Tag: Kingdom

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Measured Uniquely

How many times do we compare ourselves to others? Probably a lot more than we’d like to admit. For some reason, we believe we need to “one-up” each other to make ourselves look better than the next. It’s like we cannot be enough if our neighbor is winning.

It’s a Biblical problem that goes all the way back to Cain & Abel. In Genesis 4, we meet the two sons of Adam & Eve – Cain & Abel. One was a farmer and the other was a shepherd. The farmer (Cain) offered God a sacrifice of vegetation and the shepherd (Abel) offered God a sacrifice of meat. God only accepted Abel’s offering and Cain got so jealous that he killed his own brother. Cain was forever banished to wander the Earth.

Do you see how destructive comparison can be? Do you know that this isn’t God’s desire for us? Do you understand that God created each of us uniquely for a reason and purpose – to walk along side each other rather than against each other? (Isaiah 64:8, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4:16)

Lisa Bevere says in her book Without Rival that God doesn’t love us equally, but uniquely. We are all made so intricately God cannot love us all in the same way, but His love for us is tailored to who He made us. (See Psalm 139:13-16)

Our focus should be running in comparison to Jesus. He is the one we should compare ourselves with & only Him. Jesus came to Earth not only to die for our sins, but to be our example. Set your gaze on His journey & not on your neighbors as comparison.

When we look over to our neighbors- we should be doing it to encourage, help or show love to them. When we care about each other & understand that we are meant to work with each other than against each other, the Body of Christ can thrive.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

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Hustle Like Ruth

There are so many inspiring stories in the Bible and I love that some of those stories are women.  There is something different about a woman’s heart and to see God honor the hearts of women makes me love Him so much more.  We are His daughters and, just like His sons, He loves us dearly.

One of those amazing women is Ruth.  Ruth had an unusual story.  She finds herself in the old testament and is not a Hebrew/Israelite.  No, she is from Moab and her descendants were the result of incest.  A very disturbing story – anyone from this pagan city looked less than great.  They were outcasts.

Ruth’s story in the Bible begins with tragedy – her husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law all died very close together.  It is through this tragedy that God brought out the character of Ruth.  We can know her past and who she came from, but when she faced the unbearable, we see who she is individually.

Naomi – her mother-in-law told both Ruth and Orpah (her sister-in-law) to go back home to their families and culture because there would be no place for them back in Israel.  After much convincing Orpah said her goodbyes and did what Naomi asked.  But Ruth was stubborn – she knew what her assignment was.  Ruth 1:16-18 says: “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!’  When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.”

When Ruth got to Bethlehem – Naomi sent her to glean barley – something widows did to get food when they had no man to support them.  She happened upon Boaz’s field – a man of integrity and a man who has heard what Ruth had done for her mother-in-law.  So he showed her favor.  She came back the first night with about 30 pounds of barley.  30 pounds!!!  After she realized that not only was Boaz a nice man, but was a blood relative, she was able to be redeemed.  Boaz became her husband and they had a son, Obed who was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David.  (Read her entire story in the book of Ruth – it is only 4 chapters long, but packed full of wisdom).  Her faithfulness, servant’s heart and willingness to do the hard things to help others got her in the lineage of King David and Jesus.

Ruth found her success by serving others.  It wasn’t because she had the best Instagram posts, she spoke the best in front of others or that she was the prettiest.  No, she didn’t go out to be the center of attention or to even get recognized.  Ruth found favor when she put others first.  The prize when she went the extra, extra mile was to find herself worthy to be a decedent of Jesus.

My challenge to you, reader, is to find ways you can serve others.  Serve others, not because it will take you places, not so you can get things, not so that you can be seen, but to just be a blessing.  Other people may not even see what you are doing.  Good, because God sees it.  An audience with God where He finds you pleasing is enough.  I will tell you from experience, serving others because you know that is the right thing to do will take you places far greater than when you serve only yourself.

Be a blessing to someone, y’all.  And do it from the heart!

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Remember…

Remember who you are to God!  Remember what He will do for you when you are His!  Don’t let any person or situation allow you to believe you are not worthy of what God has planned for you…
“The king proclaims the LORD’s decree: “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’””‭‭Psalms‬ ‭2:7-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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Currency of the Kingdom

I wish I could tell you I am always good and never make a mistake.  I wish.  Reality is that I fail daily.  Yep, daily.  It’s terrible.  No matter how good I am, there is always some bad in me.

Part of being human is understanding the bad parts of ourselves.  Understanding that we will fail.  No matter how hard I try to deny that I do bad things (which I do too often), I will always have to eventually admit that there are parts of me that are awful.

Don’t get me wrong, this blog isn’t all about how awful we can be.  There are parts of me (and parts of you) that are amazing.  There are attributes to us that God put in us – that God loves about us, that make us incredible creatures.  We are God’s precious creation, one He is proud of.

But if we do not admit to ourselves and be brutally honest to ourselves and to God how awful we can be, then we cannot accomplish what we need to accomplish in this life. If we allow these sins, discretions, or mishaps to go on without working on them/correcting them – it can actually derail us.  I don’t want to walk through life allowing pride to defeat me.  What about you?

How do you and I defeat this foe called us?  We use humility.  We go to God and ask Him to not only forgive us, but to help us turn from our awful ways to become better people.  If we live our lives on a culture of humility, very few things can get is down.

Paradoxical?  Wouldn’t it be better if we were our own constant cheerleaders no matter what we do? In the world, maybe.  But in the Kingdom, putting others first and allowing yourself to learn from your mistakes so you can grow is vital.

Don’t let your failures and sins get you so down you can’t get up.  But don’t allow yourself to take those mistakes so lightly that you decide not to acknowledge them.  Repentance and humility are the best road!

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:17‬ ‭NLT

Be blessed, dear readers!