Paint Party Friday: Within You!

One of the scribes asked Jesus a question,

and at the end of the exchange Jesus told him,

"You are not far from the Kingdom of God."

Mark 12:34

If only that scribe knew!

He was literally, NOT FAR from the Kingdom of God!

Jesus was probably just a foot and a half away from Him!

How about us?

Do we realize how near to us heaven could be?

 In different versions of Luke 17:21,

we can read that the Kingdom if God is

in our midst, already among us, within us,

is with us!

The Aramaic Bible interestingly translates this verse

"The Kingdom of God is within SOME of you."

I think I prefer this translation!

Some people have the gift of 

bringing the presence of God

with them even in the mundane, 

ordinary, tedious tasks of every day life.

I would like to be like Brother Lawrence, 

a uneducated lay brother with the 

Discalced Carmelites,

who practiced infusing his work 

in the kitchen with love for God.

This from Wikipedia:

For Brother Lawrence, "common business," 

no matter how mundane or routine, 

could be a medium of God's love. 

The sacredness or worldly status of a task 

mattered less than motivation behind it. 

"Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . 

We can do little things for God; 

I turn the cake that is frying on the pan 

for love of him, and that done, 

if there is nothing else to call me, 

I prostrate myself in worship before him,

 who has given me grace to work; 

afterwards I rise happier than a king. 

It is enough for me to pick up but a straw 

 from the ground for the love of God."

 "Let us come into His presence 

with thanksgiving..." Psalm 95:2
If we want more of God's power, 

victory and fullness in our life, 

we need to praise and thank Him!
David praised His way into God's heart! 

He prayed three times a day but 

praised God seven times a day! 

 And God called him a "man after my own heart." 

(1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22)

If we want to be like Brother Lawrence,

I think the easiest way to start

is to begin by praising God!!!

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