Week Six Day Two Getting Ready For The Wedding (Part One)

Question 4

Revelation 19:7  "Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

Revelation 21:2 Then I, John  saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9  Then one of the Seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues come to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say. "Come!"  And let hime who thirsts come.  Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Ephesians 5:25-27

25.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loves the church and gave Himself for her,

26.  that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

27.  that he might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Why did Jesus die, and what is His objective for His bride, the church?

He died because he loves us.

He gave himself up for us.

His objective is for us to be made holy.  Just by faith and belief we are perfect in His eyes.

In the words of the authors:  To be sanctified is to be made holy in our practice.  Sanctification is a process that begins in every child of God at the point of regeneration and continues until our final glorification when we see Christ face-to-face.

Jesus Christ gave his life to make us a pure bride.

Question 5.  How important is "getting ready for the wedding" in your thinking and daily life?

I always love happy endings and even now, as an adult, I still love fairy tales where the prince and the Princess live happily ever after,  However, I do not believe in fairy tales in the real world.  I cannot think of anybody who has the perfect life.  Most lives do not have a happy ending.

Read 2 Samuel 13.

Tamar did not have a happy ending, because she lived the life as a desolate woman.  There is no mention if she ever married or had children.  In my Breaking Free study by Beth Moore, the author paints a picture where Jesus comes and transforms a picture where Jesus comes and transforms a woman with torn clothes and covered with ashes into a woman who is spotlessly clean.  She is wearing a garment that is made of fine white linen.  "A crown sits on her head, and a veil flows from its jewels to her shoulders." (Moore.)

Since we believe God and He sent his Son Jesus Christ to cleanse us from our sins, there is always hope for women (and men) who have been victimized.  Whatever shame we suffer from, Jesus is here to create the beauty from the ashes.

A bride is somebody who is making a new beginning, or starting a new chapter in life.  Brides are often described as beautiful, wearing a gorgeous white gown.  Most will be full of joy and show extreme love with the groom, who will eventually become the husband.  Brides are mostly innocent of what their expectations of what their marriage will be like.  A bride is mostly concerned with the ceremony.

A wife is concerned about a long-term relationship with her husband.  While a wife still has joy and love in her marriage, in most cases it is not as fresh and new as it was when she first got married-she will share hardships with her husband such as sorrow when a relative passes away or arguments about financial situations.  While not perfect at times, the wife will be more mature and wiser as the marriage progresses.

We will always be the Bride of Christ.  It is not like a marriage in this world.  Jesus will never fall out of love with us; we will never fall out of love with him.  Our hearts will always be filled with immense joy.  We do not have to worry if the D.J. is going to show.  Being a Bride of Christ, we will always have a fresh and new love.  We will never become a wife of Christ; we will be youthful, vibrant and beautiful brides for eternity.

Am I getting ready for the wedding?

This is where I once was at:

Truthfully, I am pretty much preoccupied with life here and now; I don't spend much time or focus on  becoming holy or getting ready to meet Jesus.

This is where I am at during my current season:

I give some thought and effort to becoming holy and preparing for Christ's return but often find myself distracted and consumed with things of this earth.

This is where I want to be:

I love Jesus, am excited about His return, and am actively seeking to "get ready for the wedding" by pursuing holiness.