Everywhere I looked yesterday, one thing continually came before my face…a bride.
When I was reading an article online, it had a picture of a bride. I received several emails and alerts and when I read them, they too were about the bride of Christ.
Early the next morning, as I checked my email, I came across one of the names of Jesus, of course the name was the Bridegroom.
This took me to the book of Revelation. Allow me to share some scripture with you this morning;
Revelation 19:6-9 – Amplified Bible – Marriage of the Lamb
“Then I heard something like the shout of a vast multitude, and like the boom of many pounding waves, and like the roar of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all reigns. “Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us give Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come [at last] and His bride (the redeemed) has prepared herself.” She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean—for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints, the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers. Then the angel said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me further, “These are the true and exact words of God.”
Blessed, or empowered to prosper, are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are the TRUE and EXACT words of God. Wow! That is a powerful scripture.
The thing that jumps out at me in this scripture is that the Bride of Christ, which is us, has prepared herself, made herself ready for the groom. I think of all the work that goes into planning a wedding here on earth – there is much to prepare before the big day. Then I think of Esther and how she prepared herself to marry. Esther was in preparation for 12 months. I wonder today how many of us are prepared or even preparing ourselves for our King?
In this Amplified Bible this scripture says the bride of Christ possesses several things; ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage and godly character. Have you made yourself ready? Have you removed all things from your life that would hinder your walk with God and are you walking in the characters of the Bride of Christ? I hope so, because our Bridegroom is coming. We need to make ourselves ready. We need to make sure that we are like the 5 wise virgins and not the 5 foolish ones. We need to be ready and watching.
As for me, this morning, I can’t get it off my mind. And I want to make sure that I am as ready as I can be for my Bridegroom. I want rid of anything and everything that would hinder my walk with God. I refuse to have unforgiveness or bitterness. I refuse to hold on to past disappointments. I refuse to harbor anger or resentment. I refuse anything that does not line up with Gods word in my life. And I will keep my oil at overflowing. I will be ready.
I continued to study this subject today and found a scripture I just loved. It was John the Baptist speaking. It was when he was questioned about Jesus. John said; “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” (John 3:29)
I love the picture this scripture paints, at least for me. I am the Bride of Christ, yet, I am also a friend of God who attends my bridegroom. I daily listen and wait for him. It is he alone who fills me with joy and it is he alone who completes me. I just love this picture, don’t you!
It is my prayer for you today that you are prepared for your bridegroom…ready and waiting.
