Matthew 4:23 KJV - And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Matthew 6:10 AMP - Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I have been very ME focused for some time and recently came to one of those important moments in life where you have to make a quality decision to go for it or to shrink back. In that moment I asked God to show what I needed to see to move forward with him because I was done trying to do this thing in my own strength and He showed me Matthew 6:33. I was instructed to seek first the Kingdom.
Ok, great, what exactly does that mean? Well, then other scriptures started jumping out at me that highlighted what the Kingdom reality is all about. The importance of the Kingdom as higlighted in Matthew 4:23 - so important that it was one of the main things Jesus taught on in his earthly ministry. I began seeing all of these different facets of the Kingdom every day and began considering the Kingdom in different areas of my life.
First in my involvement at church, I looked at God's plans and purposes for my church home and started to see my heart knit back in with my church family and mission that we have there. Next, I looked at God's plans and purposes for my wife and kids and have started becoming a more loving encouraging husband and dad. After that I look at my friends and even some where relationships have been strained and I'm seeing restoration and hearts being knit together and I now view them and our relationship in a new way.
Matthew 6:33 out of the The Message Bible says it this way, "Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." I really like the concept of steeping your life in God-reality - Wow, that is good!
I'm going to expound on this over the next several days. Know this though, if you want to start steeping in God-reality, no better place than spending time in God's Word. Making a commitment to reading a chapter from the New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb every day is a great place to start. Set your alarm for thirty minutes earlier than normal and make it a great way to start your day.
Footnotes from Biblegateway:
- Matthew 6:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 6:33 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation.
- Matthew 6:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
No comments:
Post a Comment