I Am My Father-in-Law's Daughter

                                (Wells was no more than two days home from the hospital here)

It was a perfect overcast, cold and dreary day and my two hungry for adventure children were finally napping. I got to plomp on the couch with my warm cup of french press coffee and my bible. I could hear the tornado sirens blaring outside but I felt safe in my "prayer closet" cherishing my moment with God.
I couldn't wait to dive into the bible to learn something new about my Heavenly Father.
Before I opened the word I asked God to tell me something special.
I heard this, "You are your father-in-law's daughter".
That is all he said and yet so much information came with it. The Holy Spirit revealed what he meant.

Dave's parents love their first born son, unfathomably.
They have raised him, protected him, shed tears for him and trained him on how to be the best husband and dad he could ever be someday.
When Dave and I started to date his parents knew this was serious for Dave because he did not date often. If Dave's dad could see into my soul and see me at my worst, in my most horrible sin he would have said, "sorry Dave, we love you too much, she is not good enough for you, she will only hurt you and she has gross sin."
Dave's dad wouldn't want me for his son just as I wouldn't want a sinful woman who would hurt my son to be in Oscar's life.
The special thing that God revealed to me that cold day on the couch was that Jesus said  "not only do I love her Father but I want to marry her." He wanted the most intimate relationship with me. God looked at me in the eyes of a Father looking at his son's future bride and he saw me in my most disgusting sin. My worst was exposed to him. He saw that for His son to marry me would take the price of His own beloved son's blood. A sacrifice of the Father and the Son for me to be married to God almighty.  and even in that knowledge of me the Father said, I love her, she's perfect for my son. I want you to be married. I will call her daughter and she will inherit the kingdom. We will put a crown on her head and she will be your royal bride. She will rule with you and live with us in our love for eternity."

I am my father in laws daughter. God is my father.

I wouldn't want a woman that I could see in her worst moment to marry my son let alone allow my son to die, his blood shed in order for them to marry.
But God loves you and me that much that he saw us in our worst sin and loved us even in that moment and gave us His son that we could live for eternity with Him.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.


Not only did Jesus die for our sins that we may live, he became human and god at the same time God inside of a human body. Forever and for eternity in a glorified human body (we will be given our glorified bodies at the rapture).
So Jesus loved us so much that he became man AND died for us shedding His precious blood.

Col. 2:9 - "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."
Phil. 2:5-8 - "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

I came across this great teaching on being the bride of Christ.

Our Bridegroom has gone away, but He will be back. The disciple John explains that this time of separation is also a time of preparation: 1 John 3 says, “What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him, purifies himself.”

The Jewish wedding ceremony took place in 3 parts. Each part is symbolic of a much greater wedding. It began with the “Betrothal” which was preceded by intense bargaining between the father of the bride and the father of the groom. The “Bride Price” was very steep. The price was comparable to what would be the price of a new house today. Then, when the bride was paid, there was a ceremony in which the couple was betrothed. The price Jesus paid for us was also very steep. It was not silver or gold, but His own precious blood. If we have put our trust in that blood, there is a ring on our finger. We are betrothed. In the days of Jesus, this part of the ceremony symbolized a permanent commitment. It is the same with our relationship with Jesus.

Next, the groom went away in order to add a room to his father’s house. It usually took about a year, but the actual time was determined by the father. It was when the father said that things were ready when the groom would surprise his bride and bring her back with a great processional. In John 14 Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

During this time of separation, the bride would prepare her gown. It involved much time and patience and had much intricate detail. As we anticipate our “GREAT WEDDING DAY” we, as Christians are preparing our wedding gown. Rather than fine linen, our wedding gown is the purity of our character. Our character is developed as we clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone who has the hope of Jesus returning is in this process of sanctification. We are a work in progress. We eagerly anticipate what we will become.

John says in Revelation 19:7-8, “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear. We, as we live on this earth, are getting ready to become His Bride. Jesus has gone away to prepare a place for us and He will be back. It will be a great Psalm and wondrous procession. Psalm 45:13-14 says, “All glorious is the princess within her chamber. Her gown is interwoven with gold; in embroidered garments she is led to the King.”

There is so much symbolism here. The words used are significant. The fires of life will refine and purify our character in a magnificent gold if we allow God to use them as He desires. When someone embroiders they enhance, magnify and add color to their garment. This is a picture of what we do to our wedding gown when we submit to the Lord. All glorious are Krista, Nikki and Jessica within their chamber!

(A suggestion of the author to paraphrase this psalm with your own name>) The character of God is interwoven throughout their character; being clothed in the many splendord colors of His, they were led to Jesus!

The final part of the Jewish marriage was the actual wedding and feast. Oh what rejoicing their will be in heaven at our wedding banquet! We will be with Him, our Bridegroom for all eternity. So, in this period when He is preparing a place for us, God also yearns to sanctify and make us holy. Let us abandon ourselves to Him… our ETERNAL BRIDEGROOM!

Link

We Are Still in the Race!

(I wonder if we are being watched from above by the great cloud of witnesses in heaven and being cheered for as we walk through life our very own race before the rewards of eternity.)

When I was in track and cross country I loved to train with my team. We worked hard to improve our personal best times. We ran against each other pushing one another towards our personal best as well as our team best. We desired for each other to succeed and we had camaraderie and fellowship with one another through the hard days of running in the summer florida heat with humidity so thick it felt more like we were running in a sauna. We stuck by each other and pushed each other through the rainy practices and the 26 mile practices. On the days when we had races there was a buzz in the air.
The excitement of leaving school to go to a meet and run the race we had been training for all season was too much for us to bear. There was always lots of laughter and adrenaline on those days.

When it was my turn to walk to the starting line on the track my blood would pump through  my body so fast I would shake out of nervousness and anticipation of winning. My adrenaline pushed me so far off the start line when I heard the gun go off that I usually had a good head start. And lets just face the facts I usually won most of my races. :)

When my three races were finally over I would be relieved until I comfortably sat down to watch the others in their races on the track. That is when I would cheer for my team mates.
Everyone who was finished with their races would stand on the side lines and scream encouragements to our friends who were still running in the race.
We screamed a whole lot of... "GO GO GO GO! HE'S COMING UP BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN DO IT! ONE MORE LAP! JUST OOONE MORE LAP! YOU CAN WIN THIS!" 
If I had run a bad race that day I would long to have just one more race to run as I watched the others that were "so lucky" to still be in it with the opportunity to win!

The other night I was thinking about Jake and asked the Lord to tell Jake that I cannot wait to be with him again. That is when I had a thought that I believe came from the Holy Spirit.
Jake has run his race. he is finished now and on the side lines cheering us on.
He watches and prays for us as we round the corners and head for the finish line.
He screams out, "Keep moving! You're almost done! You're going to win this!".

We are in it now. It's not over for us yet.
We don't have a long way to go.
paul said "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3


Lets finish our race strong. The great cloud of witnesses that watches from the sidelines because their race is over cheer us on and praise God through our race.
We still have an opportunity to make our race count! 
I believe Christ is coming back for His church SOON but He isn't back yet and we are still running. We have an opportunity to move mountains while we are here. We can unashamed tell someone that does not know God about His Son Jesus and His forgiveness of sins...
We still get to love on someone that is unlovable and share the love and forgiveness of Christ that He gives us.
Our reward is waiting for us after the race. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.


It is better to run with purpose than to be in the race anyway and not run to win and to be in the race and not be fully surrendered to Jesus so that your race counts.
When it's all over you are going to be relieved and thankful to be done but if you did not run with perseverance and if you ran aimlessly as Paul talks about in 1 cor. 9 you will wish you had fixed your eyes on Jesus As the rewards are being handed out for those who did.

Prayer

This article was so insightful and a great revelation of truth I wanted to share it with you.

Prayer!

April 22, 2010 by Mike Wells  

II Samuel 7:18-22, Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord GOD. Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD! For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. For this reason You are great, O Lord GOD; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”

Prayer is a wonderful thing, for in it we can express the greatness of our God (the only God) and our gratitude toward Him. Prayer is a relationship builder . . . that is, from our perspective; God has had a relationship with us before the foundations of the world. I have often pondered prayer and have a few observations. Again, everything I say is not absolute, but I trust that I am pointing to the One who is absolute, the sum total of resolution and truth, fixed eternally in the universe. To begin with, I do not think that the purpose of prayer is to direct God. We have a God, and that statement says it all, for the very confession of that designation proclaims that He does not need directing. Only those with a small god need to direct him; our God knows all and is directed by no one, but we are to listen to His direction. So many who entitle themselves “Prayer Warriors” believe that they will change the course of God by countless repetitions. Jesus spoke to this very attitude: “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7). I have never understood the emphasis on going to a city to walk around it and pray. In a city near where I live there is even a huge building around which fly the flags of differing countries, positioned in the direction the country lies from there; the goal is to stand at the flagpole representing the country for which one has a burden and pray. I cannot get anyone to explain to me why we would have to go to a country or point toward it to pray. Can we not enter our closet and pray? Amen, if believers want to travel and see a place, they should go without spiritualizing it. God does not really care if they go to Israel for curiosity or enjoyment. I believe there are several purposeful bases for prayer. First, it is the recognition of the constant unbroken relationship that we as believers have with the Father that is not dependent on time, place, or our present condition. “For in Him we live and move and exist”

(Acts 17:28a); it is so good to recognize that and not have to create it. Second, the intent of prayer is not to change the mind of God but to come to peace with the will of God. This is of utmost importance in this present day. We must remember that God is permitting what He could prevent for the revelation of hearts. We will not change an evil person’s choice. God permits man to have choice for the revelation of hearts. In the final judgment, a heart will be judged as it was revealed to be in this life. In prayer, we find peace with what God does, allows, prevents, and denies. Finally, prayer permits us to participate in the work of God. For example, I am awakened in the middle of the night and told to pray for someone. It is not as though if I turn over and go back to sleep, God will not act; it is merely a matter of my missing the blessing of participating in what God is going to do. Later, when I hear that the person was under attack, in a near accident, or had family struggles, I rejoice in the awareness that God came at the exact moment to deliver, and I am blessed that He allowed me to participate in what He was doing. In fact, any time we experience answered prayer we can boast in the Lord that He enlightened us to pray for what He was going to do; He allowed us to take part in His kingdom doings. In short, prayer is very easy and enjoyable. In the recognition of His presence within and without, we rest, participate, and enjoy our life in Him; we want nothing but His will, which is the overriding affirmation of our prayer life. Have we not all had our fill of our own will, since we have never enjoyed it?