“If we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later.” Romans 8:17-18


I was reading recently from Nancy Guthrie’s One Year Book of Hope, and was taken by this…


“Have you come to the place where you believe the glory of God is worth what it has cost you or may cost you in the future? Have you embraced the foundational truth that your life is not about you and your pain, but that you exist to display and enjoy the glory of God? All of history and every aspect of your life have been designed by God to display his greatness and his beauty. And so I pass along this question for you to ponder, this endeavor for you to embrace: What is it that God wants to do in you or through you that would have to cost you this much? Whatever it is, I assure you it will be glorious.”


Those are some life altering thoughts…


Here is some scripture to spend time in: (try reading these in The Message)
1 peter 4:1-2
1 peter 4:19
1 peter 2:21,23
Luke 9:23-24

"I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And I will tell of Your greatness.
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
The LORD is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The LORD is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,
And Your godly ones shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power;
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The LORD keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever."

Psalm 145

Some thoughts on why you should join us for the Summer Series...

"In God's economy even those who mourn are blessed. The Greek word translated "blessed" in Matthew 5:4 beautifully expresses the essence of the blessed life. 'Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lived coram deo, before the face of God.' Sometimes the circumstances of our suffering may not change, but the circumstances of our hearts are changed in the midst of them through a keen sense of God's presence and a lively perception of His activity.


Blessedness describes the condition of a person who reveres God, steeps her life in Him, and follows His ways. She doesn't just look to God in spiritual or religious matters. She looks to Him in every matter. He's not just the most important part of her life. He is her life. The result of this divine invasion is the that the life operates overall at optimum earth-satisfaction, joy and purpose and without the crushing burdens of self-glory and sin. In other words, her life actually works." Beth Moore, Stepping Up

Just a smattering of the jewels of this study....click over to the website and register. We would love to have you.

Welcome to Drawing Near Ministries. We are a ministry committed to providing opportunities for women to come together under his word in study and worship. We are kicking off the ministry with a Summer Series starting on June 22. If you have not wandered over to the website, you may do so by clicking here. Come join us on Monday nights this summer. We will be sojourner's together as we travel with Beth Moore through the Psalms of Ascent. Registration is now open on the website. Tell your friends!!