{"id":1370,"date":"2025-09-01T12:39:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2025-09-03T13:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:08:09","slug":"kingdom-seekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/?p=1370","title":{"rendered":"Kingdom Seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;1px|||||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text quote_border_weight=&#8221;2px&#8221; quote_border_color=&#8221;#F7BAAF&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; module_id=&#8221;quote&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; quote_line_height=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_font=&#8221;Vidaloka|||on|||||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;Vidaloka||||||||&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#161616&#8243; header_4_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; header_4_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; header_5_font=&#8221;Vidaloka||||||||&#8221; header_5_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_5_text_color=&#8221;#161616&#8243; header_5_font_size=&#8221;50px&#8221; header_5_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;11px||||false|false&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; header_4_font_size_tablet=&#8221;20px&#8221; header_4_font_size_phone=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_4_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_5_font_size_tablet=&#8221;35px&#8221; header_5_font_size_phone=&#8221;22px&#8221; header_5_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;rgba(22,22,22,0.11)&#8221; border_width_top=&#8221;1px&#8221; border_width_bottom=&#8221;1px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<p><b>\u201cYou will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeremiah 29:13<\/b><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bible warns us about gaining the whole world and losing our soul in the process. This ungodly pursuit is fueled by a lust for material gain, power, and fame. People who forfeit their dignity and self-respect in pursuit of worldly riches are not to be envied or copied by those who desire a place in God\u2019s kingdom. Instead of chasing after the world, we are to seek and find God with our whole heart. But this is no casual effort: in the original language, the word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seek<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> means to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strive<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">after<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Yet, the benefits of knowing our Creator and Savior far outweigh anything we may go through or give up in our pursuit of Him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear Father,\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through Christ, true love has been revealed to us, and in Him there is no shame. So, we pursue Your kingdom, fully aware that nothing this world has to offer can compare to the rewards in store for those who diligently seek Your face<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amen.<br \/><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">For Further Study:<\/span>\u00a0<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matthew 16:26<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Philippians 3:7-8<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 John 2:15-17 \/ Proverbs 23:17<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matthew 6:33 \/Matthew 11:12<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hebrews 11:6 \/ Romans 12:2<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isaiah 64:4 GNT<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Romans 10:11<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cYou will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.\u201d Jeremiah 29:13The Bible warns us about gaining the whole world and losing our soul in the process. This ungodly pursuit is fueled by a lust for material gain, power, and fame. People who forfeit their dignity and self-respect in pursuit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<img width=\"960\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-1140x758.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\n\n<b>\u201cI am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called&nbsp;you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel\u2014&nbsp;<\/b><b>&nbsp;<\/b><b>which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion&nbsp;and are trying to pervert&nbsp;the gospel of Christ.&nbsp;But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,&nbsp;let them be under God\u2019s curse!\u201d Galatians 1:6-7<\/b>\n\nThe Good News is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It\u2019s the truth that sets us free, from both the power and the wages of sin. Because the enemy is the author of lies, he distorts and perverts what God has said and done. False Gospels serve those who\u2019d rather embrace their sin, than repent of it. The theologies behind these fake gospels may use harmless sounding labels like <i>inclusive <\/i>or<i> progressive. <\/i>But anything that leads us to celebrate what God forbids, is not of God, and therefore has no power to redeem. So, we can choose to walk in truth by the Word\u2014or embrace our old nature by the counterfeit. One offers life\u2014the other offers death. But there is no middle ground.\n\n<i>Dear Lord,&nbsp;\n<\/i><i>Please keep us from deception. For in your perfect love, you are neither double-minded, nor swayed by popular opinion: You change not. No one can improve your word or your finished work. By your grace, we can take the narrow path, where our hunger for truth overrides the flesh. In Jesus\u2019 Name. Amen.<\/i>\n\nFor further study:\nMatthew 24:24 \/ 2 Corinthians 11:4\nLuke 17:22-23\n2 Timothy 4:3-4 \/ James 3:1\nMatthew 18:6-7\nGalatians 5:17 \/ Romans 7:18\nJohn 10:27 \/ John 10:4-5\nMatthew 7:13-14","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afterbirth","category-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1370"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1377,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370\/revisions\/1377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}