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continuing from my last post…

Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.

Anything less is spiritual masturbation.

All life flows out of seeking first His Kingdom. Yet we always fall short and start to worry about getting the money thing right before we do anything about it.

The dishonest manager ends with “Luke 16:13   “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Most of my life I wanted so badly to tie the story to money and the handling of the money. (yup it IS important to handle money wisely, I took and follow the guidelines of Dave Ramsey’s FPU, I really get it. I have owned and operated my own businesses.) But what Kingdom are we part of? Who is our Lord? Who do we serve?

I frequently pray with a man at my church who is convinced that God wants him to give up what he enjoys for the Kingdom. He is financially comfortable and enjoys his hobbies but thinks God wants him to abandon it. Like the story of the rich young ruler. IF we focus on giving up money we miss the whole point of the gospel. We have a new Lord, It is not about the money at all, unless of course it is getting in your way. I would bet that if he gave it up, God would give it to him anyway.

When I worked for a very wealthy man, he became convicted and decided to die a pauper. So he started selling all his assets, including his company that I worked for. Yet here 20 years later he is wealthier then when he began and he is still giving money away.

My son is in seminary and asked me the following question in an email…”Could there be a connection between monetary debt and spiritual warfare? We have talked in class some about the sorts of “legal” aspects of the spirit realm which are followed by spiritual beings. So my thought on debt is related to that discussion.”

I replied “yes” he and I have been talking about debt as spiritual warfare for a while. But even in debt it is about who you serve. The loud voice distracts us from the whisper. The debt demon takes our ears off of God. That is the real battle.

Seeking first the Kingdom, however says there is a new way to be supplied, a new way to seek provision, a new way to handle life. I have a budget, I have paid off debt, I have increased my giving, savings etc. Take your mind off of money, it is not the point. We will be OK. I still have to do my job well, pay my bills on time, support my family with food clothes and shelter and watch my cash flow/budget to make sure it all happens. But in the Kingdom there is a higher law. In the Kingdom there is a new King in town and he said “repent for the kingdom of Heaven is a hand!”

Matt. 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

. . . it has not yet been revealed what we shall be . . . —1 John 3:2

“Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life—gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring…
As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God—it is only believing our belief about Him…
But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, “. . . believe also in Me” (John 14:1), not, “Believe certain things about Me”. Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in—but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.” Oswald

There is a lot of peace that comes when you finally give up. Give up your concern for tomorrow. I am not there yet, but I clearly see the path. Entering His rest is entering His rule and reign, Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Is. 30:15   This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

We walk by faith, not by sight —2 Corinthians 5:7

Seeking FIRST His Kingdom is the point of the gospel…

Rethinking the Gospel Frank Viola

“As a young Christian, I was taught that the gospel is a plan—”the plan of salvation.” Some Bible teachers used to frame that plan into “Four Spiritual Laws” and “The Romans Road.”

In the first-century Roman world, however, the word “gospel” was used to describe the announcement that a new emperor had taken the throne. “Heralds” would be “sent” throughout the Roman Empire to announce this “good news.”

Their message was, “We have a new emperor. His name is Tiberius Caesar, adjust your life and bow the knee.” Interestingly, the Roman emperor was also called “Savior” and “Lord” and was regarded as the one who would establish “peace” in the Empire.

In addition, the Roman emperor was expected to bring justice, peace, prosperity, and blessings to the world. He was also called “Pontifex Maximus” which means “chief priest.” The Romans also believed that when an emperor ascended into heaven, he was enthroned as being divine. Thus the emperor (at his death) was also called “son of God.”

Consequently, when the apostles (“sent ones”) used the term “gospel” and declared that Jesus was now the Lord and Savior of the world, it was a direct affront to the Roman hierarchy, especially Caesar (see Acts 17:7, as an example). The believing Jews no doubt connected the gospel-preaching of the apostles to Isaiah’s prophecy—a proclamation that God Himself was now reigning in the Person of Jesus (see Isa. 52:7)….”

Frank Viola’s Blog

IT IS GOOD NEWS!

Yes, I am shouting.

To be continued…

Posted in thinking

The Kingdom of God is not always comfortable. Nor does the rule of God always seem reasonable, if we look at it through the lenses of what we think we understand. Reading the scriptures as an American in the 21st Century with all the cultural baggage is just about impossible. IF we try and bring what we read into what we understand as reality rather then reading it as people of the light.

be shrewd

Luke 16:1   Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

Luke 16:3   “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg — 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

Luke 16:5   “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

Luke 16:6   “‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

Luke 16:7   “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

Luke 16:8   “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Luke 16:10   “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

IF you stop here, and look at this set of verses from a 21st century American perspective, you think, “well then my worldly wealth must be kept secure and safe. Invest wisely and treat assets in such a way that they make maximum gain. Throw this bastard in jail, what’s going on here?

If you stop here you miss the point of the story.

Luke 16:13   “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

You cannot serve both God and Money.

MONEY IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS STORY, if you serve money (mammon), then your worldly wealth becomes your master, and the story looks like it is celebrating cheating. My first reaction to this story was to focus on the manager’s apparent theft of the masters assets. Most of my working life has been as a manager of someone else’s assets. Naturally I would focus on the bottom line and making sure my employer had the best return on the management of whatever keeps us in business. I know my current boss reads my posting occasionally, but I am not going to be careful here, because if I am careful I won’t make my point.

Much the same can be said of what most people conclude from the Parable of the Talents: Matt. 25:28   “‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. We assume it is talking about investment and interest. That’s what I was taught in “Sound Christian Financial Principals” class. In reality (Kingdom Reality) You cannot out give God, I’ve tried, He wins. The more you give the more you get, the more you give.

So, how does serving God come into play? We give it lip service. We teach lessons on faith, we frame faith so it is comfortable, we even spell faith R I S K. Yet never really take one.

Money does not matter as a Lord, it matters as a tool. Yet too many of us, me included, only think we don’t serve it. Just try, what makes you afraid? That is what you serve. Famine, foreclosure, debt, bill collectors, profit and loss, inventory shrinkage, the worthiness of the beggar. What? Buying groceries, clothes, a car???

Jesus says in response: “Repent”- Change your thinking, for the KINGDOM of God is at hand.

Rom. 12:1   Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Mark 10:29   “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

This present age or the age to come? you choose, right now, today, this minute. Who do you serve?

Really?

We are people of , THE “Age to come” who live in the present age but are ruled by a different Lord.

You cannot serve both God and Money.

Yup, we gotta deal with money, but not serve it. This is the paradox. Money is a powerful master who is difficult to shake.

Matt. 6:25   “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Matt. 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We enter into Sabbath (rest) and Jubilee (forgiveness), we forgive debt, we move boundary stones back to their original places. Knowing full well our Lord will take care of our needs.

A bigger plot of ground meant more to eat more wealth, so to move the boundary stones meant we need to trust God.

Psa. 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

What are the things of the age to come? The KINGDOM OF GOD. Who we serve.

Rev. 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

BUT

Mark 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. KJV

Savor is a good word. Think about it in the context of my topic…

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world

Don’t let the world conform….squeeze you into it’s mold.

If you don’t know who you are it is easy to conform. BUT be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”

transformed in greek = the unchangeable am. from ever changing to who you truly are. Part of the I AM.

As a result, in The Kingdom, The Lord watches over us and takes care of us and our needs. We can trust Him implicitly and completely, we can risk trusting Him because he is trustworthy.

We seek after what is good.

Phil. 4:8   Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.

Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.

Rev. 10:6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!

Rev. 22:5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Live as people of the Light for that is who you are.

Believe it
AMEN.

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http://www.homelessguide.com/?view=mosaic

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Bill Johnson
Religion idolizes concepts and avoids personal experience.

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Wimber-”Remember, there’s only 1 ministry. And its always His we serve, not our own..”

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“Spirit is the loving, self-communicating, out-fanning and out-pouring presence of the eternal divine life of the triune God” Moltman

Ex. 33:14   The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27).

You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents-burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose-the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice . . . to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life? Oswald

“ and He set me on fire and I’m burning alive, with His breath in my lungs. I am coming undone, and I can not hold it in and remain composed….”

“You are my joy, you are my joy, you are my joy, you are my joyyyyyyyy.”
Crowder

Christian Anarchism

“Remember anarchism is not anarchy. The latter is chaos. The former is about good people freely choosing to collaborate in a caring way in the interest of creating a better tomorrow.” Ari W.

“Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.” Oswald

SOZO= saved, delivered made whole-made one.

It really is very simple.

John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

Christian anarchy is doing the unthinkable and at times what seems unreasonable no matter what the cost. Freely give grace, freely love one another without cost. This is Sabbath, this is Jubilee. This is the Kingdom of God.

All that is left is gold, once He removes the dross.

Back to Elisha;

1Kings 19:21   So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

Burn the equipment, cook the meat, feed the people.

God always takes care of the rest. Trust Him.

Luke 12:29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.

“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? …
Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
MARK 8:19,20

When you’re going through a crisis of faith, it’s not easy to remember the faithfulness of the Lord. How quickly we forget the previous victories and the former blessings.

Jesus wants us to remember. Keeping a spiritual journal or prayer diary is a good way to remember just how far the Lord has brought us and just how much He has done for us. Our circumstances may change, but He never changes! He is always faithful.

Remember the loaves and do the math, Jesus says. When you do, you will see this simple truth: the fewer loaves you start out with, the more people I can feed. My Power is strongest when you are at your weakest.”

Source: “Why Do You Call Me Lord?” by Chip Brogden

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