Thursday, November 11, 2010
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isaiah 43-44 and 1 Thess. 1-2
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isaiah 43-44 and 1 Thess. 1-2
THE LONGING FOR BEAUTY
SCRIPTURE READING
Why does the Lord want His beauty to be upon us? Why does a King want to share His beauty with his subjects? Psalm 149: 4 tells us why – it is because “The Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation” (NKJV). God takes pleasure in you! He loves it when you come to Him for help and He takes great pleasure in beautifying you. When, instead of feeling ugly and hypocritical, you feel beautiful before God, something powerful is released; you get freedom from your shackles of guilt and despair and become the Bride of Christ. God isn’t just interested in beautifying individuals; He is preparing to beautify His Bride as a whole. The Father is committed to making a beautiful Bride for His beautiful Son (Rev 21:2). Jesus Himself is the Bridegroom and we are the Bride of Christ, the ones chosen by God to be His eternal partner. Understanding this gives us insight into how we are formed and the reason for our existence. All of history, from the fall to the cross, every sin forgiven and redeemed, all builds towards the great climatic event called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:7-9). Jesus death provided a dual purpose; it provided redemption for humanity while simultaneously providing a way for the Son to have a worthy Bride. God wants you to understand your beauty in Him so that when He comes back He will partner with you to reign forever in eternity! He is coming back for a beautiful Bride!
PRAYER MEDITATION
1. Spend some time meditating on what it means to be the Bride of Christ? Does this excite you?2. Are you living your life worthy to be called the Bride of Christ? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you an area of your life that you need to clean up. Confess as necessary.
3. Thank Him for the dual purpose of the cross -praise Him for this!