Isaiah 54:5-6 (NKJV): For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God.
Isaiah 61:10-11 (NKJV): I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 62:5 (NKJV): For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.
John 3:27-36 (ESV): John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
1 Corinthians 7:29-35 (NKJV): But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.
But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
Luke 10:38-42 (ESV): Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, “but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
John 12:1-8 (NKJV): Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
Matthew 24:35-51 (ESV): “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, “and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
“Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day the Lord is coming.
“But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. “Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
“But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ “and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, “the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know “and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:1-13 (NKJV): “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
FOR GOD SO LOVED US, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He loves us so much that He draws us to Himself; He pursues and perfects us; He saves and seals us; He defends and He delivers us; He heals and helps us; He renews and repurposes us; He redeems and reconciles us; He calls and commissions us; He prepares and protects us; He equips and empowers us; He loves and lives in us; and He resurrects and raises us.
For GOD the FATHER so loves us, He betroths us individually and collectively to His Son, JESUS, for we, the Church, are equally the BODY and the BRIDE of CHRIST, who is the ANOINTED ONE—the MESSIAH—the SON of GOD—the SAVIOR, the PRINCE of PEACE, the KING of KINGS, the LORD of ALL, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of OUR FAITH, the ALPA and OMEGA, the BEGINNING and the END.
As BRIDE and SERVANT, VESSEL and VIRGIN, we DRAW NEAR to GOD, we HUMBLE ourselves before Him; we SURRENDER our will for His; we COMMIT our lives and our works to Him; we ENTRUST our plans, our present, our hope, and our future to Him; and we BEAR the FRUIT of HIS SPIRIT: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
We LOVE GOD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength because we have a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him. We WORSHIP and EXALT Him more than ourselves and others; we SEEK HIS KINGDOM, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and HIS APPROVAL; and we PUT OUR CONFIDENCE in HIM because we want to PLEASE HIM more than anyone else.
So then TO LOVE GOD is to OBEY HIS COMMANDS, to LOVE HIM and the LOVE OTHERS as OURSELVES; to GO all-in and COMMIT to GOD, with our whole heart, soul, mind, and might; to WORSHIP HIM first, in SPIRIT and TRUTH; to HAVE FAITH and BELIEVE IN HIM, the SON of GOD, JESUS, the CHRIST; to LIVE and ABIDE in HIM; to COMMIT EVERY WORK and EVERYTHING to GOD; and to SERVE the LORD without distraction.
GOD gave everything for us, so He expects us to give everything back to Him, including our lives. For His word declares, “none of us live to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:7-9, NKJV).
John the Baptist in the third chapter of the Gospel of John says this of us as earthly vessels and of JESUS, the SON of GOD and the CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE:
“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven…He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all…For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides in him.”
GOD the FATHER has redeemed us, GOD the SON, JESUS, the CHRIST, has paid the BRIDE-PRICE and has saved us from the penalty of sin—death—and He has reconciled us to GOD, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT is perfecting us, so we may be glorious and presented to our Bridegroom without spot, wrinkle, or blame, and all we have to do is this: ACCEPT GOD’s GIFT of LOVE—GOD’s GIFT of GRACE—INVITE the BRIDEGROOM inside and RECEIVE Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.
As the BRIDE, the SERVANT, the VESSEL, and the VIRGIN, we must SUBMIT to GOD, the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT; we must abide in GOD just as GOD abides in us; and we must commit everything we have and everything we do to the LORD GOD, for we are engaged to the PRINCE of PEACE and the KING of KINGS; we are the BRIDE of CHRIST; and our BRIDEGROOM is COMING BACK for us soon. But are we watching and waiting? Are we worshipping GOD in Spirit and Truth? Are we like Martha, the distracted servant, or Mary, the devoted worshipper? Are we serving GOD? Without distraction? Are we honoring and exalting Him? Is GOD our First Love? Have we put Him on the backburner? Are we taking a break from Him? Are we like the five foolish or the five wise virgins? Are we stuck on ourselves? Caught up in politics, pleasure, and the cares of the world--the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes? Are we stressed out and overwhelmed with family, work, and school? Have we decreased, so GOD can increase in and through us? Are we the Faithful Bride running toward GOD or the Runaway Bride hiding from Him? Are we ready to marry the Bridegroom? Are we too independent? Too self-reliant? Are we better off staying single? Are we ignoring GOD? Doubting him? Cheating on Him? Having affairs with our National Idols? Are we ready for JESUS’ return? Do we want Him to return? Or do we fear His return?
