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- Apr 25, 2006
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Kingdom First (1)
'Seek the kingdom of God above all else' Matthew 6:33
You know when you read a word over and over (and over and over again) it begins to lose its meaning? It can be the same with God's Word. We study it over and over (and over and over again) until we lose what it's really saying to us. Like, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done' (Matt. 6:9-10 NIV). We've repeated those words so many times parrot-fashion that we've somehow lost what they mean. We rattle them off like some kind of spiritual superstitious good luck charm without stopping to think about the meaning.
If we're really serious about God's kingdom coming, and His will be done, then we give God permission to have His way in our lives. Did you get that? His way - not ours. When God says stop, we stop. When God says go, we go. 'Merely hearing God's law is a waste of your time if you don't do what He commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God' (Rom. 2:13 TM).
So when God says we should love our enemies, what do we do? Deconstruct it as a line of poetry or actually do it? Actively care for our rivals? When Jesus tells us to give a gift to those in need, what do we do? Nod along in agreement to this lofty ideal, or do we actually hit our pockets where it hurts and bless the poor?
written by Bob Gass
'Seek the kingdom of God above all else' Matthew 6:33
You know when you read a word over and over (and over and over again) it begins to lose its meaning? It can be the same with God's Word. We study it over and over (and over and over again) until we lose what it's really saying to us. Like, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done' (Matt. 6:9-10 NIV). We've repeated those words so many times parrot-fashion that we've somehow lost what they mean. We rattle them off like some kind of spiritual superstitious good luck charm without stopping to think about the meaning.
If we're really serious about God's kingdom coming, and His will be done, then we give God permission to have His way in our lives. Did you get that? His way - not ours. When God says stop, we stop. When God says go, we go. 'Merely hearing God's law is a waste of your time if you don't do what He commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God' (Rom. 2:13 TM).
So when God says we should love our enemies, what do we do? Deconstruct it as a line of poetry or actually do it? Actively care for our rivals? When Jesus tells us to give a gift to those in need, what do we do? Nod along in agreement to this lofty ideal, or do we actually hit our pockets where it hurts and bless the poor?
written by Bob Gass