Devotional Song: GO TO THIS LINK - Please take the time to meditate on this poignant and powerful song written and sung by Stephen Curtis Chapman, singing I Will Be Here, … declaring the love Christ had for His Bride and the love all married Christians should have for their beloved, a love willing to sacrifice everything .. just as Christ was willing – and able – give it all for His Bride.
=============
Highlight Passage: John 10: 17-18 … [Jesus willing to lay down His life for His Bride.] … [NLT]
17 “The Father loves Me because I sacrifice My life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take My life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
============
Highlight Passage: John, Chapter 10 … GO TO THIS LINK … [NLT] …
============
Reference Passage #1: John 14: 1-4 … [Jesus laying down His life for His bride.] … [NLT]
1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. 2 There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
Reference Passage #2: Ephesians 5: 21-33 … [Are we who are betrothed willing to lay down our lives for our spouses?] … GO TO THIS LINK ... [NLT]
My Journal for Today: We’ve seen the idyllic images. like the photo attached here, of the blissful wedding, rings and vows exchanged before God in the witness and love of the body of Christ. Yet we know the stark statistics that marriage among Christians has no more chance of lasting than it does for non-believers, with over 50% ending in divorce. And we seen the ultimate outcomes on society with families crumbling and society breaking apart just as these marriages crumble.
I find it interesting that when Jesus was relating the reality of His impending trip to the cross to His inner 12 Disciples, He used the context of a wedding illustration to help them know that He would never abandon them (see the passage from John 14 linked above). Yes, as Jesus also exclaimed in today’s highlight passage from John, Chapter 10, our Lord was not only willing, but did, lay down His life for His Bride. However, are those of us Christians who are married willing, as Paul described in Ephesians 5 (linked above), to do the same thing, … i.e., choosing to become living sacrifices for our spouses just as Christ became one for His Bride?
If you’re not married and reading this, it may seem that my journaling here doesn’t impact you. However, it does; … because, with marriages and families falling apart in our culture, it impacts many dynamics of our society. However, if any who read here are married, what are we doing in our marriages to insure that we’re willing to sacrifice and always be there for our spouses just as Stephen Curtis Chapman sings in the song linked above?
I will pray that we married Christians are doing our all to be there for our spouses … completely willing to be living sacrifices for our marriage as Christ was willing to be there for His Bride … all the way to the cross.
My Prayer for Today … Dear Lord, my Bridegroom … may I be willing to give my all to my bride as You were for Yours. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment