DON’T FORGET THAT SUNDAY IS YOUTH SUNDAY AT BELMONT! Begin praying for them and please come and support our future leaders.
Thank you for your PRAYERS yesterday! It could not have gone any better!
Daily Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart:
Weddings are a BIG THING in our family.
We begin very young discussing and planning our weddings.
They are a huge Celebration!!!
We begin at birth praying for the spouses of our children and grandchildren.
We stress praying for and finding God’s best!
They practice dressing up and going through “their” wedding with dress up clothes when they are “playing” getting married.
My Vivacious, Bubbly Granddaughter, Tori, is marrying the young man of her dreams and mine, Alex Landers, in a few months.
You would think it is going to be the wedding of the century, but CHEAP!
There is so much buzz in the air and giggling about making the plans.
They could definitely show the royal family how to put on a wedding and save them lots of money.
Have you ever seen 2 turtle doves or heard them singing to each other?
Turtle doves symbolize LOVE and FAITHFULNESS because they mate FOR LIFE, work together to build nests and raise their young together.
They are immortalized in literary and poetic works, such as the Old Testament.
The Bible depicts doves as Loyal, Honest and Loving.
In Leviticus 12:8, two turtle doves replaced a lamb sacrifice.
Mary and Joseph sacrificed two turtle doves in Jerusalem at Christ’s birth.
The heavenly Bridegroom likens us to a dove when He says, “You have dove’s eyes’” (Song of Solomon 1:15).
To Him, we are a like a turtledove that lacks peripheral vision.
So here’s what YOUR Lord says to you, HIS BRIDE:
You have dove’s eyes.
You have tunnel vision for Me ONLY.
You’re not distracted with other affections and desires to the right or the left.
Your gaze is upon Me ONLY, and I LOVE that!
You are His bride, and you have eyes for One only, YOUR BELOVED.
Here are two of the many places where the Bible refers to God’s people as a bride: Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2).
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the BRIDE, the Lamb’s WIFE” (Rev. 21:9).
The bridal imagery of a cosmic wedding appears frequently throughout the entire Bible, starting in the beginning with Adam and Eve and ending with the last chapter of the Bible.
The message is very clear and consistent: We ARE the bride of Christ, BEING PREPARED for a great wedding celebration in the age to come, when we will be joined forever in great affection to our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Believers fulfill the feminine role in the relationship as we commune with our Lord.
He initiates, we respond;
He gives, we receive;
He leads, we follow;
He loves, we reciprocate;
He rules, we reign with Him.
Men who struggle with seeing themselves as a bride should remember that the sisters among us must also see themselves as SONS of God.
The Bible calls us both a bride and sons because both images point in an incomplete way to the beauty of the perfection to which we are CALLED.
We relate to the Father as SONS;
We relate to the Lord Jesus as a BRIDE.
Generally, the sisters have an easier time with this secret—learning to relate to Jesus as His lovesick bride.
But the brothers can gain this secret, too.
New dimensions of intimacy and responsiveness open to us when we embrace our bridal identity and relate to Jesus as our Bridegroom.
Walk up to Brian Gray Sunday and tell him how beautiful his turtle eyes are as a bride. LOL
Step back, he may swing at you.
Tell him you have never seen a bride with a beard.
We are missing so much intimacy with our Lord because we cannot envision who we are in the metaphors the Bible uses for us.
When Jesus looks at us, clothed in white garments of righteousness, replete with good works, mature in affections, making ourselves ready for our wedding day, His ravished heart soars with delight and desire for His espoused virgin, His bride.
He can hardly wait till that day—neither can we!
In the meantime, we court each other with love, attention, words of affection, honor, and delight.
The secret place is the king’s chamber (Song of Solomon 1:4), the place where we nurture our growing love relationship.
This is where He speaks over us, declaring how beautiful and fair we are in His sight.
We respond by opening our hearts to Him with greater abandonment, praising the glorious attributes of His beauty and character, and receiving the lavish affections of His heart.
Oh, the exchange of love in the secret place is most glorious!
He sure knows how to capture a heart and keep it!
Jesus didn’t die to marry an “amazon woman,” a battle axe of a bride that is so tough that she intimidates with her hulking strength and imposing demeanor.
Nor did He die to marry a workhorse who will tirelessly labor to fulfill His household chores and glean His fields.
He died for LOVE.
He died to marry a beautiful bride who will walk with Him, talk with Him, dream with Him, laugh with Him, strategize with Him, and rule with Him.
When my bride came walking down the aisle toward me many years ago, all dressed in white, with a glow about her face, let me tell you what I was not thinking.
I was not thinking:
“She’s got good teeth.
She bakes a mean pie.
She cooks great food.
She’ll do my laundry for me.
She’ll change the diapers for my kids and probably for me some day.
She’ll keep my house clean.”
Here’s what I was thinking: “Here comes my lover!”
Yes, when we got married, Mae knew that she would manage our home and rear our children and prepare meals and do laundry; but we didn’t get married for any of those reasons.
We got married for LOVE.
It’s true that we’re soldiers, and we are involved in high-level strategic warfare, and the Lord is depending on us to fight the good fight of faith.
And it’s true that we’re laborers in His vineyard, working tirelessly in the harvest fields to bring all of the wheat into His barn.
But Jesus didn’t die to win for Himself an army or a labor force; He died for a BRIDE.
We don’t come to the secret place as a soldier looking for battle plans, even though He will unfold His plans to us while we’re there; nor do we come as laborers looking to gain strength for the day’s labors, even though He will strengthen us for the tasks before us.
We come primarily as His bride, to enjoy His embrace and to lavish upon Him our love.
The secret place is a celebration of our highest identity—His bride!
It’s the place of intimate love exchange.
The apostle John was shown the cry that would grip believers at the end of the age: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).
Although many metaphors are used for God’s people—e.g., we are His body, His temple, an army, etc.—the last metaphor that the Bible uses to reveal our identity is that of “THE BRIDE.”
While every image has its limitations, the most complete metaphor of our identity is that of the bride.
Jesus is returning for a bride consumed with bridal affections for her beloved Bridegroom!
Knowing that a bride and bridegroom just love to be together, let me ask you a question:
Do you ever waste time with the Lord?
When I ask that question, I’m thinking of Mary of Bethany who lavished her inheritance (the costly flask of fragrant oil) upon the Lord, and was reviled by the disciples with the words, “Why this waste?” (Matt. 26:8).
They viewed her lavish display of love as wasteful.
But Jesus validated her love, establishing the truth that it is fitting at times to be wasteful by extravagantly pouring ourselves out upon Him.
So again, do you ever waste time with the Lord?
What I mean is, after you have done your Bible reading, and after you have praised and worshiped, after you have presented your requests and interceded, and after you have been filled and renewed in the Holy Spirit, do you ever spend just a little more time with Him only for the sake of love?
You don’t “need” to spend any more time in the secret place for your own sake, but you choose to stay there just to “waste” some time in His presence for His sake—because you’re a lovesick bride, and you just long to be with Him.
What dignity and honor the Lord Jesus has ascribed to those who choose to waste their lives and love on Him.
Many of us live with feelings of guilt regarding the secret place because we lose focus on our identity as Christ’s bride.
Spending time with Him is not an obligation or a duty; it’s the thrill and longing of our soul.
When we’re able to be with Him, we’re overjoyed; when other tasks pull us away from that companionship, we feel only a sense of loss and frustration.
And an even keener anticipation of our next time together!
The Holy Spirit will help you fulfill this metaphor that Jesus has referred to you as His bride.
EVERYTHING TAKES ON NEW LEVELS OF EXCITEMENT AND UNDERSTANDING WHEN YOU CAN SUBMIT OR SURRENDER TO HIS REFERENCE TO YOU AS HIS BRIDE.
IT GETS BETTER TOMORROW!
DON’T BLUSH!
Until Tomorrow,
With A Shepherd’s Love
Pastor
PS- Yesterday my nurse said, You have such peace on your face! You must have many people praying for you! I said, AN ARMY OF PRAYER WARRIORS! Thank you from the bottom of my new hip! I’m good for another 200,000 miles now!! ❤️?
TODAY’S ? LIST:
Joe Turner is in ICU! He has sepsis & is on a ventilator. Please Please ?
Amy Garner’s Mother – better – ?
Andria Carter -Ashley’s Sister – ?
Barbara Shed’s Family – ?
Bill Lawhead – ?
Bill Moody -?
Brandy Dean – Ashley’s Sister – ?
Brian’s Niece – surgery went well -?
Charlie Sessom -Waiting – ?
Cheri/Barry Hill -?
Colby/Connor – Allison’s G’sons-?
Debra Roberts – Please Please ?
Denise Stubbs – Kim Allison’s Mom ?
Don Slate – Angela Bryan’s Dad – hospice?
Doug Fritzel – ?
Hanna Hall ?
James Garner’s G’Son – ?
James Parsons – Mae’s Brother ?
Joyceann – James Garner’s Daughter ?
Kimberly- Dustin’s Sister- ?
Larry Barker ?
Lavona Davis -?
Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah ?
Lynn -Nancy Brown’s Daughter – ?
Mary Sims – ?
Michael Stanley – ?
Nancy Brown’s G’Daughter – ?
Nora Allison – Dustin’s Mom
Pastor Stucke- Nikki’s Dad?
Paula Ferus’ Missionary friend ?
Ricky Stubbs – ?
Roseleigh Osborn – ?
Sarah Parker – ?
Scott Lanier – Lisa’s cousin -?
Sharon Blalock- ?
Shaelyn – Jill’s friend?
Shannon Golden – ?
Sheila Simmons Cousin – ?
Susan Bryan – Mike’s Mom – ?
Tim McCollum – ?
Todd Bailey – ?
Todd Roberts -?
Tom Witcher -?
Tommy/Gayle Harris- ?
Tracie Ballard -?
Wanda Galanti – ?
Zane Gilbert – ?