prepare

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

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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