Forsaking ALL:
 
Matthew 6:35: “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment.”
Luke 14:26-30: If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
 
So many people, on average, want to be anyone, anything, and anywhere else other than who, what, and where they are because the flesh never satisfies (or not for long). They long for a different gene pool, country, skin color, circumstance, education, profession/job, talents, living environment, friends, and so on. May I boldly say that this is all because they do not understand the Kingdom of God or that the Kingdom of God is present within them? They do not understand that God has a destiny for them just as they are, where they are and who they are; after all, it isn’t ever about you, but the King always.
It isn’t until we choose to submit all things (internal, external, hidden and exposed) of this fleshly life (of the Earth) to God (of Heaven) and submit, “Not my will, but Yours be done, on Earth (in my life) as it is in Heaven. I relinquish my will, my way, my pride, my self-centered desires and my plans to You. I submit my selfish soul (mind, will, and emotions) over to You, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Lead me into righteousness. In You alone, I trust.”
This is a place of absolute surrender through faith in the One True God, relinquishing (forfeiting) all fears, insecurity and overconfidence, admitting that there is nothing anyone has to offer Him except the entirety of themselves, a mere God-created being. This is, as it reads above in Luke 14, “and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life.”
God wants us to love our families and ourselves, of course, but in this context, it is forsaking all, including the desires of our own flesh, no matter how much you love others. No one and nothing should stand in between you and placing God first and foremost. Family as well as self can easily stand as an idol before God. We should not love our own lives to the point that we would dishonor God. It would be better to lose our life for Christ than gain our life and lose our soul. “Hating” self and other loved ones means that our love for God should be so intense, so impenetrable, that our loved for others seems as hatred in comparison.
This is far beyond becoming a “Christian” who, through Jesus, has a home in Heaven in the sweet-by-and-by and accomplishes good deeds in the name of Jesus. This is a life that recognizes self to be utterly destitute absent from the Lord and King’s constant presence. This is rejecting mother, father, sister, brother, fame, fortune, reputation, etc. all for the sake of the Kingdom of God being ushered into the Earth as He so desires.
In this, we will cease longing for a new life and actually receive that new life; a new gene pool (Heavenly blood line), new country (Heaven), new family (body of Christ) and new appearance (internal transformation). The external (Earthly) will cease bearing any relevance. You will begin to see everything as from Heaven and God’s purpose right where, who, and as you are. This is new life everlasting beginning in the here-and-now. Today’s the day to begin transitioning from existing on Earth to thriving for the Kingdom of God!
Worry, fear, anxiety, control, depression, boasting, self-abasement, and such things are all signs that we take too much thought of our life. In this, we squelch the Holy Spirit within us. We are trusting everyone and everything in the place of God. The Kingdom of God is not our focus as it should, but self is the center thought.
 
Stay tuned for the next blog on “Thy Kingdom Come.” If you’re interested in more information about The Fiery Sword Ministries or my books, please visit my website.
 
Peace and blessings,
Alexys V. Wolf
thefierysword@windstream.net
www.thefierysword.com
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