Embrace the Within no. 70

"We run for Him—for Christ’s glory and for the honor of His name. We run for the advancement of His kingdom."

Joseph M. Stowell

There is no law but the law that comes from God. This whole idea of natural law makes no sense. Nature is filled with so many wonderfully amazing and tremendously beautiful things BUT it is also touched with the brokenness and decay and death that humanity brought into the world. Nature is not immune to the imperfection that now plagues this earth in its temporal existence.

We no longer live in the Garden. We are out here wandering in the Wilderness on this side of eternity. We can see the path to the Kingdom of God before us BUT we cannot enter into that Kingdom just yet. That does not make the Kingdom of God any less real. That does not exempt me from being an ambassador for the Kingdom right now. My admittance to the Kingdom is not a prerequisite for being a representative of The Way of the Lord here in this broken place.

I am not looking to nature to get me through this journey. Nature is fallen and broken as well. BUT one day both humanity and nature will be reconciled to that Garden again. No longer will death be a part of nature’s plan. No longer will plants wither. No longer will animals be taken for food. No longer will I have to prepare my garden for winter. I might still have to tend the plants BUT I will not have to contend with weeds and frost. It’s going to be a great time on the earth that is no longer encumbered with the weight of sin and death.

I look forward to so many adventures and conversations and reunions in that world to come BUT I focus on the time at hand. The Kingdom of God is all around us. It is in the assembly of those who follow The Way of the Lord. As His representatives at this time on this earth, we are to embody the ideals of the Kingdom for all.

Maybe that is going to take some metacognitive reflection today. Some consideration on whether I am being an ambassador of the Kingdom or just someone that thinks my salvation makes me better? Am I living love for YHWH and my neighbor? Am I looking out for widows and orphans? Am I a friend to the stranger? Am I working on living His Way?

I can’t serve two nations. I don’t have dual citizenship. I am an ambassador for the Kingdom of God.

Shavua tov. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #NoKingButChrist #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH #GodKnows

Embrace the Within no. 69

"I had surveyed the danger, measured the obstacles, and counted the cost, and consider[ed] none of them sufficient to cancel the command, ‘Go ye into all the world.’"

Jacob Chamberlain

We are called to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. We are foreigners in this land that we travel for such a brief amount of eternity. We are not of this land, this country, this state, this community, or this people. We have a calling to represent the Kingdom. We are the ambassadors for the Kingdom of God that is all around us BUT people fail to see that Kingdom. And that is the failure of our ambassadorship.

How can we be ambassadors to this world if we are working too acclimate to the customs and ways of this world, this country, this state, this community, or this people? We simply cannot serve two masters. We cannot be both ambassadors to this world and daily conform to the expectations of this world. It is time to embrace our higher calling and to act like the image bearers, to act like the messengers, to act like the ambassadors we are to become. The time is now to spread the word of the Kingdom of God that is here and available now. The time is now to fulfill the commandment, “Yeshua [God is Salvation] drew near to them and said to them: ‘All power has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go and make disciples, of all the nations, to believe in my name and teach them to observe all the words which I have commanded you, forever’”(Matthew 28:18-20 NMV).

The Kingdom of God is not a promise for tomorrow. The reign of God is not a promise for tomorrow. The reign of God enthroned is a reality yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The Kingdom of God is a reality available to us through the sacrifice of Christ and the promise of our salvation and redemption. The Kingdom of God is available right now. It has always been right now and it will always be right now.

So, let’s go out and be ambassadors of that Good News. Let’s spread the Good News that we are able to bring to God all that troubles us and He has all the power to help and make whole. Let’s spread the Good News of The Way of the Lord. “From then on Yeshua [God is Salvation] began to preach and to say: ‘Turn you in repentance for the Kingdom of heaven is here’” (Matthew 4:17 NMV).

Shavua tov. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #NoKingButChrist #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH #GodKnows