Embrace the Within no. 215

“Beloved friends, let us love one another; because love is from God; and everyone who loves has God as his Father and knows God. Those who do not love, do not know God; because God is love. Here is how God showed his love among us: God sent his only Son into the world, so that through him we might have life” (1 Yochanan (1 Jo) 4:7-9). God is love. So, what is love?

“Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not gloat over other people’s sins but takes its delight in the truth. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. Love never ends; but prophecies will pass, tongues will cease, knowledge will pass” (1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:4-8).

Why is love important?

“I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith — enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing. I may give away everything that I own, I may even hand over my body to be burned; but if I lack love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:1-3).

It’s not whether or not our theology is right. It’s not about whether we go to the right church. It’s not about even if we go to church. It’s about love. And it will be easy to notice if we are acting in love or not. “But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean. For out of the heart come forth wicked thoughts, murder, adultery and other kinds of sexual immorality, theft, lies, slanders. . . . These are what really make a person unclean, but eating without doing n’tilat-yadayim does not make a person unclean” (Mattityahu (Mat) 15:18-20). Our words and our deeds reveal our heart. So patience, kindness, humility, service, trust, hope, and endurance are all signs of our righteousness and cleanliness. The other signs reveal our heart as unclean and unrighteous. “'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things” (Galatians (Gal) 5:22-23).

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People are Not Easy to Love no. 34

“They shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Put him to death on the stake!’ Pilate said to them, ‘You want me to execute your king on a stake?’ The head cohanim answered, ‘We have no king but the Emperor’” (Yochanan (Jhn) 19:15). The controversial thing about Jesus being our king was that Caesar was not. BUT how often is Caesar and Rome still the politics and allegiance with which the church concerns itself. People are not easy to love because they follow their Emperor and not the King.

No King But Christ. It is easy to say. A slogan that should be important. BUT how often do I enter churches that are more occupied with Babylonian or Roman allegiance and not His Kingdom allegiance. He is our King so we should be interested in His Kingdom. BUT folks are consistently worried about all types of things that should not concern us if Jesus is our king.

We should not worry or fear what is going on in Babylon or Rome as long as we are assured in His Kingdom and His sovereignty. So, I pledge my allegiance not to a flag BUT Jesus. I pray to God and not to a sky cloth. I support His Kingship and not the division of politics and partisanship. I take His Kingdom seriously because His Kingdom is the only answer to all the problems in Babylon and Rome.

We do have a problem with politics and government in this world. And that problem is that we don’t take our King more seriously than the Emperors of the world. We should treasure His Kingdom like He describes it, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field” (Mattityahu (Mat) 13:44). Too often we no longer, “‘. . . 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 . And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot” (Mattityahu (Mat) 22:37-40). We need daily to deny our self, pick up our cross, and follow Him, not a nation, a president, a politician, or a party.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH