11/17/2024
Today I wanted to talk about what it means to be a Jesus Believer in terms of who we are.
In the Bible, we're meant to be the "Bride of Christ" in a Masogeonistic world that Is hard to comprehend because we are always bombarded with the idea that Man is the head of the household. like I am a man in this world this idea of being the bride is alien and for those who identify as women this is much harder to comprehend because it's eluded that women are "subservient to the male counterpart in relationship. well... both are wrong.
in previous talks, I posted I underlined what it is to Sin, (being disconnected by emotions we harbor... harboring being that which we cannot let go), our actions can cause Sin, this disconnect, but we ourselves must take care of ourselves so that we don't disconnect from our living God within ourselves. This idea of being the bride of Christ, the church, we have to battle with the idea of who are we as the bride. Being the bride is not subservience but emulating the husband to the degree of encouraging the growth of the marriage through supporting the ideal of the marriage... making a home, nourishing the family, raising the children, and securing the household. securing the household is making everybody feel safe. These are the things that we need to do as a church. we don't do things for the glory of ourselves, but the Glory of that which we harbor as God. Jesus' Glory was to die on the cross for our sins so that we can be free.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".
God of the old Testament was a god of Law, Jesus being the fulfillment of the law saw that the transformation of the church went from Law to Love... and that Love is the Holy Spirit that lives within us. so we as the brides of Christ, (the living God on earth) we have our part to play as Christians to propagate this message to the corners of the world so that Sin can leave those burdened and they can worship freely without disconnection from God, (ourselves).
4 things I outlined as being brides were: 1)Making a Home, 2)Nourishing the Family, 3)Raising the Children, and 4)Securing the Household. So let's talk about these.
1)MAKING A HOME, obviously being the church itself but being an online entity what is the church? I can already hear some of you saying, "The church is where 2 or more individuals gather to worship". and this is correct. so how do we make a home?
Making a home is to invite and care for those inside where we reside, and to do this we have to become a welcoming entity that others feel welcome. To be welcoming we must adhere to several parts of charges that we can find in the Bible: Judgement, Matthew 7:1-3 says:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
this is one aspect of making a home. Creating a space where people do not feel judged, as children those of us who grow up do so in an environment where we feel free to create our own reality, and with such an atmosphere we grow with intensity, (without sin) because there is no disconnect. and we grow closer to God. God is the Holy Spirit within us. This allows others to come to Christ, (Becoming the bride) and allows the Glory of God, (Jesus) to Grow with us. and this is a beautiful idea.
Matthew 25:35-40 states:
"35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
2) NOURISHING THE FAMILY, in a marriage nourishing the family is a family that grows, together and builds bonds that connect, (without sin). So spiritually how do you nourish? supporting others. Luke 6:38 gives a beautiful imagry of a woman breastfeeding which holds much value here... says:
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
This clearly says that everything that you feed to the children, nourishes them to grow and that glory will give back to the bosom that feeds others. "Be Fruitful and multiply" is the charge given to Noah, Abraham, and Adam. "Fulfillment" which is what I've already talked about here before.
3) RAISING THE CHILDREN, thinking about our own children, (or if we don't have children cannot have children adopted children we can think of ourselves as children and think about what we need as being children), it's pretty clear about what we need to do as parenting those that are coming to Christ: Sacrifice.
1 John 3 16-23 states:
"16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."
This is how we raise children, that we act with love and give the example of Jesus through our actions... Things that grow the heart. God is Love which is the Holy Spirit and Jesus' Sacrifice is what we need to emulate so that the Glory of the Marriage can work. as Wives we need to understand that we put ourselves aside so that the Household and family can grow. we put before our children the examples in life that they can learn and understand from. we take them to activities and parks so that they can learn and grow build relationships and understand how to work through actions. This is how beautiful families are made and this is the family that we need to become.
Lastly: 4) SECURING THE HOUSEHOLD, How to we make safe a domicile that harbors safety? Love and the abolishment of Fear.
1 John 4: 4-11
"
4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
Love is key to securing the Household, it clearly states that security comes with Love, and we love our children and wanted to be loved as children so thus we must love to secure our households. Love and I've talked about this in previous chapters in this website.
the second is Abolishing fear which we also find in 1 John 4 18-21:
"
18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19We love him, because he first loved us.
20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."
Love and fear are opposites, so if Fear is Sin, Love is Salvation and with love, we can Nourish our family to draw closer to God, Like Jesus already asked for by asking the woman at the well to Draw out water for him to drink (John 4: 6-19)
"
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet."
In this quote, you can see that all the components are here, straight from Jesus' example itself, no judgment Love, and security.
This is my message to you... Be like Jesus because us as brides have many husbands but can still come to Christ and closer to God. Sin is that which disconnects but love is that which draws us closer to God, and drawing is that which Jesus gives us in example on how to be a Bride. Lovely!