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APRIL 29, 2021

Religion concentrates on getting everyone to Heaven. Jesus taught we are to bring Heaven to earth.

Jesus taught the Kingdom in relationship and benefit is the proper position for the life of a Kingdom citizen.  We are a people in “conflict.” The theology (study of thought) of the Christian Church is in conflict with the theology of the Bible.

Did you know the Kingdom of God is not mentioned in our creeds – the foundation of our faith? How important is this? The Kingdom concept is the foundation for all scriptural revelation. The Kingdom concept is necessary for correct biblical interpretation and application. The Kingdom concept is the  main subject throughout scripture. This knowledge and understanding is necessary to determine the motivation, purpose, plans, principles, and actions of our God – the true and the living God, the only wise God, our Father. Our theology must be His ideas that He has given to us clearly expressed in His Word. We must capture every thought, every imagination (idea) that is contrary to the Kingdom teaching of Jesus our King, and bring them in submission to and in alignment with His Words.

How do we know His ideas? Through relationship with Him.  How do we have that kind of relationship with Him? Through fellowship  with Him.  How do we have fellowship with Him? By spending time with Him. How do we spend time with Him? By making the commitment to give the time necessary for fellowship.

There are no shortcuts, no Reader’s Digest condensed version. Kind of a circle. Where we begin is where we end. But the results are amazing, fantastic, and inexpressible joy. We hear and know His voice, the voice of our Father, and the voice of a stranger we will not follow.

Our words are powerful. They create the environment in which we live and in which we operate every day.  They change the atmosphere and cause it to create a Kingdom culture and a Kingdom experience. We are not helpless, nor hopeless. We are in charge of our environment. Our words must be the Words of our King. Our confession must be in agreement and alignment with the Words of Jesus.

Begin today. Determine whose words you confess/declare in your conversation, in the songs you sing, and the praises you lift up by your words.

MARCH 26, 2021

A Parable about Financial Stewardship

^{Let’s begin with this passage from Matthew 25:14-30, in The Passion Translation:}

¹⁴ “Again, heaven’s kingdom realm is like the wealthy man who went on a long journey and summoned all his trusted servants and assigned his financial management over to them. ¹⁵ Before he left on his journey, he entrusted a bag of five thousand gold coins to one of his servants, to another a bag of two thousand gold coins, and to the third a bag of one thousand gold coins, each according to his ability to manage.^[a]

¹⁶ “The one entrusted with five thousand gold coins immediately went out and traded with the money, and he doubled his investment. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who was entrusted with two thousand gold coins traded with the sum and likewise doubled his investment. ¹⁸ But the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After much time had passed, the master returned to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁰ The one who was entrusted with five thousand gold coins came and brought ten thousand, saying, ‘See, I have doubled your money.’

²¹ “Commending his servant, the master replied, ‘You have done well, and proven yourself to be my loyal and trustworthy servant. Because you have been a faithful steward to manage a small sum, now I will put you in charge of much, much more. You will experience the delight of your master, who will say to you, “Come celebrate with me!”’

²² “Then the one who had been entrusted with two thousand gold coins came in and said, ‘See, my master, I have doubled what you have entrusted to me.’

²³ “Commending his servant, the master replied, ‘You have done well, and proven yourself to be my loyal and trustworthy servant. Because you were faithful to manage a small sum, now I will put you in charge of much, much more. You will experience the delight of your master, who will say to you, “Come celebrate with me!”’

²⁴ “Then the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins came to his master and said, ‘Look, sir. I know that you are a hard man to please and you’re a shrewd and ruthless businessman who grows rich on the backs of others.^[b] 25 I was afraid of you, so I went and hid your money and buried it in the ground. But here it is—take it, it’s yours.’

²⁶ “Angered by what he heard, the master said to him, ‘You’re an untrustworthy^[c] and lazy servant! If you knew I was a shrewd and ruthless businessman who always makes a profit, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? ²⁷ Then I would have received it all back with interest when I returned.^[d] 28 But because you were unfaithful, I will take the one thousand gold coins and give them to the one who has ten thousand. ²⁹ For the one who has will be given more, until he overflows with abundance. And the one with hardly anything, even what little he has will be taken from him.’^[e]

³⁰ “Then the master said to his other servants, “Now throw that good-for-nothing servant far away from me into the outer darkness, where there will be great misery and anguish.”

Reviewing this parable/story from the perspective of competing and comparing, very real Kingdom System operational practices and procedures are established.

• Each servant/person (including you and I) was/are given gifts, talents, and abilities “according to our ability to manage them.” We each do not receive the same amount/number of giftings, but we each do receive an appropriate number of gifts and talents according to what we are designed and capable to manage, our ability.
• The number of talents that we receive does not establish a hierarchy or a pecking order according to the number of talents that we receive. Those who receive more are not regarded and rewarded more than those who receive less. All receive the same instruction on our engagement of the talents we are given.
• We are rewarded by what we do with what we receive and not by what we did in comparison with what someone else did with what they received. The person receiving two and the one receiving five both doubled what they received, and the acknowledgment narrative was exactly the same. “Well done.”
• If we fail to engage our gifts for profit/increase and for a fruitful outcome through multiplication, we are judged to be an untrustworthy^[c]and lazy servant! He told the others “Now throw that good-for-nothing servant far away from me into the outer darkness, where there will be great misery and anguish.”
• Our God is not a Socialist and does not support socialism. He did not divide everything up equally. ²⁸ But because you were unfaithful, I will take the one thousand gold coins and give them to the one who has ten thousand. ²⁹ For the one who has will be given more, until he overflows with abundance. And the one with hardly anything, even what little he has will be taken from him.’^[e]
• There is “celebration” when we live our lives according to the Dynamics of Conduct and Behavior established in our Constitution. We know that the effectiveness of our performance is based on what we did with what we were given, not what someone else did with theirs. We know that our mission is not to compare and to compete with each other, but we are to be the best that we can be with what we are given. We are also charged to pray for and to assist each other as much as we can in order to assist others in their efforts to be the best they can be with what they received. Giving is the transference of value – something you have that is valuable to someone else. Giving to others we receive more.

MARCH 19, 2021

A huge challenge for humanity on the earth today is the practice of the anti-Kingdom act of competing and comparing. This practice is ingrained in our society and exists as far back as history is recorded. There is evidence of this unhealthy existence when Jesus was on the earth. The scriptures are replete with accounts where Jesus encountered those who were comparing Him with others and stirring up conflict by establishing competition. This is not a practice found in the Kingdom of our God. Competition and comparing is the way of the Kingdoms of this world. The kingdoms of darkness pit humanity against each other based on performance results. In the Kingdom of our God everyone is compared to their individual and unique talent that they receive from our God before they were born, and their results are measured by the amount of their engagement and the maximization of their individual talents alone. There is not comparison to anyone else nor is someone else’s performance results used to establish a par for others to attempt to match.

The Holy Spirit God records in Matthew the twenty-second chapter several occasions where the religious leaders of His day were trying to trick and to entrap Jesus.  Their questions all involved competing and comparing His teachings and His actions with other sources of existing ministry and the ruling authority of the day. They were trying to create conflict that would get Jesus in trouble with these other sources of ministry and government. He saw through their veiled attempts just as you and I can recognize their tricks through knowing His Word and by the revelation-knowledge we receive from the Holy Spirit God.

Matthew 22:34-40 The Passion Translation

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they called a meeting to discuss how to trap Jesus. ³⁵ Then one of them, a religious scholar, posed this question to test him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

³⁷ Jesus answered him, “‘Love^[a] the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’^[b] 38 This is the great and supreme commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend^[c] in the same way you love yourself.’^[d] 40 Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”

In His reply, Jesus established how we are to live and how we are to experience the reality of Kingdom Living on the earth today. Two fundamental and foundational actions that place all our priorities in their perfect order and in their correct place in our lives.

• Love our God with all that you are and with all that you do – spirit, mind and body.
• Love our Neighbor as much and like we love ourselves.

When we follow these instructions, competing and comparing are eliminated.

The New Living Translation translates this account this way:

Matthew 22:34-40 New Living Translation

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

The question we must ask ourselves today and everyday is “it possible to operate successfully following these two simple directions, and to engage in competing and comparing at the same time?” Competing and comparing involves having a standard for our reference. What is our standard? How did we arrive at our standard? We always want to be our best, but our best compared to what? What is our standard of reference? In the culture or systems of this world, we compare ourselves to each other. Whoever’s performance produces better, or greater results wins. Is that a correct and an accurate finding and understanding?

MARCH 19, 2021

A huge challenge for humanity on the earth today is the practice of the anti-Kingdom act of competing and comparing. This practice is ingrained in our society and exists as far back as history is recorded. There is evidence of this unhealthy existence when Jesus was on the earth. The scriptures are replete with accounts where Jesus encountered those who were comparing Him with others and stirring up conflict by establishing competition. This is not a practice found in the Kingdom of our God. Competition and comparing is the way of the Kingdoms of this world. The kingdoms of darkness pit humanity against each other based on performance results. In the Kingdom of our God everyone is compared to their individual and unique talent that they receive from our God before they were born, and their results are measured by the amount of their engagement and the maximization of their individual talents alone. There is not comparison to anyone else nor is someone else’s performance results used to establish a par for others to attempt to match.

The Holy Spirit God records in Matthew the twenty-second chapter several occasions where the religious leaders of His day were trying to trick and to entrap Jesus.  Their questions all involved competing and comparing His teachings and His actions with other sources of existing ministry and the ruling authority of the day. They were trying to create conflict that would get Jesus in trouble with these other sources of ministry and government. He saw through their veiled attempts just as you and I can recognize their tricks through knowing His Word and by the revelation-knowledge we receive from the Holy Spirit God.

Matthew 22:34-40 The Passion Translation

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they called a meeting to discuss how to trap Jesus. ³⁵ Then one of them, a religious scholar, posed this question to test him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

³⁷ Jesus answered him, “‘Love^[a] the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’^[b] 38 This is the great and supreme commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend^[c] in the same way you love yourself.’^[d] 40 Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”

In His reply, Jesus established how we are to live and how we are to experience the reality of Kingdom Living on the earth today. Two fundamental and foundational actions that place all our priorities in their perfect order and in their correct place in our lives.

• Love our God with all that you are and with all that you do – spirit, mind and body.
• Love our Neighbor as much and like we love ourselves.

When we follow these instructions, competing and comparing are eliminated.

The New Living Translation translates this account this way:

Matthew 22:34-40 New Living Translation

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

The question we must ask ourselves today and everyday is “it possible to operate successfully following these two simple directions, and to engage in competing and comparing at the same time?” Competing and comparing involves having a standard for our reference. What is our standard? How did we arrive at our standard? We always want to be our best, but our best compared to what? What is our standard of reference? In the culture or systems of this world, we compare ourselves to each other. Whoever’s performance produces better, or greater results wins. Is that a correct and an accurate finding and understanding?

MARCH 11, 2021

The scriptures are our Operating Agreement and our provided agreement for governance. The scriptures provide for our reference the values, the principles, and the established precedents that we are to selectively review and then choose how we are to live our lives based on our desired outcomes. The scriptures are our Constitution, our governmental agreement with the government of Heaven which Jesus Christ, Emmanuel – God with us – delivered to the earth Himself, to empower and to enable Humanity to know how to make good choices for the good outcomes that we are designed to want/desire. All of this establishes and defines what is right, and our Bill of Rights.

God will do nothing that hinders us or takes us away from us His stated, established desire for relationship with us. If we want to be in relationship with our Creator and our Designer our God, we must understand that His primary goal and His purpose for us first and foremost is for relationship and we must know how that works. Relationship requires fellowship. No fellowship, no relationship. Fellowship requires that we spend time together, and time spent together requires that we give Him the time. Time is our given commodity of a specified, certain number of days that we each have received for us to manage while we are here, on the earth. We choose and we display what is important to us by the selective management of our time.

A person cannot be, nor can they be considered to be, successful by what they have (assets/things/material possessions). Success can only be identified by whose they are (relationships). As Jesus said, first our God and secondly our neighbors, family, and others that our God brings to us for relationship. Success for us/humanity cannot be asset-based but must be purpose-based and measured by our active, assigned, and designed relationships. We are designed for relationships and our world is designed to function on relationships of mutual respect and love for our God and for each other. My, how we have missed that mark. Returning to course for the target begins with each of us making choices that align us with our God’s created design for our eternal purpose. What is that for you? That is why we are here and our purpose for being.

Nothing will deliver the contentment and the fulfillment that we are designed to desire and to enjoy that is not founded in the relationships that are based on our created design for our eternal purpose. When we understand how important relationships are and how they work, everything within us – spirit, mind and body – will draw us to our designed objective for our designed purpose for our designed outcomes. Spend time together and develop a continual, flowing relationship of fellowship and communion and communication, face to face, spirit to Spirit and breath to breath. That is His desire and our purpose for being. That is His Kingdom, His system, His plan for us and His way of doing and being right.