On December 27, 2011 I had the following dream:
The wedding itself speaks of the consummation of our betrothal to the groom, who is Jesus. While the heavenly man tarries, His bride awaits His return to rule with us in righteousness. The dream is a reminder that there is a day, fast approaching when He will return as promised. No one knows that day but the Father, but we are still to be about the business of making preparations for the wedding.
If you haven't accepted the invitation to the wedding, it is important that you do so. Don't put this off. The day is approaching quickly.
There is a message for those who consider themselves to be the bride of Christ - prepare yourself to meet your king. As I look at the bride today, I see a shadowy form of the beautiful bride the Lord would have us to be. There is indeed much work to be done.
The bride has been assaulted, molested, beaten and abused at the hands of too many people. Church leaders have used her as a punching bag. Politicians use her as a target for the shooting range. And many of us suffer gossip, slander and every kind of treachery at the hands of our brothers and sisters. Much of the abuse the bride receives is self-inflicted.
We've received these words of condemnation into our hearts. As a result we've developed a shattered and distorted identity. Seeking revenge, we've become militant warriors bent on destroying those who have abused and accused us. We wage war against secular institutions, the liberal media, Islam and anyone who dares to disagree with our world views. We've become combatants against the world that our king came to save. We've truly lost our focus.
The bride makes herself ready.
We need to be about the business of making ourselves beautiful for our king. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you've become lovely for the king who purchased you with His own blood. In your character, do you see the love, faith and compassion our King would look for? Or do you have an angry, doubtful or mistrusting heart? These are the things we should focus on. It's easy to become focused on politics, economic worries, rumors of war and the like. These things are distractions. Let the bride be focused and filled with the love, being made beautiful for her king.
There is a message for those whose task it is to prepare the bride - do not grow weary in well-doing. It's the duty of apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists to train and equip the saints, who are the bride. Part of that training and equipping involves developing Godly character in the body of Christ. It is this character that makes the bride beautiful.
We must assist the bride in growing into maturity. We must help her to be healed of the wounds she's received. We must re-shape her identity. The bride is not at war with the world, but rather through acts of mercy, love and compassion she is to defeat the powers of darkness. The bride was meant to be the envy of the world, not the scourge of it.
The king is coming. Let the bride make herself ready.
There was a wedding approaching. I had two things to do as the wedding day drew near. One was to help the bride prepare; the other was to announce the wedding and invite guests. This was a very important event. I felt a sense of urgency as I worked. I did all that I could to encourage people to clear their calendars for the wedding and be sure to come to it prepared. The days went by quickly, but finally the wedding day arrived. I was excited, but busy as there was still much to be done before the bride would be made perfect for her king. Just before the wedding ceremony began, the dream ended.
As I thought about the dream the following day, I saw messages to three different groups of people. There is one for those who consider themselves to be the bride; one for those are preparing the bride and one for those who don't yet know about the wedding.
The wedding itself speaks of the consummation of our betrothal to the groom, who is Jesus. While the heavenly man tarries, His bride awaits His return to rule with us in righteousness. The dream is a reminder that there is a day, fast approaching when He will return as promised. No one knows that day but the Father, but we are still to be about the business of making preparations for the wedding.
If you haven't accepted the invitation to the wedding, it is important that you do so. Don't put this off. The day is approaching quickly.
There is a message for those who consider themselves to be the bride of Christ - prepare yourself to meet your king. As I look at the bride today, I see a shadowy form of the beautiful bride the Lord would have us to be. There is indeed much work to be done.
The bride has been assaulted, molested, beaten and abused at the hands of too many people. Church leaders have used her as a punching bag. Politicians use her as a target for the shooting range. And many of us suffer gossip, slander and every kind of treachery at the hands of our brothers and sisters. Much of the abuse the bride receives is self-inflicted.
We've received these words of condemnation into our hearts. As a result we've developed a shattered and distorted identity. Seeking revenge, we've become militant warriors bent on destroying those who have abused and accused us. We wage war against secular institutions, the liberal media, Islam and anyone who dares to disagree with our world views. We've become combatants against the world that our king came to save. We've truly lost our focus.
The bride makes herself ready.
We need to be about the business of making ourselves beautiful for our king. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you've become lovely for the king who purchased you with His own blood. In your character, do you see the love, faith and compassion our King would look for? Or do you have an angry, doubtful or mistrusting heart? These are the things we should focus on. It's easy to become focused on politics, economic worries, rumors of war and the like. These things are distractions. Let the bride be focused and filled with the love, being made beautiful for her king.
There is a message for those whose task it is to prepare the bride - do not grow weary in well-doing. It's the duty of apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists to train and equip the saints, who are the bride. Part of that training and equipping involves developing Godly character in the body of Christ. It is this character that makes the bride beautiful.
We must assist the bride in growing into maturity. We must help her to be healed of the wounds she's received. We must re-shape her identity. The bride is not at war with the world, but rather through acts of mercy, love and compassion she is to defeat the powers of darkness. The bride was meant to be the envy of the world, not the scourge of it.
The king is coming. Let the bride make herself ready.
2 comments:
That is beautiful. Thanks for posting.
Glad you liked it!
:)
PM
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