kingdom of God. I pray that we keep our eyes on the Way of the Lord. I pray that we model true service today.
"We are free to live as citizens of his kingdom or to choose for the kingdom of darkness that stands in opposition to God and his rule. No one can pass off their personal responsibility to someone else - no matter how close the ties may be in this present life. We will each have to give an account to the Judge of All for how we have accepted or rejected him as our lord and savior. "
- Don Schwager
And when Iesus knew it, he said vnto them, Why reason you thus, because ye haue no bread? perceiue ye not yet, neither vnderstande? haue ye your hearts yet hardened? Haue yee eyes, and see not? and haue yee eares, and heare not? and doe ye not remember? When I brake the fiue loaues among fiue thousand, how many baskets full of broken meate tooke ye vp? They said vnto him, Twelue. And when I brake seuen among foure thousande, howe many baskets of the leauings of broken meate tooke ye vp? And they said, Seuen. Then he saide vnto them, Howe is it that ye vnderstand not?
Mark 8:17-21 GNV
Shavua tov. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.