Betrothed

Imagine that this is your story.

You’ve had the same circle of friends since junior high school. You’ve all done fairly well since then with a few of you going off to college, one went to the military and the others stayed local and got local jobs. But all in all, no real desperate tragedies to speak of amongst you. Every so often, you and your friends hang out and enjoy a little nightlife. No drunken stupors but just social fun, a flirtatious glance here and there, with the occasional “phone number” exchange….all in fun.

While busy working the plans of your life to the best of your ability, in an obscure situation, you meet someone. Easy on the eyes but the more the conversation progresses, you feel your heart warm over with feelings that make just about everyone else disappear. You begin spending more and more time together. It’s sweet and comfortable. No pretense, no playing games and the honesty between you two has calmed all of your fears and has reestablished trust beyond your past rejections. They bring out the best in you and they promote you to being even better in all you do. The lifestyle is not lavish but it’s pleasant. Not overly consumed with anything but the time you’re able to spend together.

Then comes the day! It’s no secret that what you two have is rare and special. The kind of thing people search for a lifetime to find, but rarely ever do. You two make it official – engaged to be married!
Your heart has never felt SO full. You smile so much that your face hurts but even that pain disappears in the ebb and flow of joy washing back and forth over your heart. You know without a doubt, this is what love is supposed to look like, feel like….and all of a sudden…..the phone rings.
The voice on the other end of the phone shrieks with excitement “It’s hang out time again!” Oh Goodness! As caught up as you’ve been, you’ve totally dismissed the idea of your friends! They don’t even know you’re engaged.
You don’t want to just blow them off…well, you kind of do, but what kind of friend would that make you? Your lover tells you, “Hey, you go ahead and go out with your friends! You’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I’ll be fine here and I’ll see you when you get back “(confirmed by one of the biggest, most embracive and peaceful hugs you’ve ever felt).

So off you go. Of course your body is out with your friends but your mind and your heart is at home with your love. You really don’t want to drink. The music is infectious but even the usual dance floor swarm with your friends just aint what it used to be. And then the funniest thing – you are actually trying hard to avoid eye contact with anyone. This quirky thing makes you realize – It’s not that you don’t want to meet anyone, I mean, you really don’t, but you really want people to KNOW that you have a love like no other waiting for you at home. So you’re really trying to make it apparent that you don’t need drinks, you have love. The music in your ears is just a twangy clanging compared to the song in your heart. And you don’t want eye contact to communicate desire as much as you want it to display fulfilment.
You want your every action and every vibe to radiate that special thing you’ve found.

Here’s The Word:

Hosea 2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

This verse speaks to the type of lover our God is. As New Testament Christians, we spend a lot of time getting an understanding of what it means to be adopted into family of God. We mustn’t stop there. We must go all the way through to end of God’s plan for the Church…not as only adoptees, but appointed to be The spotless Bride. Betrothed. And this thought should overwhelm us in the same way we would be if we were visiting the same old “night life” scene, with the same old “childhood” friends. We’d want to represent well! Any report back to our fiancé on our “out with friends” behavior, would find us confident and unashamed. We’d want the world to know the peace and comfort in the love we’ve found. This can be our story. Actually, this should be our story.
Seems like somehow along the way, in making sense of God’s Commands, we’ve made Him a commander, rather than a lover. The Bible says that 'God is love', not commands. We’ve separated the idea that His commands have a strong anchor in His expressed love for us in wanting us to receive the life He has for us.
God is not a step-father who’s either inconsistently temperamental or disinterested altogether. When we hold to a misguided view of Our God, how can we expect to show forth the light of hope that we have a relationship worth dismissing the whole world for. Far too often, I see and hear people that are ill-equipped to share this essence of love; communicatively or by action. Whether people receive Him is one thing, but I think we could do so much better. In all of this, I encourage you. Fall in love with the lover of your soul. It may seem odd, but it’s rooted in the TRUTH of His Word. There’s a wedding ceremony coming…and if you’re IN Christ, you’re the betrothed.

Song of Solomon 7:10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.


In Him,
Cros

Easter

Easter. The atomic blast that sent a shockwave that still ripples across the whole of time and space.
Sound a little over grandiose? A little too melodramatic?
Out of all of the things that we add “HYPE” to, this event remains beyond our ability to adequately hype it in the way it deserves.

When you consider the reality of everything contained in the Easter story, it’s beyond….
God made a promise in Genesis 3 when the serpent beguiled Eve into eating and sharing the fruit of the tree forbidden by God. Easter touches that.
God protected His people when He told Moses that He would walk through the midst, smiting the firstborn of all in Egypt, yet would not kill, but pass over those whose houses had the blood of the slain lamb. Easter touches that.
God visited Abraham; proving Abraham’s faith in his willingness to be obedient in sacrificing his only son, God stayed his hand. But God followed through in not holding back the sacrifice of Christ. Easter touches that.
Christ Himself said that no man takes His life, but He lays it down Himself and has the power to take it up again. Easter touches that.
Of all the Scriptures that foretold the coming Messiah. That pronounced His authority and rule. That spoke of His suffering and sacrifice. Easter touches that.
God instituted a system of sacrifices that really couldn’t accomplish “cleansing” from sin as a foreshadow to Christ who satisfied God with His sacrifice. Easter IS that!

When you think about all that Easter is, Scripture doesn’t stop there.
When the brutalized body of Christ on the Cross uttered His final words – “It is finished.”, things were just getting started.
Christ died in despair - “Father why have you forsaken me?”
Yet, He was raised in victory - “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”
Reconciliation was complete and reconciliation is the key.
God has made promises that lead up TO the cross as well as promises that proceed FROM it. As sure as He was in accomplishing what He promised WITH it, we can be sure that He will keep those He made BY it.

Here’s The Word:

Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

I tend to spend a lot of time making sure we don’t make things about us too much. Pride and haughtiness come easy to us in this world as we try to establish ourselves as relevant. So in the right mind. A spiritually sound mind, this is where we can receive what’s ours – we can rejoice and shout or smile on the inside and shed a tear at His divine goodness in that He’s a promise keeper. And He, having shed His love abroad in our hearts, has reconciled and received us by the cross of His Christ and tells us, “My child, it is finished. Now, let’s get started.”

Now, we have the power to live in obedience by faith. The right to go bodly before the throne of Grace. The hope to trust that the same power that raised Christ from the dead, now works in us and the abiding joy that comforts us in that even in the midst of our worse days; HIS Father is also, now, my Father. The whole of divine revelation contained in 2 crowns and one Head. Easter touches that.

In Him,
Cros

Bears

This is the story of two bears. In Scripture, other than the times where Its actually talking about the animal, like the she-bears who went after the children who mocked and insulted Elisha, the word generally has two connotations; to support and to expose.

Here’s The Word:

Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

In this usage of the word, we see where although we’re IN Christ, we still are subject to situations that require help from one another. Situations from past desires preying on us in moments of weakness, situations where the strength of our faith fail us. Situations where we’re simply not able to keep our testimony in a progressive state.
James 3:2 in the ESV says “We ALL stumble in various ways.” Yet, there’s an expectation that these stumbles (and falls) would evoke a compassion from us as believers, to believers. Compassion, not more conviction and definitely not condemnation.
We also have to be careful not to oversimplify the meaning of bear down to indiscriminate acts of “tolerance”. Of course, we are considerate but we consider how to encourage one another to “higher”, gently.

Then there’s the other bear.

Here’s The Word:

1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Notice in verse 2 of the previous passage that we ‘bear witness’ according to the truth of the testimony revealed – both TO us, and IN us. It’s one thing to hear the truth of The Gospel, but quite another to “handle it with our hands”. This is one of those times where a word as simple as “handle” should make you want to know what’s really being conveyed. The Greek word is pronounced – psēlaphaō – and for clarification and illumination, it’s the word also used here: Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see – as well as – Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him.

It’s a more intimate verb context that conveys closeness. So we’re not bearing witness simply on the strength of the written word, but also on the impact that this written word has become something very real in our lives.

How's that for ‘bear necessities’ :)
This post was meant to be a little less heavy but just as thought provoking as others. It’s an encouragement to walk as Christ would have us to walk: We bear burdens, and we bear witness.


In Him,
Cros