WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN THE BRIDE AND THE CHURCH?

GREETINGS IN THE NAME OF JESUS:


   There are times when I look around me to see the direction that people are traveling in Spiritually that I get kind of discouraged.  I don't mean to say that I myself am discouraged but I am fearful about the lack of direction the average Christian is getting on a weekly basis from having any real contact with others in fellowship with other Christians.  My fear is that we are starting to get away from having that personal place not only with God but with one another as well.  It is interesting how people view families these days, it is usually in television or commercials that show happy smiling faces as they enjoy a product like it is the best thing since sliced bread, but that is not what families are.  The pictures we are getting from social media today is not showing what the Bride of Christ is either.  Like the true meaning behind what family should mean the Bride is made up of real commitment between not just ourselves and Christ but also between us as members of the body of Christ on Earth to one another.  That blood sacrifice between Jesus and us was the depth of commitment that Christ made to us, but my question is where can we find that kind of lasting commitment from us to God?  That commitment is even much less when it is extended to one another.

  There is no doubt that this world is changing the ways that people, in general, are looking at others and we have to be fairly sure about our own faith to not get caught up in those subtle changes that are being made.  These changes are not just affecting the visual ways we perceive God, church, family, and friends; but it is also changing our hearts toward one another without us realizing it.  The general heart of this world toward one another has been growing colder as we tend to cut ourselves off from those who live only a house or two away from us.  The Idea of a changed heart is spoken of quite a lot by Jesus because it is that changed heart that becomes the catalyst for being born again.  This new birth is not a camera trick to sell something that you do not need.  It is not a show or a play put on to make you feel better about yourself.  It is in a commitment to God first and then to one another in the same way that you commit to yourself. What that all means for those of us who live in Christ is that we need to be on the lookout for these changes going on all around us because these are signs of much worse behavior that is to come.  Jesus has told us that there would be signs all around us to show us the approaching storms so that we can take measures to protect ourselves from the devastation to come.

  I think it is interesting that Christ never said if you pray hard enough you can ward off anything that is coming your way, but He did say if we keep our eyes on Him He will show us a way to protect and stand under the things that are happening all around us. I think in a great many cases we will find that our answer for protection and security will be in one another.  I know in my own case God has sent more than one angel in the form of a flesh and blood person whom I share faith in Christ with to protect me and guide me through things that would have destroyed me otherwise.

One of the things that the enemy works harder on than anything else is to separate us from one another because he knows that unless he does we are unbeatable with Christ.  If the enemy can make everything we have seen just as empty to us as his promises in this world has been to us then there is a chance he can turn us against the only true family we have here.  What did Jesus say? "Who are my friends and who is my family? Those who do the will of my Father in Heaven".Statements like this one lead me to believe that God has never changed His requirements for adoption into His family  from the very beginning until this very second and that it is really we who should conform to the principals and the rules of the  house we choose to live under instead of trying to make our own rules as we go.  This world is growing more scared every day of what is coming, and those who are seeking after salvation are looking for something that is stable inside of those who profess Christ.  We have been told that we are many times the only connection to God that many will ever have, and if we are not true to Christ within ourselves then they will never have the chance to find Him either.
 Most of us will never have the opportunity to share God's word from a pulpit or teach people in a classroom about Jesus but we all will always have the chance to share Him by the way we live our lives with one another.  I believe that is the big difference between the church we see today and the Bride that Christ is returning for when He comes again.  Keep us in prayer my dear ones because the time is growing short.  May you richly bless God through your life in Him.



THE UNWORTHY SSERVANT