7-21-23 A Portrayal of Christ & His Church

A Portrayal of Christ & His Church :: By Candy Austin Published on: October 11, 2022 by Admin10 Category:General Articles Our wedding day was on a spring morning, one that I will never forget. While waiting for the wedding march to begin, I happened to look out the church foyer window to see my soon-to-be husband rushing around outside in his white tux with his 90s-style tailcoats flailing behind him, frantically looking for something! Next thing I knew, the usher came in wide-eyed and shaking with a nervous look on his pale face, apparently, hoping that there would be no meltdowns, to say, “They can’t find the rings!” Relaxed and not all that concerned, I just smiled and said, “It’s ok,” for as far as I knew, I was just so happy that I was about to be married to such a kind and loving man. Finally, once the wedding began and as soon as our hands clasped together, I was met with the look of sheer love on his face throughout the ceremony, and our adoring eyes gazed into one another’s while we listened to “Love of a Lifetime.” This was the song that we picked out (one that came out the same year we started dating) by the 90s Band Firehouse. Here is our Wedding/Song Video Collage: https://youtu.be/cC9uSMWHowk Even though we ended up having to borrow rings to complete our celebration that day, the thing that mattered most was that the two of us were given one flesh together under God’s blessing. Getting married young in life was no doubt one of the best things we ever did, but little did we know that it would also be one of the most challenging too. It has been said that “it takes two really good forgivers to have a good marriage.” After 3 decades together, we can attest to that being true. Nevertheless, as difficult as marriages can be, just knowing that one has a lifelong partner, friend, and confidant is an invaluable blessing in so many ways! Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” What is God’s design for marriage? | GotQuestions.org Excerpts from article: It seems that Christians who take the Bible as God’s final word on the subject of marriage are the only ones who are not confused. God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and He has stated plainly that marriage is His idea. He defined it in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:24). Jesus reiterated God’s design for marriage in the New Testament (Mark 10:6–8). After God created the first man, Adam, He said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable helper for him” (Genesis 2:18). So God’s first objective in creating marriage was to provide companionship. He did not make another man for Adam so that he could experience brotherly affection. He created a woman from the man’s own body and brought her to the man (Genesis 2:21–22). With the woman, Adam could experience a deeper kind of intimacy than he could with a man. God created male and female bodies and souls to complement each other in such a way that they become “one flesh” in marriage (Genesis 2:24). God’s design for marriage is that it be a picture of His union with those He calls His own. Throughout the Old Testament, God used imagery related to marriage to explain His love and commitment toward Israel. When the nation of Israel rebelled against Him, God expressed the sorrow and jealousy of a man who has a cheating wife. “Like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” the Lord says in Jeremiah 3:20. In the New Testament, marriage is used as an illustration of Christ and His relationship with His Bride, the Church. Paul writes, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Corinthians 11:2; cf. Ephesians 5:31–32). So God’s design for marriage is that it be an unbreakable covenant such as God has made with His people. When God designed marriage, He pronounced it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He still pronounces it “good” when we follow His design. All perversions of His design, including divorce, sexual promiscuity, and homosexual activity, destroy families and therefore weaken society. God is the designer of marriage and the only One qualified to give us instructions about how to use His gift. We do well when we decide to follow His design for marriage. -End Source Somewhere though, along the way, and with each subsequent generation, we have lost sight of the very ‘high callings’ in our lives. Namely, serving God, living out a Biblical Marriage, and raising Godly children. Mainly we lost it through avenues such as the demonic entertainment that has been displayed to our kids and through the changing nefarious influences in our secular culture throughout each generation. All of this has not only reshaped God’s original design for marriage and family in the eyes of society but has also diminished and diluted it as being the ‘Portrayal of Christ and His Church.’ So, it should come as no surprise when we hear our youth say that “Marriage is just a piece of paper” or that there is “No need for a guy to put a ring on it” because that’s old fashioned or ‘old school stuff, Ma.’ The Highest Calling – Even If I Walk Alone Excerpts from article: Serving God is the highest calling of life. It is a privilege, an honor, and a responsibility above all others. Serving God is rarely something one aspires to from their youth. Rather, it is an endeavor into which one grows. God is always calling out to His creation, beckoning them to fellowship with Him. When we respond, it becomes the highest calling we could ever receive. Nothing else in life could be more intense or deliver in a more profound way. God’s calling is profound and will have deep implications in your life. If you will take His call seriously, with His help, you will have to re-engineer every aspect of your life. Everything you do will be for His glory. Your life will no longer be your own because everything will belong to Him. But if you will surrender to His calling, your life will be more full and abundant than you could have otherwise imagined (John 10:10). His is the highest calling, and He is waiting for you to respond. -End Source Sad to say, but unfortunately becoming more true with each passing year is the fact that serving God is no longer held in high regard in our culture, especially here in America, seeing how some of the fastest growing religions, mindsets, and affiliations in recent decades has been Atheism and Witchcraft among all things. (((sigh))) Regrettably, back in the day, we were one of those parents that bought our kids every Disney movie that came out all through the 90s and early 2000s. Not only that, every toy from every character theme as well. The classic yet ‘apparently delusional’ Snow White song, “Someday My Prince Will Come,” unfortunately still ‘hauntingly loops’ in the back of my mind. https://youtu.be/394jSMBM60Q “Someday My Prince Will Come” the Disney Delusion and Relationships | HuffPost UK Life (huffingtonpost.co.uk) Excerpts from article: Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a blonde princess who dreamed someday her Prince would come to rescue her. 32 years and a divorce later, she’s having second thoughts. As these princess-wannabes transform into women, they throw themselves into a relationship under the illusion that once love strikes, the ‘happily ever after’ follows. We are not taught that relationships take commitment, understanding, maturity, compromise and communication. We look forward to the big diamond ring, the big white dress, and the big long aisle. We are simply not prepared for the reality of marriage. I wonder how Belle and the Beast are getting on 20 years later. Are the stresses of running a castle, having a couple of kids, and paying ridiculously large heating bills affecting their relationship magic? I personally would love to see Beauty and the Beast – the Sequel. Divorce rates in the UK, USA and Russia (hmm, wonder if they have Disney in Russian?) are the highest in the world compared with countries like India, which only has 11 marriages in every 1,000 ending in divorce. The Indian culture is very different from ours. They are taught marriage is about duty, family and partnership. Many marriages are still arranged in Indian culture, so love, if it happens, is an added bonus. Indian women have a different perspective on marriage. They do not have great expectations and an illusion of Prince Charming. Therefore are they less likely to be disappointed and end up in the divorce courts? Now that I am an adult and have some experience under my belt, I can confirm that all the Disney lessons above are total rubbish. Good hair and an excellent singing voice will not keep a sex life alive. You can’t spot a real man by how well he mounts a horse. And skipping off into the sunset after the wedding day is not the end of the story; it’s the beginning. Is it time we ditched the Disney Delusion and got real with our daughters? -End Source Another thing we can ‘attribute to Disney’ is their part in brainwashing our kids to discredit, devalue, and rebel against their parents (by embracing the sin of witchcraft). The question, “Why do Disney movies always kill off the parents?” is not a new thing; there are several websites explaining the theories, but this one especially exposes the ‘spiritual ramifications’ behind it all as well (read web page to fully appreciate the facts): The Disney Occult Deception | Truth in Reality Excerpts from article: Often in Disney stories, one or both parents are dead, and children are left to their own devices, while in others, the parents are somehow inadequate or an object of ridicule. The list is extensive. (See the website for a Long List of the Number of ‘absent parents,’ wicked stepmothers, mothers killed, died, and/or captured, and single mothers). -End Source The high calling of motherhood | Teaching What Is Good Excerpts from article: Motherhood is so much more than addressing basic needs of our children. Rather, we are in the business of shaping and preparing a generation that will be mighty in the Word and mighty in the Spirit! What an honor! We are building our children’s souls and spirits: their minds, their hearts, their will, their passions, their focus, their vision, and their longing for God to touch and change them. We are raising up children who will be warriors in the hands of a Mighty God! Motherhood IS a high calling. Whether we are blessed to stay home and raise our children or work outside the home and raise our children, we have a high calling from God. It is long, hard work, but it is a joy and blessing. We can never guarantee the outcome, as our children have their own will to follow the Lord or not. BUT our work and faithfulness in raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord will result in blessing and honor and rewards from the hand of our God. -End Source Oftentimes, when we feel like we failed at something, we look at the situation and think, why did we ever bother with it in the first place? Just like when the LORD grieved at the utter wickedness of man and regretted ever making mankind on the earth, but at least Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. We, too, can ‘find grace in the face of failure’ due to the fact that nothing with God is ever wasted; it was, is, and still can be one of our’ highest callings’ in life. Genesis 6:5-8 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” As important as our earthly relationships are, our bond with the Most High God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is vastly more significant, not only for the here and now but for all of eternity as well! To be a Bride of Christ has far more far-reaching implications than we can ever fathom or comprehend. Take the ‘Child King Josiah’ for example, stepping cluelessly into his Kingship as an 8-year-old boy by inheriting the throne, yet not really comprehending or having the mental capacity to fully grasp the enormity, gravity, and weight of such a huge endeavor on his life! So, it is with us in accordance with the ‘highest calling’ in our lives, which is inherited through our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by Him being our Personal Lord and Savior and Spiritual Bridegroom! What does it mean that the church is the bride of Christ? | GotQuestions.org Excerpts from article: The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. The church is comprised of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and have received eternal life. Christ, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25–27). Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her Bridegroom during the church age. Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24). At the rapture, the church will be united with the Bridegroom and the official “wedding ceremony” will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and His bride will be actualized (Revelation 19:7–9; 21:1-2). In the eternal state, believers will have access to the heavenly city known as New Jerusalem, also called “the holy city” in Revelation 21:2 and 10. The New Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on some of the church’s characteristics. In his vision of the end of the age, the apostle John sees the city coming down from heaven adorned “as a bride,” meaning that the city will be gloriously radiant and the inhabitants of the city, the redeemed of the Lord, will be holy and pure, wearing white garments of holiness and righteousness. Some have misinterpreted verse 9 to mean the holy city is the bride of Christ, but that cannot be because Christ died for His people, not for a city. The city is called the bride because it encompasses all who are the bride, just as all the students of a school are sometimes called “the school.” Believers in Jesus Christ are the bride of Christ, and we wait with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom. Until then, we remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). -End Source May we be found as a faithful bride while waiting for His soon arrival. Until next time, Maranatha (come quickly, Lord Jesus)! Sincerely & In Christ, Candy Austin