Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Since my wife and I just celebrated our 7,000-day wedding anniversary, it reminded me of when my wife and I were initially married in Jerusalem -- before our major wedding in the States.
During that special evening in Jerusalem, my wife elaborately prepared for our wedding. It was just a small gathering at her father's house, but it was so sweet. Her dad prepared beautiful and delicious Israeli delicacies. We built a chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy) from her great grandfather's tallit (Jewish prayer shawl). A Paul Wilbur CD played softly in the background, and about a hundred candles lit the living room. My soon-to-be wife had spent hours bathing and doing her hair and getting beautiful for the occasion, and finally, out she came. It all was so romantic, well planned, and wonderfully prepared.
We are our Lord's bride! And in the same way, we have a responsibility to prepare for His return! We have some work to do, don't we?
Let's examine our hearts today and lay it all out before Him. Let's give Him the first fruits of our day in worship and study and prayer and allow Him to refine and cleanse us -- that we may be found a bride without wrinkle or spot – that we would be found a holy and righteous and beautiful bride for Him and our celebration together would be glorious!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The central fact of the gospel message is the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), declared in Psalm 2, the begotten Son of God. In 1952, Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in Cave 4 called the “Messianic Apocalypse”. The Messiah’s ministry of resurrection is reiterated in these ancient documents with an obvious reference to Isaiah 61:1-3. The scroll identifies someone who “… will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor.” It is clear that at least some of the authors of these documents clearly understood the central nature and ministry of the coming Messiah, most certainly based on their intimate knowledge of the prophetic writings in the Tenach (OT)…that ministry, resurrection of the dead.
I’m not sure how much I enjoy the freezing weather here as we’re traveling across the United States, but I certainly can’t wait till Spring comes! On the Hebrew calendar Nisan is the month that transitions from winter to Spring.
Gas is going up…a lot. But your tank is the same size, and not filling up is not an option, unless you want to park in the shoulder lane, or leave the car in the garage. Leave the car in the garage (if you have a car)….now there’s an idea. Perhaps, this weekend, the best way to refuel is NOT to spend money on gas, or go driving somewhere!
“Some time ago, an advertisement appeared in which the devil was putting all his tools up for sale. On the day of public inspection, each one of his tools was marked with its selling price: Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on, were each on the block. Set apart, however, from all the rest of the pile, was a harmless-looking tool, well-worn, but priced very high — it was discouragement!”
One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 1, and clearly this psalm holds an important key for our lives as believers to be fruitful and prosperous. That key is meditation. The psalmist describes the one who prospers as one who meditates “day and night”; a continual meditation developing the Godly habit of disciplining one’s mind in divine truth.
Over the years I’ve often gotten emails asking “When do you think revival will come?” Well…. first, what is “revival”, exactly? One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is “a renewed attention to or interest in something”.
Approaching a new year always seems to carry a sense of adventure and expectation, although that attitude is not normally mixed with the level of trepidation we might be feeling just now. Moses’ successor Joshua, one of two faithful spies, seems to have embodied this sense of courageous expectation much of his life, but even he needed an extra dose of Divine encouragement as the Lord commanded him to cross the Jordan and take possession of the promised Land.