"You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart, with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice." Song of Solomon 4:9-10
We, the beloved of Jesus, are His bride. We have been chosen by God since before the creation of the world. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, "Long before He laid down the earth's foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ." (Message Translation) He chose me! He chose you! He is in love with His bride. He longs to catch us up in His loving arms~ to embrace His bride; to speak tenderly to her; to share His secrets with her. Do you realize that you are His beloved? If you know Jesus, you are betrothed to Him. This may be a new concept to you, but this "bridal paradigm" is where He wants us to remain. That we would see ourselves as a bride, betrothed to our Heavenly Groom, awaiting His return to take us to heaven with Him.
In a traditional Jewish betrothal (during Jesus' day), after the betrothal ceremony, the groom would return to his father's house. He would go to prepare a place for his bride in his father's house. (Doesn't that sound familiar to Jesus' words in John 14:2-3, "Now I go to prepare a place for you in my father's house. And I will come back to take you to be with me.") The rabbi set forth that the place to which the bride was to be taken must be better than the place she had lived before. The bridal chamber was only complete when the father of the groom said it was finished. So, the groom didn't even know the exact time when he could go and get his bride! During the betrothal period, the bride would prepare herself, so she would be ready when her groom came to carry her away! This betrothal period is known as, Kiddushim, meaning "sanctification" or "set apart". This period is different than our "engagement", for once a young man & woman were betrothed to one another, they were considered married (except there was no physical relationship). The betrothal period lasted approximately one year. It was a surprise to the bride when her groom would come, so towards the end of that time period the anxious bride would sleep with her bridal gown on, for she wanted to be ready & waiting for her groom. How are we, the bride, using our betrothal period? What should we be doing to prepare the return of the groom? Repentance, humility, worship, prayer, loving our groom more than anything else, keeping our covenant promises. Are you ready?
The groom's goal was to be unexpected on the arrival of the wedding day. He wanted to surprise his bride. At night, the groom's bestman would call out through the village, "Behold the bridegroom comes!" Villagers would join the wedding party as they made their way to the bride's home. As they got closer, the group would hush. The groom would call out to his bride, "Arise, come darling; my beautiful one, come with me." (Song of Solomon 2:10). She would put on her light, grab her veil and go into the dark night to meet her husband. The first stop would be under the huppah to confirm the wedding covenant made at the betrothal ceremony. This ceremony was done at night, under the stars as a reminder for the bride and groom of God's promise to Abraham of descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky. In the ceremony, the bride receives a ring which is placed on her index finger of the right hand, the finger used to point out Scripture in the Torah. The wedding celebration would last for 7 days with feasting and gifts. The bride and groom would emerge from the bridal chamber to greet the guests...
The wedding supper of the Lamb to come. Jesus told his disciples that he didn't know the day or hour of his return (Matthew 24:32-36), only his Father did. Will we hear a voice from heaven that shouts to the whole earth, "Behold the Bridegrooom comes!"? And our Heavenly groom will gather His bride, "Arise, come darling; my beautiful one, come with me." Revelation 19:7 says this of this event that is to come, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding supper of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready." Let us be the bride who is ready for her groom. You may want to read Matthew 25:1-13 to see the loving warning Jesus gives. This is an exciting time, our betrothal period. Jesus, I'm coming your way!
*Below is a video where you can see a bride & groom who present themselves to one another without a stain or blemish...a pure bride and a pure groom. As you watch this video, put yourself in the place of the bride and picture your glorious Jesus as the groom. What a day that will be when we see Him face to face. He removes our veil & tells us the we have stolen His heart. What a day that will be.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Will you help me find my daddy?
"He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else i will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:6
This summer, after attending the morning session at the Desperation conference (New Life Church, Colorado Springs), our team went to a fast food restaurant to grab lunch. The session title was "Are you an orphan, slave or son?" The theme that ran throughout the teaching was that spiritual fathers and mothers need to rise up to call out the destinies over the young people whom God has called them to "parent". So many of the youth who are in desperate pursuit of Jesus need mothers and fathers in the faith to believe in them, encourage them, call them up higher, challenge them, and to live radical lives in Christ that will be a model for these young people. Paul tells Timothy to "Imitate me". Paul could say that because Paul imitated Christ, so if Timothy was imitating Paul, he was really imitating Jesus. My husband and I know that God has called us to be a spiritual father and mother to kids that God has put in our path. While we were driving to the restaurant, we were talking over the ideas presented at the session. With tears we understand the blessing and responsibility it is to be called to "parent" these amazing young people. Upon entering the restaurant, a prophetic experience (confirmation) happened for me. I want to share it, because I believe it is a call for many in the spirit.
We waited in line (which took awhile, because it was very busy~ we weren't the only ones from the conference who chose this restaurant to visit) and ordered our food. Gathering our food bags & sodas, I stopped at the condiment counter to grab ketchep, straws, etc. A little boy (maybe 4-5), grabbed my hand and said to me, "Will you help me find my daddy? I can't find him. I don't know where he is." I handed my armful of lunch goodies to one of the kids with me, and grabbed this little one tightly to me and said, "Of course honey. Let's go find him." As I mentioned, the restaurant was very full, so there were people everywhere. From this little boy's perspective, all he saw were legs! So we walked around, my hand in his, looking for his daddy. I asked, "What does your daddy look like?" "I don't know. He's big," was his response. We made our way through the restaurant and finally he saw him. "DADDY" was his call! "I didn't know where you were. I couldn't find you," he said. "Well, I was right here," responded his daddy. "A lady helped me find you," continued my young friend. As soon as he saw his daddy, he let go of my hand. His dad was in his sight and he didn't need my help any longer. When I saw that he was in daddy's hands, I met my team and shared this experience. It certainly didn't take more than a second for me to understand that this was a prophetic act. What I was doing in the physical was what the Lord has asked of me to do in the spiritual.
How many young people are asking, "Will you help me find my daddy?" Are we willing? Am I willing? It just takes my hand joining their hand and sharing my life with theirs....and we will then lead them to daddy. Sometimes, we have to go through the "whole restaurant" until they can let go of our hand....to hear those words, "Oh there's my daddy...." What we do know of our daddy, is that we may not know what he looks like physically, we do know that He is BIG! And when we lead the young ones to Him, He says, "I was right here." I want to be counted as a faithful spiritual mother to those who need to find their daddy. I want to be one who calls out the destinies in those who I physically and spiritually parent.
What about you? Who is God calling you to be a spiritual father or mother to? Can you hear the question calling out, "Will you help me find my daddy?"
This summer, after attending the morning session at the Desperation conference (New Life Church, Colorado Springs), our team went to a fast food restaurant to grab lunch. The session title was "Are you an orphan, slave or son?" The theme that ran throughout the teaching was that spiritual fathers and mothers need to rise up to call out the destinies over the young people whom God has called them to "parent". So many of the youth who are in desperate pursuit of Jesus need mothers and fathers in the faith to believe in them, encourage them, call them up higher, challenge them, and to live radical lives in Christ that will be a model for these young people. Paul tells Timothy to "Imitate me". Paul could say that because Paul imitated Christ, so if Timothy was imitating Paul, he was really imitating Jesus. My husband and I know that God has called us to be a spiritual father and mother to kids that God has put in our path. While we were driving to the restaurant, we were talking over the ideas presented at the session. With tears we understand the blessing and responsibility it is to be called to "parent" these amazing young people. Upon entering the restaurant, a prophetic experience (confirmation) happened for me. I want to share it, because I believe it is a call for many in the spirit.
We waited in line (which took awhile, because it was very busy~ we weren't the only ones from the conference who chose this restaurant to visit) and ordered our food. Gathering our food bags & sodas, I stopped at the condiment counter to grab ketchep, straws, etc. A little boy (maybe 4-5), grabbed my hand and said to me, "Will you help me find my daddy? I can't find him. I don't know where he is." I handed my armful of lunch goodies to one of the kids with me, and grabbed this little one tightly to me and said, "Of course honey. Let's go find him." As I mentioned, the restaurant was very full, so there were people everywhere. From this little boy's perspective, all he saw were legs! So we walked around, my hand in his, looking for his daddy. I asked, "What does your daddy look like?" "I don't know. He's big," was his response. We made our way through the restaurant and finally he saw him. "DADDY" was his call! "I didn't know where you were. I couldn't find you," he said. "Well, I was right here," responded his daddy. "A lady helped me find you," continued my young friend. As soon as he saw his daddy, he let go of my hand. His dad was in his sight and he didn't need my help any longer. When I saw that he was in daddy's hands, I met my team and shared this experience. It certainly didn't take more than a second for me to understand that this was a prophetic act. What I was doing in the physical was what the Lord has asked of me to do in the spiritual.
How many young people are asking, "Will you help me find my daddy?" Are we willing? Am I willing? It just takes my hand joining their hand and sharing my life with theirs....and we will then lead them to daddy. Sometimes, we have to go through the "whole restaurant" until they can let go of our hand....to hear those words, "Oh there's my daddy...." What we do know of our daddy, is that we may not know what he looks like physically, we do know that He is BIG! And when we lead the young ones to Him, He says, "I was right here." I want to be counted as a faithful spiritual mother to those who need to find their daddy. I want to be one who calls out the destinies in those who I physically and spiritually parent.
What about you? Who is God calling you to be a spiritual father or mother to? Can you hear the question calling out, "Will you help me find my daddy?"
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