Do you ever consider that Jesus is a man in search of a
wife? Of course He’s more than a man and
His bride is more than a wife but the basic premise is the same. Jesus loves mankind but He’s not looking for
loose women or promiscuous lovers. Our
Savior wants a faithful and loving bride.
His original problem with Israel was their constant running
off after lovers of wood and stone. We
Christians…who have touched the heart of our Husband in faith…and have been touched
in return…know that we are in a relationship with a real person who loves and
cherishes us. Our greatest failure would
be to allow ANY other relationships to attain the same level of love and
romance we have with Christ.
There may be little physical connection with our Lord and
Lover but there should never be a lack of communication, the whispering of
romantic words or passionate communications.
Like any great love, if you ignore your Lord and Lover Jesus Christ you
may well incur his wrath and fury. God
has made allowances for our physical and emotional love of a human mate but He
will not allow his spiritual and yes…emotional love, to be suborned by something
unworthy.
There are extremely good reasons for being circumspect and
honest in our love of God. The first
from our point of view is probably salvation.
We do not want to go to Hell and are more willing to do what it takes to
avoid that unhappy occurrence. Another
would be the loss of an incomparable love to be had with Jesus. As human beings we sometimes forget just how
much God loves us and what lengths He will go to express that love for us.
If you have ever gone out in the pouring rain or the heat of
the day to provide some gift or meal for your natural lover, what are you
willing to do, how much are you willing to endure, for your God? There are certain relationships He has
forbidden. He loves you but if you
refuse to change those relationships…is He really your Lord and God? I understand that there are things you want
in this human life and things you feel you need; but are you willing to
surrender these things to receive a passionate and miraculous response from
your God?
In almost every case that the Bible seems to be unreasonable
we can identify our frustration as sin.
Eve sinned because Satan’s argument was extremely persuasive. He wasn’t right, just persuasive. We must always realize that there are
hundreds of persuasive arguments to be used in any circumstance. In the midst of all those valid seeming
arguments stands one immutable thing…the Word of God. It stands complete and unchanged throughout
the generations.
I have heard masters of persuasion speak from the Catholic
Pope to Joel Osteen to Spirit Filled Pastors.
None of these messages matter unless they stand side by side with our
Scripture. If they change the Word of
God by even one period or crossed T then they have failed in the entire
message.
God’s Word is perfect and whole. God Himself has made it so and any computer
programmer or scholar or even an ordinary saint can discover the miracle truths
with just a bit of diligence. He will
not allow His Word to fail. Are you
willing to stand even when it is uncomfortable?
I hope so.
During this season of our planetary history we are being
told that God’s grace is sufficient to the point that He does not expect
obedience or even that we try to obey His Word.
This lie is often told to those who have accepted God’s written Word and
strive to obey it well. We’re told that
God’s grace forgives deliberate disobedience and willful sin. Really?
As a husband, am I willing to stay with a mate who flaunts her
unwillingness to live by godly rules?
Will I remain when she has become a drunken prostitute who will give
herself to the best gifts?
Jesus obeyed God the Father to the cross. He never mumbled about having to die for our
sin. We do not have the right to change
one period or crossed T to make the Gospel more comfortable to us. If you have vowed a wedding vow to Jesus it
came with a promise to obey His Holy Word.
Our Walk with God is not a golden parachute that lets us live like the
devil and be reborn after death to life with the angels.
We have no right to teach otherwise. It is cowardly and foolhardy. More importantly, it cheapens the selfless
act performed by our Savior and Husband and it makes us unworthy of all the
wonderful promises God has made to us.
Perhaps the most important reason is that when you teach others what God
has done for you, the watered down version will lead an entire generation to
Hell and the fault will be yours. These
are potential brides of Christ and I pray that whosoever changes one jot or
tittle of God’s Word will be forever cursed.
Moreover I pray that this chastening from God will begin immediately for
all to see.
It is one thing to be wrong and when God has chastened your
life you live correctly before Him. It
is something totally different to teach what YOU want to believe because the
truth is too hard for you. A faithful
prophet of God spoke last week and said, “It might be hard to do and teach what
is right but it is not impossible.”
Why? Because in Christ we can do
all things.
Beloved, take care what you teach and what you choose to
believe and obey. The Devil has always
been a liar and the father of them. He
sounds perfectly reasonable and can make honest God fearing Christians seem
like raging lunatics. Do not be
deceived, God is not mocked. John said,
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
God’s Word became our Savior. That
Word NEVER changes no matter how much the world does. His promises NEVER fail. His prophecies ALWAYS come true. His is the only faith in which that is true.
Continue to stand and Christ will deliver beloved. There is much more room at the altar for
brides of the Most High. Let’s make sure
they all know what to wear.
Bishop J
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