HARVEST
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
 
 
Dearly Beloved of the Most High God,

 

Welcome to another exciting 40-day journey with the Lord! The journey before us represents another divine opportunity to delve into the depths of the Word of God and experience even deeper levels of intimacy with our Lord as we seek to satisfy our hunger for more knowledge and understanding of the One our heart loves.

 
The focus of these next forty days is the subject most central to the teaching of Jesus Christ: the Kingdom of God (also referred to as the "Kingdom of Heaven" in the Gospel of Matthew).  The Kingdom of God is the eternal kingdom of God (His Kingdom has been and always will be!), and the Lord God is our eternal King who sits on His Heavenly throne, reigning with justice and righteousness over all His creation (reference Psalm 103:6, 19). 

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we long for the day when our Lord will return as the conquering King and establish His kingdom forever on this earth (reference Revelation 11:15; 19:11-16).  For now we are tasked with remaining faithful in the "little things":  diligently studying the Word of God, spending time with our Lord in prayer, being obedient to God's will, and walking daily in His ways.  Having experienced a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we now have the divine privilege of spending intimate time with an imminent God, and our greatest desire should be to dwell in His presence daily.

 

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek Him in His temple."

(Psalm 27:4)

 

The temple of the Lord has stood for generations as the symbol for the presence of God in the midst of His people Israel (Exodus 25:8; 29:42-43; 40:35;.  The Lord answered the cry of King David's heart to establish a dwelling place for the Lord through His son Solomon (reference 1 Chronicles 17:10-14; 28:10; 2 Chronicles 3:1-2; 7:16).  From construction, to destruction, to rebuilding again, the temple would remain a beacon of hope and the promise of a future for God's chosen nation.

 

After the destruction of