3 minutes till midnight!
God has shown me, through several different people, a very clear path that I must take starting at midnight, October 1st, 2009.
I must try to remove the things that have become idols in my life.
So, for the next month.. I am fasting from facebook, sugar, and sleeping in past 9:30 on weekdays.
More to come later.
xox Annie
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
I've RSVPed for the wedding, have you?
We think of a marriage as an event between one man and one woman. And it is, in one definition of the word. "marriage (noun): the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc." But how does the Bible define marriage? This is what I have been studying tonight.
There are things that are important to know before we dive deep into this topic: God CREATED marriage. The very first marriage was between Adam and Eve; Adam, whom God created, and Eve, whom God created out of Adam and chose as the bride for Adam. But much more importantly, God has designed and planned (before the beginning of all time itself) the most important marriage of ALL marriages: the marriage of His son, Jesus Christ. This marriage has several steps.
Firstly, God had to choose the bride. And who did He choose? He chose the church. We know this from several different passages in the Bible, one being 2 Corinthians 11. (2 Corinthians, we know, is a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth). It says: "For I have betrothed you (the church) to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Cor 11:2b) And we know, as Christians, we are part of the church. And as we know that the church is the bride of Christ, this makes us, as members of the church, the bride of Christ. And what I think is the really neat part of all of this is, God did not only choose the bride to His son Jesus Christ, but He CREATED her (or him, depending on who you are ;).. I am a she, so that's why I chose to write her). We know that God knew us before the creation of the earth, he molded us and shaped us and He knew everything about who we would be before we were even born (including choosing us as a bride to His son). Pretty neat.
Secondly, God paid a price for the bride. The price that he paid for a bride for His son, came from the son Himself.. it was the blood of Jesus Christ! Talk about the dowry of all dowries! Sometimes my flesh betrays me and I allow myself to think about things I have to "give up" in order to live a life like Christ. But the truth of it is, my salvation has cost me NOTHING. nada, zip, zero. My salvation was freely offered to me, no strings attached, no "additional details apply", no terms or conditions. And yet God gave freely all that He had.. His one begotten Son.. so that I may live as blameless and sin-free in His eyes. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16), and also, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (I Cor 6:19-20) God paid the dowry, the blood of His son.
Thirdly, Jesus, the Bridegroom, has made His promise to us, as His bride. He has promised to prepare a place for us, and to come back for us when it is finished. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:3) And then, what's even more important, He has pledged to us, as we pledge to our husband or wife to-be, to give them everlasting love. It is an amazing and all-encompassing love, a love that will never fail. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:31-32, 38-39). And now, as the bride, it is our turn to pledge ourselves to the bridegroom. As Christians we are presented with an engagement ring.. and that ring is the Holy Spirit living inside of us! It is now our responsibility to walk with Him, to be faithful to Him, and to love Him and love others the way that He has loved us.
And now, we are engaged to Jesus Christ the bridegroom! As in all traditional marriages, the bridegroom has pledged himself to the bride, and the bride has pledged herself to the bridegroom. And now.. we wait, in fervent anticipation for the return of our bridegroom! "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thes 4:16-17) I can't wait!
And then, are you ready? The most amazing wedding of all weddings!! "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" (Rev 19:7,9) I can hardly wait!!
But here is the real question, will you be there at the greatest wedding of all weddings?
You are definitely invited:
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt 11:28-30)
It's easy to RSVP:
"..That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
I have RSVPed, have you?
There are things that are important to know before we dive deep into this topic: God CREATED marriage. The very first marriage was between Adam and Eve; Adam, whom God created, and Eve, whom God created out of Adam and chose as the bride for Adam. But much more importantly, God has designed and planned (before the beginning of all time itself) the most important marriage of ALL marriages: the marriage of His son, Jesus Christ. This marriage has several steps.
Firstly, God had to choose the bride. And who did He choose? He chose the church. We know this from several different passages in the Bible, one being 2 Corinthians 11. (2 Corinthians, we know, is a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth). It says: "For I have betrothed you (the church) to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Cor 11:2b) And we know, as Christians, we are part of the church. And as we know that the church is the bride of Christ, this makes us, as members of the church, the bride of Christ. And what I think is the really neat part of all of this is, God did not only choose the bride to His son Jesus Christ, but He CREATED her (or him, depending on who you are ;).. I am a she, so that's why I chose to write her). We know that God knew us before the creation of the earth, he molded us and shaped us and He knew everything about who we would be before we were even born (including choosing us as a bride to His son). Pretty neat.
Secondly, God paid a price for the bride. The price that he paid for a bride for His son, came from the son Himself.. it was the blood of Jesus Christ! Talk about the dowry of all dowries! Sometimes my flesh betrays me and I allow myself to think about things I have to "give up" in order to live a life like Christ. But the truth of it is, my salvation has cost me NOTHING. nada, zip, zero. My salvation was freely offered to me, no strings attached, no "additional details apply", no terms or conditions. And yet God gave freely all that He had.. His one begotten Son.. so that I may live as blameless and sin-free in His eyes. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16), and also, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (I Cor 6:19-20) God paid the dowry, the blood of His son.
Thirdly, Jesus, the Bridegroom, has made His promise to us, as His bride. He has promised to prepare a place for us, and to come back for us when it is finished. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:3) And then, what's even more important, He has pledged to us, as we pledge to our husband or wife to-be, to give them everlasting love. It is an amazing and all-encompassing love, a love that will never fail. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:31-32, 38-39). And now, as the bride, it is our turn to pledge ourselves to the bridegroom. As Christians we are presented with an engagement ring.. and that ring is the Holy Spirit living inside of us! It is now our responsibility to walk with Him, to be faithful to Him, and to love Him and love others the way that He has loved us.
And now, we are engaged to Jesus Christ the bridegroom! As in all traditional marriages, the bridegroom has pledged himself to the bride, and the bride has pledged herself to the bridegroom. And now.. we wait, in fervent anticipation for the return of our bridegroom! "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thes 4:16-17) I can't wait!
And then, are you ready? The most amazing wedding of all weddings!! "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" (Rev 19:7,9) I can hardly wait!!
But here is the real question, will you be there at the greatest wedding of all weddings?
You are definitely invited:
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt 11:28-30)
It's easy to RSVP:
"..That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
I have RSVPed, have you?
I'm alive!
I'm back! I'm alive! I've been really busy with school and work and everything. I promise I will have a long update on how I am doing coming soon, but for now I am focusing on a blog relating to a topic in the Bible I've been studying this evening. I really am going to start blogging more (I promise), not only because I want you guys to hear more about my life and more often, but because I think it is a really great space for me to share the things I've been studying in the Bible. enjoy!
xoxo God's girl Annie
xoxo God's girl Annie
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