The month of February is the time of year when
we customarily celebrate various types of love relationships. The greatest earthly intimate love relationship is
the marriage covenant between husband and wife. But
do we acknowledge the greatest spiritual intimate love
relationship one can have - the marriage covenant with
Jesus Christ?
The Spirit of the Lord is speaking powerfully to us in areas of faith, and spiritual maturity. This year, we will move out on the word of the Lord and find our place in God’s purpose. We have allowed too many distractions and personal fears to chain us to the events of our past; yet the Lord continues to speak to us about our purpose. Joshua was com-manded to be very courageous; it will take super-natural courage this year to “step into your new thing now and find your place in that purpose”.
In Proverbs 2:17 the marriage covenant is called
“the covenant of God” because marriage is made in
God’s name. According to Zondervan’s Dictionary of
Biblical Themes a covenant is a solemn agreement or
promise which two or more parties commit themselves
to the rights and responsibilities of the their relationship. Many times in the Bible, a covenant is confirmed
by a sacrifice or by sharing in a meal. Jesus has provided us with both. The blood of Jesus sealed the new
covenant and each time we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are confirming His covenant with us (1 Cor.
10:16-17).
Jesus didn’t give his life so that we may have
church. He gave His life so that we may have an intimate love relationship with God, and Jesus is coming
back for his bride. Are we ready? Below is an except
taken from “A Message from God” by Retha and Aldo
McPherson describing the bride of Christ.
“The bride has to be a mature adult, because God won’t share His secrets with an immature youth… While the bride is still here on Earth,
she serves all God’s children. Even when she’s
tired, she keeps working for Him. Although she
doesn’t know exactly when He will arrive, she is
always expecting Him. She is constantly changing, growing and maturing. Every time she enters
into his presence she becomes more like Him. He
is reflected in her eyes and when He looks at her
He sees only the blood of Jesus that covers her.
When she goes out into the world and they look at
her they see God. The Spirit of God also dwells in
His bride and in this way they are already one.”
God’s love for us is unfathomable. He yearns to
have a powerful intimate love relationship with each
and every one of us. So this season as we are daring our
destiny and finding our place in his will, let’s continue
to keep our hearts and minds focused on Him.
Stay in His face,
Elder Matthew L. Brown, Pastor-Teacher