The Kingdom is within me

Good after noon to all, I am floored at how fast this day has gone. And yet I feel so blessed today. It is so beautiful outside, even thought it is so hot, the sun it shinning and it is beautiful. Anyway, I was not going to post this because I have been praying on it, but for some reason I feel a deep need to blog about it, so here it goes.

I am in this Friday night group of women, who are dear to me and I am blessed to be in there group. We have been doing a study on Esther by Beth Moore. I have to be honest, at first I was not sure I wanted to do this study by Beth Moore, but I prayed about it and I am glad I stayed. This study is really touching me. Week four day four really touched me, I recommend you read the book of Esther. Where I will be is Chapter 4, this is where Mordecai just finds out about the decree that the king releases ordering the destruction of the Jews. He goes before the gate of the kingdom dressed in sack clothe and wailing out loud. Esther hears about it and send him clothes and wonders what is going on.

Through the conversation between the gate, Mordecai reminds Esther that she is a Jew and she is in a position to talk to the King. Beth then takes me through a series of scriptures to show me God's truth and how I believe it effects my life. She wants to have me tell a little about the scripture and if I see the scriptures as Figuratively, Spiritually, Literally or Not at all applying to my life. As I am going through each scripture and figuring out how I see it, I come upon one scripture that just floors me. Luke 17:20-21 "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God come not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." I had to read it a couple of times and then I just grabbed my Life Application Bible and I looked it up in the study below. This is what I got from it. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a location on a map, it is within us, through the spirit. I will be there when I die, but until then it is here within me along with the spirit.

This blew my mind, I knew that the spirit is within me from the moment that I excepted Jesus as my savior, but I had no idea the whole kingdom was there. WOW! So of course I marked "Literally" on my scale. But besides sharing this awesome revelation with you, I wanted to tell you one last tidbit of information. This is a quote by Beth Moore, "You have royal blood in a way that even Esther did not. The crimson bloodline of Christ flows through your veins." You have something that Esther did not even get, you have Jesus. She had God and the knowledge that she is Jewish, but we have the everlasting promise of eternal life and the instant forgiveness of sins just by confessing. That is lots to chew on.

God used Esther in mighty ways, and in my same breath I am going to encourage you all the same. God can use you in mighty ways, after all, you are holding two keys within you already, the spirit and the Kingdom of Heaven. How awesome is that? Love Tanya