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prepare

Prayer Day 5 Kingdom Coming; Kingdom Now

July 13, 2018 by Audra Watson Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 6:5-15
Philippians 3:12-20
Luke 22:39-46 

Prayer, Day 5

When I was in high school, I ran track with my main event being high jump.
Like any athlete, I practiced hours every day.
My coach made me go to the high jump mat and practice marking out and measuring my steps and stance for every attempted jump.

I would get frustrated that, for the entire 3-hour practice,
he made me repeat the steps over and over and over again.
It wasn’t until my first meet I understood why.

At the meet, I was nervous. It was a mat I was unfamiliar with and there were a lot of eyes watching me. He came over and said, “Do exactly what you practiced.” So, I began to mark out and measure my steps, do my stance, and completed a perfect jump.
That day I won 3rd place in my first track meet ever,
achieved a personal best,
and learned the importance of practice.

When I look at the preparation we, as believers, must do for Christ’s Return,
I compare it to prepping for high jump. 

High jumpers must practice now, for the meet to come.
In practice, you must do the exact same thing you would do in the meet.
In similar fashion, Jesus calls believers to pray,
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

We must live kingdom come; right now.
“Your Kingdom Come.”
In Matthew 3, John the Baptist was teaching the crowds, preparing them for the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. John called out, “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2) Jesus embodied the fullness of the Kingdom of God and He had come into the world to begin setting up His Kingdom “on earth as it is in Heaven”, and He was going to use His people to build it. He was the model, and His followers were to imitate Him. 

In Philippians 3:12-20, Paul teaches believers to strain toward the goal of righteousness, which becomes ours the more we allow Jesus to transform us through His Spirit to be more like Himself. Paul encourages Christ-followers to remember that our real citizenship is in heaven, so we should long all the more to become like Christ now, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us. We don’t need to be so caught up in earthly things that we forget that the Kingdom of God is both coming and being built.
Rather, we should eagerly be awaiting for its fullness, preparing for its full fruition,
and praying for it to be unleashed today!

Jesus boldly teaches us to pray that His Kingdom come…now, on earth, just like it currently operates in Heaven! 

I have prayed this prayer countless times in my own life, and when I do,
God opens my spiritual eyes.
He gives me a sensitively to the spiritual realm.
My eyes see people around me who are broken and need a kind word.
I see the way my attitude and speech needs to change to glorify Him.
I see opportunities to love others.
I see how I can participate in bringing His Kingdom now, into my everyday life!

My mind is not caught up in the classes I need to attend,
the bills I need to pay,
or the diapers I need to change.
My heart is fixed on my eternal citizenship.

Instead of going about my day with a checklist that never seems completed,
I go through my day with countless divine appointments,
handfuls of Scriptural application,
and peaceful joy in my heart.
This is God’s Kingdom on earth!  

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Look at another model of Christ’s prayer life displayed on the Mount of Olives. Jesus was about to be arrested and crucified to “bear the sins of the world”. (1 John 2:2)
He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) 

Obeying God’s will is not an easy pill to swallow,
but once you practice swallowing it, it gets easier.
Why does it get easier? 

Because He is making us new!
The Holy Spirit begins transforming our will into His will the more we surrender to His hands. We begin learning to put away things of fleshly sin-nature, and start seeking out the things of God’s righteous nature.
When our spiritual eyes are open, we behave, speak, and walk differently, more like Christ.
More like citizens of Heaven!
In the process, God’s Kingdom is built on earth as it is in Heaven! 

When I was a child there we would sing a song at school that goes like this:
“It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread His love to ev’ryone.” 

There is joy through the trails, steadfast morals, a repentant heart, kind speech, and graciously attitude that happen when we, as God’s children, begin to take on His will. Others crave it and pursue it, and the spark turns into two,
then two sparks turn into an all-consuming fire.  

When we allow the Will of God to be done in our lives,
we spread His love with others;
we build His kingdom here.  

Ladies, let’s choose to live with heavenly eyes wide open!  

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Prayer Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Posted in: Broken, Fullness, God, Gospel, Grace, Heaven, Jesus, Prayer, Relationship, Return, Scripture, Significance, Struggle, Transformation, Truth, Wisdom Tagged: frustration, fullness, Heaven, Jesus, kingdom, model, nervous, practice, prepare, repeat, Return, see

Space Day 10
Space To Listen

December 23, 2016 by Merry Ohler Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 2:13-23
Proverbs 2:1-5
John 10:27-28  

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I’m serious. Come November 1st, I am itching to pull out our Christmas decorations and I begin searching the radio stations for Christmas music.  I love the cold weather, pray for snow (rein in your side eye, please!), and will drive through neighborhoods in search of the best Christmas light displays for hours if given the opportunity to do so. My name is Merry, so you can’t really blame me for my enthusiasm. As a mama with three children three-and-under at home, my excitement (and my busy-ness) has seemed at an all time high this year. I cannot wait to revive old traditions and establish new ones with our little family. I am also a photographer, so the months leading up to Christmas break are literal insanity for me. Families want an updated picture for their Christmas cards or to give to Grandma & Grandpa, newly-engaged couples want sweet mistletoe pictures to send out with their “save-the-dates”, and companies want their holiday party documented for posterity.

Recently, I spent a little time in a well-known landmark of Kansas City. The building was decked out for the holidays, with twinkle lights, garlands, and trees with gorgeous red and gold ornaments. My favorite Christmas tree stretched tall toward the beautifully arched ceiling, and I smiled when I caught a glimpse of it. I started to make my way toward the tree and was abruptly nudged to the right by a harried-looking mother pushing a stroller. I took another step, but was forced to stop suddenly as I attempted to avoid tripping over a small girl who darted in front of me. I paused for a moment, then painstakingly made my way through the crowd. I reached my destination and snapped a quick picture, then turned back the way I had come. As I weaved my way back through dozens of individuals, I was struck by the constant hum of conversation all around me. No one was shouting, but the collective volume almost seemed like a virtual assault to my ears.

As I reflect on my few moments there in that crowd of people, the parallels between my experience and the current rhythms of my daily life are difficult to ignore. My commitments at this stage of life are many and varied, and if I am not careful, they are quick to take over my thoughts, heart and ears. Have you ever tried to listen to someone else as a barrage of noise continues all around you?

Imagine yourself standing near the edge of a pool where a waterfall collects. The sound of water crashing down is nearly deafening. Picture your good friend standing at the water’s edge on the other side of the waterfall. The two of you are facing each other, and her only task is to tell you “I love you.” “I love you!” she calls. “WHAT?” you respond. “I LOVE YOU!” she raises her voice. “WHAT? I’M SORRY, BUT I JUST CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOU!” you shout.  The sensory assault is frustrating for all parties.

How often do we find ourselves in this same position with Christ? He stands there, watching and waiting, intent on speaking His heart into us. We love Him and want to hear from Him, but we can’t hear His voice over the many noises that resound in our ears. Each of us is guilty of allowing busy-ness to rule our lives and hearts on occasion. What we fail to realize is that when we allow our schedules to rule us, we are also failing to create space to listen for His rule in us.

Joseph and Mary faced a similar situation. I’m sure that as young parents and members of a community, there were plenty of things that could have held their attention or distracted them from listening for God’s direction. Instead, they chose to remain focused on Him, ready to obey at a moment’s notice. As a result of their faithfulness, God told them precisely when to go to Egypt. And when God spoke, they obeyed immediately. Their deliberate decision to clear space in order to listen and obey, ultimately resulted in their safe passage into Egypt. Let Joseph’s example encourage you to clear space and listen intently for His voice!

Father, You are faithful and Your love is good. May we never forget that Your voice is the only one we seek. Teach us how to make quiet spaces so that we might listen to You. Rest on us this Christmas and show us how to be Your light in a busy world.

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
Join us for every Journey Study by signing up!
Looking for yesterday’s Journey Study?
Share your thoughts from today’s Study!

Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Space Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Space!

Posted in: Busy, Generous, Life, Lost, Ordinary, Relationship, Rest, Space, Worship Tagged: Christmas, listen, prepare, quiet, space, stillness

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14