The Kingdom is Near

Good morning making space friends. This blog is designed to help us make space for God so that we will not be overwhelmed with life. Jesus’s words remind us that we are the branch to the vine; that He refreshes and fills us as we draw near to Him. As we have all witnessed the last few months during the worldwide pandemic, we have felt a greater need to draw near to the Source of Living Water.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. (John 7:37-39). 

Rivers of living water…

Water for our weary souls….

Jesus is the answer for our thirst, and this is the space where we address how to drink deeply from His well.

News flash, for those who have been following this blog and for those who are just connecting with our Drawing Near to God community, the blog will hereafter be titled Abiding Space. Twenty years ago when our Drawing Near to God Ministry was founded, it was based on the scripture in John 15:

I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Friends, I have discovered the reality of this as never before during the pandemic We need an intimate connection with Jesus to fill our thirsty soul.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what it means to live connected to Christ in His kingdom. Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world, but I don’t know about you the world seems to grab me and occupy too much of my thought life and my actions. As I was pondering this, the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart: “Teach on the kingdom. God’s ways are not the ways of the world.” Many of you know that I was preparing to teach on the book of Hebrews in the fall and I wondered if this word could really be from God. But as I sat with Him in prayer and meditation, it became clear that the church is made to be distinctive from the world. A lighthouse to the world pointing to Christ.

 

So friends, I am doing something I have not done in 20 years of teaching. I am taking a leap of faith, laying down months of preparing to teach Hebrews, and trying to be obedient to the call to teach on the kingdom. This teaching series is based on the Scripture he gave to me during my prayer time when the shift occurred.

You may recall the story of Joshua standing on the edge of Jericho, preparing to enter the city; to face his enemies and lead God’s people into the Promised Land. Here is the interchange:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asked: “are you for us or for our enemies?”. Neither, he replied, but as commander in chief of the army of the Lord I have now come. Then Joshua, face down to the ground in reverence asked him: ” What message does the Lord have for the servant?”. The commander of the Lord’s army replied: ” Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”

 

Friends as we enter into this season of crossing over into a new normal, we note that emotions are high. Do we open up society completely? How to do it? Do we wear masks? What do we do about the economy? Our kids and school? We must remember not to take the bait of thinking we must chose a side. We must remember to choose Jesus and His kingdom; to pray and ask for His wisdom, His power, His perspective. He is standing with a sword in His hand reminding us today that we do not need to chose a side. We simply need to chose Him and He will fight for us as.

Come join me in September as we shift into a season of pressing into the Kingdom of God and learn how to shape our lives around this reality.

 

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