I am still processing. One thing that really hit me is that God is going to return--VERY SOON--and He is coming back for a bride that is to be prepared for that return.
A bride that is not found wrapped up in the arms of another lover....... when He holds out His hand and bids her--COME!
I have said before ......... I know and fear -as a bride-we are not ready.
I can evaluate my own life and say that I am not without wrinkle or blemish.
Ephesians 5:26-28 (King James Version)
26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
We want to wear the label--CHRISTIAN-because it is our ticket to heaven--but have we truly put ourselves on the altar as a sacrifice unto God?
Are we walking away from a world that says they believe in God but don't believe in the TRUTH and POWER of God? We don't believe that God truly has the power to make for Himself a perfect bride. So we will just live the way we want till we get to heaven.
2 Timothy 3:4-6 (King James Version)
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
I have thought in the past, Well, I may not be perfect but one day God is going to come for me and I will be perfect as He is perfect. That is part truth. But, if you go back and read the verse in Ephesians, Jesus is coming back for a bride that is without spot, wrinkle. A HOLY bride.
That should make us think.
Am I............ Holy and without blemish?
Now, the most common response to this would be--Well, the blood has made me Holy and with out blemish in the sight of God. True--in part. But, can I sit down here and live the way I want to live and sin the way I want to sin and still think God is looking at me as
Holy and without blemish?
I don't think so.
If that was the case then why in Ephesians 5: 26- would Jesus be about the work of cleaning up His bride by the washing of the word?
When is the last time that you allowed Jesus to go about the work of
sanctifying you?
sanc·ti·fy --from the dictionary
1. to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.
2. to purify or free from sin: Sanctify your hearts.
3. to impart religious sanction to; render legitimate or binding: to sanctify a vow.
4. to entitle to reverence or respect.
5. to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing.
This is not something we can do ourselves. This is the work of Jesus through the word and the Holy Spirit.
If we try and do it ourselves we become no different than the Pharisees. We become a religious organism instead of the living word of God here on the earth.
This is stuff we have all heard before. But, I pray that this time we would allow the Holy Spirit to shine a light on our insides. Let Him show you the hidden spots and blemishes that our enemy keeps us from seeing. He is the deceiver-that is his job. So we can all admit that we have been deceived at one time or another in our life. The important thing is that we allow the Spirit to show us that deception.
Remember--man (that is us) looks on the outside and thinks "hmmmm, not bad".
But, God looks deep into our inner man. He is coming for a bride without spot or blemish or wrinkle. Ask Him to show you what that means . Then ask Him to get you ready for the coming of your groom.
Let us not be found in the arms of another lover.
21 comments:
You always get me thinking girlfriend. I have had this experience though more than a few times in my life. I think I am going alone nicely then WHAM! God reveals something that I had been completely blind to. I am thankful that if I stay in His Word, keep seeking His face, He will be faithful to finish the good work He began in me. BUT I know exactly of what you speak! I think! LOL!
VERY good post! Very true. I am thankful that He is sanctifying me daily. I pray that I will be worthy of the name 'Christian'.
Been thinking about PawPaw today. ((( hugs ))) How are you doing? D
Sharon,
A powerful post and food for thought. Yes, the Bride of Christ is to be without wrinkle or blemish but as hard as we try, we will never be perfect. Only God is perfect.
"All have fallen short of the Glory of God." We are all sinners and have been washed in the blood. That doesn't mean we can go out and sin and then go to church on Sunday and be forgiven. We must try our best to be perfect in God's eyes.
You always teach me something and I am so grateful that God has made us friends. I learn from you everytime I come here.
Love ya, Sis.
Blessings,
Mary
Oh this is a beautiful post. I am struck with how true this is for me. Thanks for the reminder.
A common message being shared....in oh so many places. Get ready. I loved this, it was beautiful. Praying that you have a blessed day!
I am not without spot or wrinkle so I guess He won't be coming back for me.
Thanks for never being afraid to speak the truth sis. I am daily blessed by you. I love you.
Amen Sister!! We are a work in progress:)
If we allow Him, the Holy Spirit truly conforms us to the image of Christ. If we don't run when we are confronted with our true selves and repent and ask the Father to help us...that's one more wrinkle ironed out.
It's all about obedience. When God shows us ourselves, do we run, do we ignore him, do we say "that's not me!" Or worse yet, do we tell ourselves, "oh I've got time, I'll get around to it later."
I think where we fail is application of the word. Jesus said (paraphrasing) how can you call me Lord and you don't do what I say?
You don't have to be wrinkled. You just have to be willing and diligent to the "ironing" process.
I have many thoughts on this and will give it some thought before I post my comment...... You have a lot of information to process.... I love the after glow of a Revival ... I miss them.. We hardly have them any more... People are not as faithful to them as they once were.. I will give this some thought and then comment again..........
Whew- great post. I know I am not without spot or wrinkle- that is for sure. He's still working on me!
I forgot to add that I love your new signature!
Good post. We were thinking along the same lines.
HELLO just want to inform you that youve hitted a spot in TOP FIVE HOTTEST BLOGS
ive got an award for you have a GREAT DAY
Very well said, Sharon.
Whether I have spot or wrinkle, Christ is returning for His children saved by the blood. Washed clean through His sacrifice.
There is saving faith and then there is walking faith- two entirely separate things...a wrinkle or blemish will keep me out of the new Jerusalem, but not out of heaven...two very differnt places--outside the city/kingdom, verses outside of hell.
It's up to us to get ourselves *ready and dressed* in wedding garments, and up to Christ alone to pay our hell penalty...
Great post...
You write such beautiful posts, Sharon.
God loves your heart.
Sharon,
I hope you know that I don't see my post in conflict with the train of thought you have been taking lately. In fact I see one being needed in order to attain the other. I see Christians being transparent, asking for help as one of the keys to holiness, for if we are forever hiding away our sins we cannot change. We must allow others who have overcome to help us. Sharing our burdens I think is such a good way to help us each allow God to clean us up! I don't know that you thought they were in opposition. It just hit me today that one could possibly misconstrue that and it wasn't my intent at all! Love always in Christ!
Love your thoughts, Sharon! Love your comments to! You have great commentors! You can see the family resemblance! :)
Ephesians, Romans, Isaiah, these are some of my favorites (but, alas I have many!) "Washing with the water by the word" perhaps one of the top 5 verse for me!
I can't explain what happens inside, the thrill when I read, hear or say these words!
Yes, the Robert Frost poem speaks to me "far to go before I sleep, far to go before I sleep"
We got a long way to go, Baby!
But He is faithful to get us across the threshold, yes?
Amen!
Keep pouring that basin of water over us, Sharon!
and LOVE the classy signature!
hugs,
Maria
Oh dear - I think you hit the nail on the head. There is so much stuff buried in my heart - and He is chipping away on it every single day. I just know that if He would not chip away on a daily basis my wrinkles would be even deeper than they are...
One thing that I am truly concerned about is "have I always followed His calling, or did I dismiss things because I was afraid of what the 'world' might think of me". I am not sure if that makes sense...
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on readiness.
Blessings to you and yours...
Sweet Sharon
I am far from being perfect....the only thing that God the Father sees when He looks at me is I am covered in the Blood of His Son Jesus....
My salvation is not anything that I did or will do....it is a free gift of grace alone, thru faith alone.
The church I belong to never has revivals..I think we need to have that in our hearts every day...24/7....to be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to do with us to conform ourselves to Jesus...
You have such a way with words....may the Lord richly bless you as you seek Him in your life.
God gets His scalpel out and starts to go to work. I imagine it like this: At first it took an ice pick to hammer away, now we are on the scalpel. This is where God can get in and do all of intricate cutting away on those places deep inside. Places we thought were OK until God started using His scalpel.
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