LOVE

LOVE

“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing." 

Zephaniah 3:17

 “For God so lo_Ved the world

           that He g_Ave

                His on_Ly

                begott_En

                      So_N

                          _That whosoever

          believeth _In Him

              should _Not perish

           but have _Everlasting life”

                                   John 3:16     

God loved us first.  He loves the world.  He loves whosoever unconditionally.  All are called.  It is not about us and what we have done or are doing.  No one can be perfect or righteous in and of himself.  It is by God’s GRACE alone, through the sacrifice of His Son, that we are seen as righteous by God through the filter of Christ.  This Agape, Unconditional LOVE is the love that God wants us to manifest in our human lives.  There is no way we can express this kind of love to others until we have experienced the ONE who loved us first!  God is LOVE.  Faith in Him is a gift.  It is up to us, each whosoever, to receive the gift.  All who have heard God’s plan of Salvation have a free will choice to believe or reject His plan.  He wants us to know how to love because we know Him and have experienced His Love in our lives.  He wants us to Believe, Receive, turn to God and turn away from our human wrongdoings.  When we are filled with God’s love, only then can, agape and unconditional love flow through us touching the lives of others; on Valentine’s Day and everyday.

I dedicate this to you Heidi.  You knew God and His Son. You are in His everlasting arms.  We love you!        

Christ is The Bridegroom; The Church is The Bride

Throughout Scriptures the Bible tells us of Christ’s marriage relationship with us.  We and Christ become one when we meet Him at the alter of our faith.  This spiritual analogy of Bridegroom and Bride; husband and wife, is seen in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.  Christ can be found throughout the 66 books of the Bible.  God’s plan of redemption begins at the beginning, in Genesis. God’s Salvation plan for our redemption is seen from the first book to the last book of the Bible.  In the Revelation we read about Christ returning for His bride. 

In marriage, husband and wife become one physically and spiritually.  Christ wants us to love Him and become one in mind and body with Him.  Jesus is referred to as the Bridegroom in the Bible many times.  The Old Testament Prophets used the term bridegroom liberally, as did Jesus Himself.  We also see this description used by the apostles in the gospels, the epistles, and in the Book of Revelation. 

Isaiah 54:5 says, “for now your creator will be your husband, His name, The Lord God Almighty; your Redeemer will be The Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth”.  Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will exalt for joy in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God; for He has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity; like a bridegroom wearing his wreath; like a bride adorned in her jewels”.      

Psalm 46 tells of the King being a royal husband delighting in the beauty of his bride, a beautiful princess waiting for the King in her chamber.  The marriage celebration is a joyful, enthusiastic procession as they enter the King’s palace.  We are to honor the King, for He is our Lord.  We enter into God’s kingdom the moment we believe and receive Him as our Lord, our King, and our Redeemer.  As believers, we are Christ’s brides.  He is our Bridegroom.  In Ephesians 5:31, Paul writes, “ ‘As the Scriptures say, A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’  This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one”.  In the Old Testament book, Song of Songs, love between a husband and wife is understood by Paul to be a picture of the love Christ has for his bride, the church.  Song of Songs is a collection of love poems.  The book is attributed to Solomon in the Hebrew title “Song of Solomon”.  These songs have often been interpreted by Jews as a picture of the relationship between God and His people, the Israelites.  In the Old Testament, Israel is called God’s wife (Jeremiah 3:1 and Ezekiel 16 and 23).  In the New Testament Christ is the Bridegroom and we, the Church are His bride.  

God told John in Revelation 19:9, Write this, “Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb”.  Christ is the final Sacrificial Lamb for the atonement of our sins.  Christ is the Bridegroom at the wedding feast.  God calls each of us by name to the wedding feast to be rescued, person by person.  The Church is not a building.  The Church is God’s bride comprised of all who have received and said yes to God’s invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb.  By God’s Grace alone is everyone invited; not by anything that we have done.  He supplies the wedding garments.  We just have to choose to put them on!  Read about God’s invitation to each of us in Matthew 22.  YES!