Have you ever worked somewhere, where you had a key to your office/work area? If so, your key only opened that door. It didn't give you access to every room in the whole building. But somewhere, someone had a master key that would give them access to every room. The same goes for hotels. You are given a key to your room, but there is also a master key, giving anyone who has it access to all the rooms.

In the Kingdom of God, this is the master key:  But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NKJV  This one key principle opens the doors to everything you need. 

One scripture, one sentence. But it contains all the "mystery" of the Kingdom of God we truly need. Seek FIRST (above everything else) 1. God's Kingdom and 2. God's righteousness. The preceding scriptures talk about other things we tend to seek: Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Matthew 6:19-21, 24-32

What are you seeking first? When you pray, what are you seeking? Another way of putting it is, "What is your focus?"

This week, I saw a news article that the Lord used to show me how He has worked in my life in ways I didn't even realize. The subject of the article was Americans' growing debt in this time of great inflation. Prices are skyrocketing for our basic needs and people are using credit to make ends meet. But the Holy Spirit showed me immediately how He has put me in a position where this year I have been reducing my debt and also saving money and giving as the Lord leads. When I saw this, I was so very grateful that in this time of great financial difficulty He as blessed me and guided me in my finances! In the Kingdom of God, when we put His Kingdom and His righteousness first, our needs are met. God's Word is true eternally. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. Psalm 37:25 NKJV  

I am content with what He provides and lack nothing.  Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. None of what has happened is in my strength and I do not boast of anything I have done, but I must testify of His goodness and provision and say Glory to God!

God is no respecter of persons. His Word is truth to all who seek Him. Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right." Acts 10:24-25  

I'll share another example. Recently, I heard a woman say that she'd been praying for a godly man for over twenty years and He had never answered her. She said she was getting tired of waiting, now that she was over 60 years old, and God owed her those years! While I understand her frustration and weariness, it sounds like she was seeking a husband (that was her focus) and not seeking after God's Kingdom and His righteousness first. We pray, we tell the Lord God the desire of our heart, but we focus on God's Kingdom and His righteousness. We want more of Him and to be more like Him and we trust that in His time we will receive the desire of our heart. Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:3-5 NKJV Again, God's Word is true, He cannot lie, because if He said it, it WILL come to pass. 

When I was dating, I could see that I was going in the wrong direction fast. I repented, and prayed, "Father forgive me, I'm making a mess of this and that is not Your will for me. Remove everyone who is not Your will from my life and show me to the man You have for me." I did not ask Him to show me the man, but for Him to show me to the man. The first thing that happened was that everyone I had been communicating with disappeared! My phone went silent. It was so clearly a God thing! Not many weeks after, I met my husband and found out that at almost the same time I had prayed, he was praying for the Lord to show him who God had for him to marry. Praise the Lord! We pray, but we SEEK after His righteousness and to live our life as citizens in right standing in the Kingdom! We do not seek or focus or even obsess over what we are praying for. We trust the Lord God to answer our prayer!

But what if He doesn't give us what we ask for? Then we trust Him. This is a hard word, but it is God's Truth:  What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3  

He knows what is best for us and for His purpose for your life. "For I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose,’" Isaiah 46:9b-10 AMP 

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

When I don't see answers to my prayers or I feel "under attack" I evaluate myself as to whether I am seeking after His Kingdom and His righteousness first. If I believe that I am and don't see an area I need to repent of, I trust Him that there is a reason. He sees all and knows all and that gives me peace.

I want to always have that master key of Matthew 6:33 stored in my heart and soul. Every day, in all I do, I want to have all access in His Kingdom, and you can also!

​Be a Kingdom light shining in the darkness,

Deborah Luchie
​
www.kingdomcitizens.org
All scriptures are NLT unless otherwise noted.

This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you.

How you see the Lord God determines the level at which He will operate in your life.
 
If you see Him as a friend, He will operate in your life as a friend. But if you see Him as the one true God, Creator of all, Healer, Deliverer, Provider, Protector, Father, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent; you will see His supernatural power operating in your life! Even the Lord Jesus was limited in Nazareth because the people could only see Him as the son of Mary and Joseph, the carpenter. He was “just a guy from the neighborhood”.  Jesus left that part of the country and returned with His disciples to Nazareth, His hometown. The next Sabbath He began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were amazed. They asked, “Where did He get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” 
 
Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And His sisters live right here among us.”
 
They were deeply offended and refused to believe in Him.
 
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their unbelief. Mark 6:1-6
 
“They were deeply offended. . .” I can imagine that they probably also added a “Who does he think he is?”! Because of their unbelief, Jesus did very little in Nazareth.

We are in a season where we must have a revelation of the power and glory of the Lord God that is available to us if we will only believe! See with supernatural eyes what is going on in our world. See it for the spiritual battle that it is. This is surely “the time of evil”. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
 
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Gospel so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
 
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:11-18
 
In Psalm 20, it says:  Some trust in chariots (made by man) and some in horses (nature, God’s creation), but we will remember and trust in the name of the Lord our God. Where do you place your trust? It goes on to say:  They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call. Psalm 20:7-9 AMP Yes, they have bowed down and fallen but we have risen and stand upright, because we trust in our Lord God and we know that NOTHING is impossible with Him!
 
Satan has saturated our world with fear, control, manipulation and lies that try to undermine the Lord God’s Kingdom principles and Believers’ faith. We have all seen pastors, ministers and believers, that we thought were strong in the faith, fall away. I have seen them leave their ministry and some have even said they don’t believe in God. It is sad and disheartening to see a “leader of the faith” publicly turn away. But they never truly knew Him. If they did, they would see His power in their lives.  They were caught up in “doing ministry” as their career and didn’t actually know the Lord. When you see His power moving in your life, you will never walk away from Him! I have had countless events in my life where I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt “that was my Father God!” Because of that, I boldly say that I will never doubt or walk away. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God and all of my Father God’s power and authority are available to operate in my life in Jesus’ name!  “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it!” John 14:12-14
 
 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:18-19 NKJV
 
Do you believe God’s Word? Then you believe that NOTHING will hurt you. You believe that you have been given ALL power over the enemy—Satan and his demons.
 
When I think of the power and authority of our Father, of His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit which He has given us, I get excited! When you get that revelation, you will not fear the world and all that is in it.
 
Focus your spiritual eyes. See Satan and his demonic angels at work in this world. And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. . . And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death. Revelation 12:9 & 11 AMP Most important of all, see your Father God for who He is. Nothing is impossible or too hard for Him! Never allow your unbelief to limit His supernatural power in your life! You will be victorious over Satan and every weapon he fires at you because of the blood of Jesus on you, the words you speak and your unshakable faith in the Lord God even in the face of death.
 
Satan is a liar and an illusionist. He is already defeated and we are victorious through the Lord Jesus. Satan has absolutely no power in the Kingdom of God. He only prowls around in the world. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion (it’s only an illusion), looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8-9a
 
I have “scripture bombs” going off in my mind! Every time I write a little bit, the Holy Spirit gives me more! Fill your mind with God’s Word. Get to know Him better through His Word. If you do, you will see His hand on your life. Your prayers will be more fruitful and powerful. Walk in the power and authority of your Father God. Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind]. They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them. 1 John 4:4-5 AMP
 
Yes! Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or intimidated. The Lord God is with you wherever you go! (Joshua 1:9)
 
So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

Be ready,

Deborah Luchie
​
www.kingdomcitizens.org
All scriptures are NLT unless otherwise noted.

This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you.

God loves us. We hear that often said and it is true, but if we aren't filled with an understanding of God's Word, we can throw it out there like a blanket, covering and accepting the sins and iniquity that God hates and has no part in. It is often said that "God loves you where you are, but too much to let you stay there"! So true! “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent Me, not to do My own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that all who see His Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:38-40

Yes! And He also loved us so much that He gives us the freedom to choose whether we would accept or reject His Son Jesus and His Kingdom. He also wants us to fully understand the cost of that rejection. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20  I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security). The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His [own] life for the sheep. John 10:9-11 AMP 

​The Lord God is our loving Father. He is not a friend or an ATM, nor is He a "pushover" who freely gives us what we want no matter how sinful our life is or how bad it is for us. Part of our difficulty in seeing Him clearly as a good Father is that today's society has so misrepresented the role and importance of a father. They don't show fathers as providers, protectors, teachers and disciplinarians. The love of a father is all those things. Your earthly father may have fallen short of that description, but your Heavenly Father never will! Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Luke 12:31-32  

If you are a parent, would you stop your child from running out into the street? Would you protect them from doing anything that might hurt them or endanger their life in any way? Let's say they are 8 years old and they ask for a gun, would you buy it for them? Sometimes your job as a parent is to protect your child from themselves and what they think they want! They aren't mature enough to understand the danger that may come with it. Sometimes they do something that requires being disciplined. The Lord God, as a loving Father, does all of those things also. “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.”

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by their father? If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:5-11

When we understand the love of our Heavenly Father, when we are being filled with His Word and the Holy Spirit, we will be better able to love the world as Jesus did.  We love the person, but never embrace the sin. We are to see and love the spirit within them, as our Father does!

To know what the Lord God considers sin, study His Word, don't listen to the world.  Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by His power, just as He raised our Lord from the dead.

Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:9-18

All that you know about Jesus and His Kingdom are precious jewels that are unseen and misunderstood by the world until you show them through your life. If you truly love someone, you won't want them to spend eternity in the torture of Hell. Yes, Hell. We cannot believe in Heaven and not believe there is a Hell. The world would have you believe that you must embrace everything a person is doing to love and accept them. Stand on the foundation of God's Word and never falter. Don't preach, but be a living example of Jesus and the Words of God! “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16 AMP

Be ready,

Deborah Luchie
​
www.kingdomcitizens.org
All scriptures are NLT unless otherwise noted.

This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you.

In order for a contract to be legally binding, there must be “consideration” for both parties.  Consideration is basically what each party is getting from the contract.  If you get a loan for the car, fulfillment of the contract means that the bank gets the money and you get a car. In a situation where only one person benefits, you don’t really have a contract.
 
God has been showing me how, in His Word...His Kingdom Constitution, His promises to us are like contracts, but most of the time when Christians quote those promises they leave off what we are to do to “fulfill the contract”.
 
All too often, our image of God is more like Santa Clause or a magician.  God is a God of order and obedience.  He requires us to do our part…to give what we have...to do as He asks.  In John 2, when Jesus turned the water into wine, He told the servants to fill the jars with water.  They did as He asked and He then turned the water into wine. Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, He said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed His instructions.

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” John 2:6-10
 
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah went to the widow at Zarephath and asked her to fix him something to eat.  God’s promise to her was that if she took the last of her flour and oil to fix bread for the prophet her oil and flour would not run out until the drought ended.  She did as she was told to and gave the last of her food and God fulfilled His part of the “contract”.  She did not run out of oil or flour.  A truck didn’t show up with a year’s supply of flour and oil…no, her containers just never were empty! But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:12-16
 
In 2 Kings 4 Elisha went to help a widow woman.  He asked what she had in the house.  She had a little oil.  He told her and her sons to go to the neighbors and bring all the jars they could gather.  When they had done that, he told her to fill the jars from the oil container she had.  THEY gathered the jars, SHE poured the oil and it did not stop until she had run out of jars. “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.

And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”

So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim!

“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.

“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.

When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” 2 Kings 4:2-7
 
Here are some other examples of God’s “scriptural contracts” with us (with our part of the contract underlined):
 
Matthew 6:33  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you
 
2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
 
Psalm 37:4  Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.
 
Philippians 4:6-7  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
 
Malachi 3: 10  Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
 
Proverbs 1:33  But all who listen to Me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”
 
Romans 10:9  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
 
God’s Word is true…He cannot lie.  God doesn’t breach the contracts He has made with us, we do.  As you read your Bible, I encourage you to see His many “contracts”—promises—with us.  See what our part is, don’t just quote the part that refers to the blessing He has for us.  If you do what He says to do…give what He says to give, use what He says to use, He will do what He says He will do!  

As Elisha said, I will say to you: “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

​​Be ready,

Deborah Luchie
​
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed.  Thank you.