Your Love As A Bride

Jeremiah 2:2-3 (ESV)

2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD,

“I remember the devotion of your youth,

your love as a bride,

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the LORD,

the firstfruits of his harvest.

All who ate of it incurred guilt;

disaster came upon them,

declares the LORD.”

Jesus says something like this to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:3-4. Their first love of the Lord has faded into a memory. The wilderness journey of Israel is like the wilderness journey of the Church today. We follow Jesus in the wilderness of the world, but often settle into a complacency of routine. 

We have become the harvest of His word made flesh. As such, we can become the bride of Christ if we do not fall in the wilderness and persevere in the faith of obedience to the end. 

Poor In Spirit

Blessed are those poor in spirit, for they may now be filled with the riches of the Holy Spirit. 

Your Body His Body

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

The body of Christ is the temple of the Lord and His house of prayer. It is filled with those who worship Him in Spirit. 

Come

Revelation 22:17 (ESV)

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

The Spirit and Bride are one because they have been joined together in the marriage of heaven and earth. 

The disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus where He was staying. He said, “Come and see.” For those today who ask that question, the answer is the same.

“Come and see.”

Before You Today

Deuteronomy 30:15 (ESV)

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

God placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. He has done so in the heart of man. 

God has given each of us that choice. This is the choice that enables us to overcome the world of our flesh and eat from the tree of life. To be with Christ. 

The Miracle Of Life

The miracle of life is receiving the life of the Lord. 

Like A Leaf

Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)

6 We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Jesus cursed the fig tree which had no fruit, and it withered to the ground. (Mat 21:18) Israel is the fig tree that was uprooted from the promised land and scattered among the nations. 

They will be restored as leaves on the tree of life, made green all year, and will produce the fruit for the healing of the nations. (Rev 22:1-2)

The New Heavens And The Earth

Isaiah 66:22-23 (ESV)

22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth

that I make

shall remain before me, says the LORD,

so shall your offspring and your name remain.

23 From new moon to new moon,

and from Sabbath to Sabbath,

all flesh shall come to worship before me,

declares the LORD.

“The new heavens and the new earth” are the new creation of man in the image of God. Not just in the form of man, but in the life of Christ. 

The descendants of Israel will endure through their generations, from one Sabbath to another. They will dwell on the earth leading the nations in the worship of God. This is the domain of the flesh. 

There will be no descendants for those in Christ, for they are like the angels who are neither given or taken in marriage. They dwell in His living temple, never leaving the temple because they are the temple. 

They Will See His Face

Revelation 22:3-5 (ESV)

3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Israel will see the face of God while those who are in the body of Christ will see Him face to face, for they will be like Him. We are the children of His light. 

His word is written on our hearts. 

Fade Like A Leaf

Isaiah 64:6-7 (ESV)

6 We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is no one who calls upon your name,

who rouses himself to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us,

and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

Israel is like a leaf of a tree that dies and is blown away. Sin has caused the green leaves of the fig tree to shrivel, fall, and be carried away like chaff in the wind. 

They will be restored as leaves on the tree of life, made green all year, and will produce the fruit for the healing of the nations. (Rev 22:1-2)

What Comes Out

Matthew 15:10-11 (ESV)

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Sin is from the darkness of man. It comes from within. The light of God enters that darkness to fashion man into His image. The new creation of man takes place in this way by separating the light from the darkness and the waters above from the waters below. 

The light will change all who have it. 

Repentance And Faith

Acts 20:21 (ESV)

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we sin, it is against God the Father. When we repent, it is to God our Father. It prepares us to receive the kingdom of heaven. 

The kingdom of heaven draws near in the person Jesus. Faith in Him brings forgiveness of our sin and entry into the kingdom of heaven, which is the body of Christ Christ. 

His Name Alone Is Exalted

Psalms 148:13-14 (ESV)

13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty is above earth and heaven.

14 He has raised up a horn for his people,

praise for all his saints,

for the people of Israel who are near to him.

Praise the LORD!

There is one name by which man will be saved, to receive the salvation and blessings of heaven. This is the name we will receive if we follow Him to the end, even His new name. (Rev 3:12)

The Angel Of His Presence

Isaiah 63:9 (ESV)

In all their affliction he was afflicted,

and the angel of his presence saved them;

in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;

he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

This is the the same angel of the seven churches in Revelation. Christ was “the angel of his presence” because He was in the midst of their lampstands and was the one speaking to each church. 

John wrote the words, but the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to each church and each one of us today. 

Circumcised

Genesis 17:9-11 (ESV)

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

Genesis 17:19 (ESV)

God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

The Abrahamic covenant was for His descendants of the flesh. Throughout the generations, every male was to be circumcised as the sign of an everlasting covenant. And so it is. Isaac and Ishmael were both circumcised and so are their descendants of the covenant. 

A new covenant would be established with the seed of Isaac. He is the promised son from whose seed would come the Son of promise who is the seed of the word of God. The offspring of that covenant would be circumcised in the heart, male and female, in an everlasting covenant of eternal life. 

Another Door

No matter where you are, there is always another door. 

The Church

The body of Christ is the Church. It is filled with those filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore in Christ, for He is the Spirit. In Him we are one in the unity of heaven and earth which is manifest in Christ who is the image of God. One day we will see Him as He is and we will be like Him. 

Understood The Grace

Colossians 1:5-6 (ESV)

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

Understanding the grace of God in truth results in the ongoing and increasing of His fruit in the believer. Believing in the name of Jesus attaches us to the true vine of life. The Lord looks to each one of us bear the fruit of that life. 

Branch Of My Planting

Isaiah 60:21 (ESV)

Your people shall all be righteous;

they shall possess the land forever,

the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,

that I might be glorified.

God planted Adam in the Garden of Eden to work the ground to bring and multiply His light into all the earth. Adam foreshadowed Israel who was planted in the promised land to work the ground to bring and multiply His light into all the world. 

Israel becomes the root of the tree of life, planted in the promised land producing the Branch of Jessie in whom the people of the earth might become grafted branches in the tree of life. This is the work of the hands of the Lord. Jesus is the strong arm of God who is the tree of life. The Father is glorified in the Son, the Son is glorified by the Father, and we are glorified in the Son. The tent of meeting between God and man is replaced by the union of heaven and earth that is the new creation of man. This is the true and living temple of creation. 

The Highways To Zion

Psalms 84:5-7 (ESV)

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.

Blessed are those who who rely on the power of your name 

Whose hearts have made straight for the way of the Lord 

Who turn the valley of weeping 

Into fountains of living waters 

To make it a place of prosperity and blessings 

Who go forth in the strength of the Lord

To reach His presence on the mountain of God

Light Revealed

Moses spent forty days on the mountain in the presence of the Lord. There he received the Law. 

Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness of man. There He fulfilled the Law. 

In both cases the word of God was revealed. The finger of God on the mountaintop becomes the flesh of man on the earth below. 

May Become Partakers

2 Peter 1:4 ESV 

4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 

Jesus is the Promised Son and the Son of Promise. He is the light of the world who brings the rebirth of light into the darkness of men, creating in us children of His light. We become suitable companions for the Son of God. We have escaped the corruption of the forbidden fruit of the world and now reach for the fruit of the tree of life, which is the desire of our hearts. 

Calling And Election

The calling and election of Israel was as a people. They were charged with bringing the light of God into the world. 

The calling and election of His disciples is personal. We are charged with being the light of God in the world. 

We are grafted into the tree of life whose roots are in the promised land and whose branches extend into the kingdom of heaven. 

The Calling And Election

The calling and election of Israel was as a people. They were charged with bringing the light of God into the world. 

The calling and election of His disciples is personal. We are charged with being the light of God in the world. 

We are grafted into the tree of life whose roots are in the promised land and whose branches extend into the kingdom of heaven. 

His Divine Power

2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 

The Holy Spirit is the divine power of God in creation. He brings us into the truth of God because He is the truth. He has resurrected us from the confinement of the knowledge of the world and into the mind of Christ. We are reborn into the life of the Spirit. This unity in the Spirit brings us into knowing Christ. He has called us into a life in the image of God, of His glory and excellence. 

Blessed Are Those

Psalms 84:3-4 (ESV)

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

The birds of the air 

Find their home and rest in you 

O Lord of hosts

My King and my God

Blessed are those who abide you

Ever singing your praise, boasting in your name 

Before The Foundation

1 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV)

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The word of God was anointed to come into the world before the foundation of the the world was laid. He was made manifest in these last times so that our faith and hope are in God. We are in the last days of the last times. 

This is the plan of God from the beginning. He is entering creation in the perfection of Him image in man. He invites us to join Him. 

A House Of Prayer

Matthew 21:12-13 (ESV)

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

The cleaning of the temple by the man Jesus foreshadows the cleaning of our hearts by the Lord Jesus. We become the living temple and the house of prayer built with His resurrection. This is the heart sought by the Lord and His dwelling place. 

Prepare The Way

Isaiah 57:14 (ESV)

And it shall be said,

“Build up, build up, prepare the way,

remove every obstruction from my people's way.”

How do we prepare for the way of the Lord?

By our repentance 

We build a highway in our wilderness 

Straight and level 

For the feet of the one who brings our peace 

To The Living God

Psalms 84:1-2 (ESV)

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the LORD

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO THE GITTITH. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD of hosts!

2 My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

How beloved is the tabernacle of our shepherd Jesus 

O Lord of the armies of heaven 

My soul desires your perfection 

For a body like yours 

My life and strength sing for joy 

To our Emanuel and Savior 

He Builds Upon It

1 Corinthians 3:10 (ESV)

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

Jesus has provided the foundation for our salvation by the sacrifice of His flesh to cleanse us from our sin. This is not the end, but the beginning of our life in Him. We are given this platform to work out this gift of salvation. Like the parable of the talents, we are each given life that we might stand before Him when He returns to give a good account of what we have done with our lives that we might hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

It is then we enter His Sabbath rest. 

He Has Fixed A Day

Acts 17:30-31 (ESV)

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

The first message from Jesus is to “repent.” Those who do will receive forgiveness for their sin and the righteousness of God in Christ if they follow in His way. Those who do are assured of following Him in His resurrection. 

There is a day of judgment and it draws ever closer with each tick of the clock. It’s about time to make a decision before we run out of time. 

The Lord Opened Her Heart

Acts 16:14-15 (ESV)

14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Lydia worshiped God with her mind until the Lord opened her heart to receive His Spirit. In the end everyone will bend the knee and confess that He is Lord. It is the one who overcomes the world that will eat from the tree of life, who will be part of the Bride of Christ. 

The Spirit Of Jesus

Acts 16:6-7 (ESV)

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Holy One Jesus is the Spirit of the Father the Most Holy God. They speak with one voice. 

Among Them

Matthew 18:20 (ESV)

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

We each have the Holy Spirit, everyone who has received the grace and gift of the Lord. When we gather together, the Spirit is with us for we are the body of Christ. 

The Holy Spirit has descended on us and remains. Jesus and the Spirit are one. 

Should Not Perish

John 3:16 (ESV)

For God So Loved the World

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Believing is putting our faith in Him. It is a present and ongoing reality of living in Him, the faith of obedience. There is no onetime event of salvation, but only the beginning of our walk with Him. 

We are to eat our daily bread from heaven and drink of the living waters of the Holy Spirit. Without them, we will waste away and die in the wilderness of the world. 

Hide Their Faces

Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Jesus entered the bottom of our darkness of the deep waters to receive the weight and punishment we carried due to sin. He looked unbowed into the face of our afflictions and took them for His own so we might come to see Him face to face and be like Him. 

All Are Predestined

We are all predestined to die, unless we choose life. 

The Race

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Our race is our time on earth, the wilderness journey. If we persevere in the obedience of faith, we shall overcome the world. If we fall in the wilderness of the world, we will not reach His throne. 

We travel with others, yet we each journey alone as we walk in His Spirit, with Him leading the way. 

They Shall Know

Isaiah 52:6 (ESV)

Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

Israel will know the name of God, of who He is and whose they are. They will rejoice in it. 

Those who overcome the world will receive His name as the Bride of Christ. They will be one with Him. 

The Body

Israel is the body of Adam who brings the light of the world into into the body of Christ. 

For His Name

Acts 15:14 (ESV)

Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

After the fall of man, the descendants of Adam began to call upon the name of the Lord. They would bear the light of God into the world through their efforts of the flesh, laboring to work the ground to prepare the earth of man to receive the seed of the word of God. 

The word would call a people for His name from the sea of mankind. Those who answer will receive His name.