Daily Bread – November 30, 2022 (The Fourth Day – Genesis 1:14-19) Matthew 6:33 – Make the Kingdom of God and His righteousness your primary objective, and all these things will be added to you. To “seek first” (zhteite proton) in this context means “primary objective,” “earnestly desire above everything else.” God desires us to align our wills to be in agreement with His will in everything we do. We are not looking for something that was lost, or attempting to obtain something that has not been supplied to us as a free gift. God is simply calling us to turn from earthly things to the things that are Heavenly (Colossians 3:1-5). He wants us to recognize He is the supplier of all we need, and if we will take care of the most important thing necessary for our eternal well being, He will take care of all our needs. God is calling us to make His will and purposes the foremost objective and motivation in all we do. If we pursue our Heavenly Father’s interest instead of our own, then we will discover the keys to success in this life and in the one to come. There are two important issues coming to bear in every task we set out to do and interaction we have. They are: the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of God. These are the two “bigger issues” to everything we are involved in. When we consider the meaning of the Kingdom of God (as it is presented by the Lord Jesus), we observe how it is the display of the power of God, which demonstrates the love of God for all mankind (Matthew 10:7-8, 12:28; Mark 1:15, 9:1-4; and Luke 4:43, 9:2,11, 10:9, 11, 11:20, 16:16, 17:20-21). The righteousness of God (which we are both made to be and supplied with through the operation of the Holy Spirit) is the revelation of the nature and conduct of God expressed through our lives (2 Corinthians 5:21, 6:7; Ephesians 4:24; Romans 3:21-22, 10:3-4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 3:21; Philippians 1:11, 3:9). In general, we may view righteousness as the actions of love. Our every concern should be both for the revelation and the advancement of the Kingdom of God through the preaching of the Gospel. We should give ourselves over to the expression of the Holy Spirit so the love and purity of God may be felt by all those around us – and especially those of the household of faith (John 13:35; Galatians 6:10)! If we will make the things of the Spirit our primary concern, then God will make our needs – and even our wealth – His results for our lives (Mark 10:29-30, 16:20). Men make their success and achievements the number one priority and their “bigger issue.” The Lord tells us if we are willing to make His will our number one priority, then He will give us all the things men sell their souls to have. Men labor to make themselves rich only to be consumed with the sorrows of it, but God will make a person rich absent of the sorrow (Proverbs 23:4, 10:22; Deuteronomy 8:18). The wealth God desires to lavish upon His people is greater than all the wealth given to Solomon – and to all of Creation combined! The most important riches are the “true riches” – which are the spiritual blessings given to us in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 8:9, 4:7; Luke 16:11; Ephesians 1:3; and Psalms 16:5, 11, 23:6, 27:4). If we will set our affections on the things of the Heavenly realm (the Kingdom of God and His righteousness) and not on things of this Earth (Colossians 3:1-4), we will discover all of the glories and wonders of abundant life – and there will be a witness to Father’s goodness revealed through our lives! Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 11/30/2022
