BUT God…so very thankful that the Creator of heaven and earth chooses to intervene in the lives of those who invite Him in.
Matthew. 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Everything is under the rule of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of heaven exists in that circle along with the Body of Christ as believers. The promises of Abraham are inherited by us as adopted children who trust in the salvation provided in Jesus Christ.
God knows that we have physical needs to survive. He cares for us.
Daniel 7:13-14
“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
In the creation of mankind Adam was given dominion over the earth but he failed. The second Adam, Jesus all God, all man, will rule and there will be peace. The lion will lay beside the lamb and all things will be restored.
Isaiah 9:6-7
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Jesus came to HIs own people and they did not recognize Him. The very Redeemer King sent to them, the promise of the Father, they rejected. Upon His return they will see Him for who He was. Almighty God sent to fulfill the promises of the Father to Abraham. His rule will never end.
The world is being prepared for the return of the King of the Jews
Zechariah 14:1-4
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Matthew 24:7-9 nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
The prophesy of Zechariah and spoken of by Jesus will be fulfilled. All the disasters that the world is experiencing are the beginning of sorrows. Israel will be hated by all the nations BUT God will intervene.
Matthew 24:12-14 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Zechariah 14:9 9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be “The Lord is one,” And His name one.
Acts 1:6-11 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jesus Ascends to Heaven 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Our Lord and Savior shall be King over all the earth. Carla
The Old Testament affirms that the kingdom of God as inaugurated by the Messiah would be applicable to all people, marking the completion of God’s purposes of blessing the entire world through Abraham’s descendants. The apostles may have expected a political fulfillment of this kingdom. Jesus deflects the apostles’ question and tells them they should not be concerned with timing. The locations mentioned in this verse represent a geographical broadening in scope of the apostles’ mission, from Israel’s capital, to the land of Israel, and to the entire world. This also reflects the structure of the book of Acts: The Church spreads in Jerusalem, in Judaea and Samaria, and to the surrounding nations. The Greek word used here for power, dynamis, can refer to power displayed in miracles, or (more generally) the ability of God or people to carry out their purposes. God will enable the apostles to accomplish His work, wherever and whatever it is. The apostles are called to testify about Christ—to proclaim the reality of His death and resurrection as well as His kingdom and lordship.
The angels attest to Jesus’ future bodily return. Since Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12), the angels may be alluding to the prophet Zechariah’s vision of the day of Yahweh, when Yahweh will come to stand upon the Mount of Olives, defeat His people’s enemies, and establish His rule over the earth (Zechariah 14). Faithlife Study Bible
Christ’s statement that the Spirit was about to be given evidently triggered concern among the disciples about the establishment of the kingdom. Connecting the coming of the Spirit and the coming of the kingdom was consistent with Old Testament thought (Zechariah 12:8–10). At this time expresses the anxiety of the apostles as they anticipated the kingdom rule that Christ had spoken of in the preceding days and weeks. The popular expectation and hope was that Christ would establish His kingdom immediately.
Jesus promised that He would not leave nor forsake us, but would be with us always, even to the end of the age. He fulfilled this promise in the form of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within believers (John 16:4–7).
The Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom will occur the same way Jesus ascended: physically, visibly, and in the clouds. The NKJV Study Bible
Luke 24:47–52 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things…
Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
…when life feels heavy, we forget that we are all wired to be replenished. And care of any kind begins with self-care.
I stand by that, more than ever. Depletion and exhaustion, and being parched, may feel rampant, but there is healing grace in receiving the gift of self-care.
No one of us is on this journey alone. And we need one another not only for care and comfort, but to pick up the pieces and find ways to create spaces in our world that do not diminish, belittle or devastate.
Let your light spill, without asking, “Is it enough?” Or, “Do I have what it takes?”
Where do we begin in our broken world? We begin in the small world, the world right in front of us.
Hope comes from ordinary people who care. Helpers who try and give; and work to make safe places where we can heal. And grow.
How can I care for you?
How can I be there for you?
How can I pray for you?
“Let us keep reminding each other to breathe, to smile, to treat ourselves and one another with kindness.” Denise Roy. Sabbath Moments
Yet the beautiful mystery of God's goodness is that it isn't dependent on ours. God's faithfulness is unconditional.This is a foundational truth so important that God wasted no time in teaching it to a man named Abram.
In Genesis 12:1, God called Abram to leave his home and follow Him. In an incredible act of faith, Abram did just that (Genesis 12:4).
God is who He says He is, and He does what He says He will do.
Our sin causes pain, division and stress, and there are consequences for our choices and mistakes. But today we know the Truth that Abram spent his whole life looking forward to: the gospel of Jesus! Praise be to God for the sacrifice of Jesus, who bore the weight of our sin on the cross. As followers of Christ, our sin cannot and will not ever separate us from God's goodness and love (Romans 8:38-39).
The story of Genesis 12 is not about a good Abram but an unstoppably good God. Thanks to Jesus, this is our story too.
Jesus reminds us that we receive all we need when we "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Actually, we receive so much more because Jesus' sacrifice on the cross provides for us an amazing, eternal gift called grace. In Jesus, we are redeemed, forgiven, and flooded with the "riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us" (Ephesians 1:7-8). First5
What does it mean to you that God’s goodness isn’t dependent upon yours? For me, it means peace. Often I feel a constant sense of striving, needing to achieve, trying to be good enough. More Bible studies! More books! More service! More prayer! But it's never enough. These are good things, but they don’t make God love me any more than He already does. Instead, Jesus is inviting me to rest in His goodness. I can lay down my strivings and be at peace in His love and faithfulness. Kayla Ferris First5
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