Are You Ready?Sample

To be prepared for the unknown, we need to draw near to God.  He wants to have a vibrant relationship with us. We must remain in God and in His promises in order to yield fruit in our lives. In order to draw near to God consistently, we need to get disciplined about spiritual disciplines. These practices promote spiritual growth. Disciplines outworked within our daily rhythms will enable us to strengthen our relationship with God.  This can include worship, prayer, study, rest, meditation, fellowship, celebration, or fasting.  Disciplines remind us, restore us, calibrate us, train us, guide, and reconcile us. King David for example exhibited conversational communion with God (in prayer) through many of the challenges he faced.  We can grow in these disciplines daily.  

Drawing near to God, requires the removal of unhealthy relationships, excessively busy schedules without margin, elimination of idols, or resolving things that take up too much real estate in our minds, such as hurt or bitterness. Daily drawing near to God is a life’s work, but it begins today.  

QUESTIONS 

What will it look like to get disciplined about spiritual disciplines?  

What can you remove from your life that creates distance between you and God?  

What can you leave in the “wilderness” in order to enter the “promised land” with a sense of freedom?