I never really thought a lot about why we are called "the bride of Christ," or any of the wedding analogies in the bible until I saw Zola Levitt explain the ancient Jewish wedding tradition. As he spoke, the pieces in my head clicked into place. I wanted to share this with others who may not know about it.
In the ancient Jewish tradition, when a man wanted to marry a woman, he went to her home, bringing with him a bethrothal contract and a skin of wine. He would speak to the father of the prospective bride, making him a financial offering. This offering, known as the "bride price" was meant to show his willingness to pay for the hand of the woman and the ability to provide for her. If the bride price was acceptable, the groom would pour a cup of wine, and the bride would drink it. The contract -- or covenant -- was signed, and a shofar -- or trumpet -- was sounded to announce the betrothal. He would make a formal ritual statement such as, "Thou art set apart for me according to the law of Moses and of Israel." From then on, the woman had to wear a veil over her head in public to signify her betrothal.
Although they were officially married at this point, the marriage could not yet be consumated.
The groom would give special gifts to his betrothed in order to show his appreciatio of her and to serve as reminders of him while he was away.
The groom would go then to his father's home to prepare a place for her. This place was known as a "chupah" and was the chamber where they would spend their honeymoon. It was built in his father's house and would usually take between one and two years to construct the place, and during that time, they did not see one another.
Between the time of the betrothal and the time of the groom's return, she would participate in a "mikvah," or ritual cleansing bath.
Once he was finished preparing the place, his father had to inspect and approve of the chamber. Only then could the groom would go to get his bride.
In essence, no one knew but the groom's father when that date would be.
Because of the uncertainty in scheduling, the bride had to be ready for the return of her groom at any time. And so did the rest of the wedding party.
Often, they would keep a candle burning for the groom and an extra jar of oil at the ready.
Once the father of the groom gave his approval on the chupah, the son would go back to get his bride.
He and the groomsmen would travel back and sound another trumpet to announce their impending arrival. This trumpet was known as the "last trump."
At this point, the groom would give to the bride's father the contract which they signed the night of the betrothal. The bride and groom would then leave her father's house and go to his father's house to begin their new life together.
Once there, the father of the groom would take the bride's hand and put it into the groom's hand. This action was known as the "presentation." At the moment of the presentation, they were officially wed.
Upon their marriage, the groom would then bring his wife to the chupah where the marriage is consummated. After consummation, he introduces her to his friends, the members of the wedding party, who had assembled and prepared the marrriage feast when they heard the last trump. During the feast, the groom would drink wine and then pass the cup to his bride. Her acceptance of the cup of wine signifies that she accepted the covenant that he signed all those months before the wedding.
Read more!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
God's Reasons
I've been thinking today about how I shouldn't try to understand WHY God does things. I should just accept that he does and be grateful about it.
Here's the thing:
When He first made it known to me that He wanted me to go back into the jails to tell prisoners about Him, I thought that it was some sort of punishment or consequence of my past. I didn't have any problem with it being a punishment. I just accepted it.When He first made it known to me that He wanted me to go back into the jails to tell prisoners about Him, I thought that it was some sort of punishment or consequence of my past. I didn't have any problem with it being a punishment. I just accepted it.
After a couple of months, it occurred to me that it was not a punishment at all. It occurred to me that God wanted me to use what I had learned, and that I was in a position to talk to people who are in the position now that I found myself in 20 years ago; that because I was hopeless for so long, I could bring hope into the lives of others who are hopeless.
Well, I think that was wrong too.
Now I realize that He has me doing this so that He can bless me. It seems that I always end up getting back more than I give. When I first realized that I was getting more than I was giving, I stepped up the amount that I was giving. But God then stepped up what He was giving me in return.
The thing is, no one can out-give God.
In any event, I am sure that none of those is the "reason" God had me go into this ministry. And I am sure that the reason doesn't really matter to me, other than that I am curious and the type of person who always wants to know "why."
Read more!
Here's the thing:
When He first made it known to me that He wanted me to go back into the jails to tell prisoners about Him, I thought that it was some sort of punishment or consequence of my past. I didn't have any problem with it being a punishment. I just accepted it.When He first made it known to me that He wanted me to go back into the jails to tell prisoners about Him, I thought that it was some sort of punishment or consequence of my past. I didn't have any problem with it being a punishment. I just accepted it.
After a couple of months, it occurred to me that it was not a punishment at all. It occurred to me that God wanted me to use what I had learned, and that I was in a position to talk to people who are in the position now that I found myself in 20 years ago; that because I was hopeless for so long, I could bring hope into the lives of others who are hopeless.
Well, I think that was wrong too.
Now I realize that He has me doing this so that He can bless me. It seems that I always end up getting back more than I give. When I first realized that I was getting more than I was giving, I stepped up the amount that I was giving. But God then stepped up what He was giving me in return.
The thing is, no one can out-give God.
In any event, I am sure that none of those is the "reason" God had me go into this ministry. And I am sure that the reason doesn't really matter to me, other than that I am curious and the type of person who always wants to know "why."
Read more!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Woman of God
I have not been a Christian very long. Nearly eight years out of my total of 53. I have felt from the beginning that I need to make up for lost time, so to speak.
I found early on that it was not enough for me to worship in church twice a week. Nor to add to that bible study twice a week.
And awhile back, those things plus reading the bible every day became too little.
So I got active in a ministry. Still not enough.
I all but stopped listening to secular radio and television because, frankly, for the most part, the things that are broadcast on them are not the things that I am interested in.
I still watch a few "mainstream" television shows, but for the most part, that is the news, and that because I am waiting to see coverage of two talkative guys in Jerusalem.
Suddenly, I find that most of my day is spent talking to, learning , or thinking about God.
I'm not complaining, mind you. I am more than happy with that change in my life. But it still startles me when I realize that a person as sinful and hopeless as I was could become someone who craves Jesus Christ and His words.
It seems that it was not so long ago that I wanted to be called "beautiful," or "smart."
But one day, a woman addressed me as "Woman of God," and I have never been so pleased to be called anything! I remember thinking that this was the term I want to be called.
I know for me, beauty has given way to gravity, and there are times that I cannot remember words while I am right in the middle of a sentence!
No one will be known as beautiful or intelligent for eternity. I know I won't, anyway. But I will always be a Woman of God. And I do mean ALWAYS. Read more!
I found early on that it was not enough for me to worship in church twice a week. Nor to add to that bible study twice a week.
And awhile back, those things plus reading the bible every day became too little.
So I got active in a ministry. Still not enough.
I all but stopped listening to secular radio and television because, frankly, for the most part, the things that are broadcast on them are not the things that I am interested in.
I still watch a few "mainstream" television shows, but for the most part, that is the news, and that because I am waiting to see coverage of two talkative guys in Jerusalem.
Suddenly, I find that most of my day is spent talking to, learning , or thinking about God.
I'm not complaining, mind you. I am more than happy with that change in my life. But it still startles me when I realize that a person as sinful and hopeless as I was could become someone who craves Jesus Christ and His words.
It seems that it was not so long ago that I wanted to be called "beautiful," or "smart."
But one day, a woman addressed me as "Woman of God," and I have never been so pleased to be called anything! I remember thinking that this was the term I want to be called.
I know for me, beauty has given way to gravity, and there are times that I cannot remember words while I am right in the middle of a sentence!
No one will be known as beautiful or intelligent for eternity. I know I won't, anyway. But I will always be a Woman of God. And I do mean ALWAYS. Read more!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Spiritual milk? Or spiritual meat?
It is estimated that worldwide, on any given day, 465 Christians are martyred for their faith.
According to Bill Bright, 2% of American Christians share their faith with others.
Whether we believe that Christ wll return tomorrow, next month, or in 100 years, we are closer to that glorious day today than we were yesterday.
We all know people who are not saved. They're everywhere. So why are 98% of American Christians NOT sharing their faith with those people? What ARE they doing with God's time?
What are YOU doing with God's time? Are you witnessing to people who do not know the Lord? Are you living out what Jesus Christ, in his last command to us, told us we must do?
"...as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." -- 1 Peter 2:2-3
When we are born again, we are infants. Infants need nothing more than milk in order to thrive. It is fine for a 6-week old infant to be nourished only by milk, but we don't often see 6-year olds who still don't eat solid foods, do we? A child would die of malnutrition if he didn't have solid food at some point.
"Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions." -- Luke 2:46
Eventually, we grow into adolescence. By now, we've been eating solids for awhile. In fact, we are eating just about everything; we seem to be always hungry. This is a good thing, because we are growing mightily, and we need all the nourishment we can get. But keep in mind that adolescents eat meat as well as Big Macs and other "fast food" that does little to satisfy our nourishment needs. But the main things we do in adolescence are these: We ask a lot of questions and we search for answers. If we don't get to adolescence, we can never get to maturity, so this one is important. Adolescents are not independent yet. They want to be, and they try to be, but they need seasoning before they can go out on their own. The searching and learning eventually gives way to maturity.
"...till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." -- Ephesians 4:13-16
Maturity is the stage in life when we are able to grow in the knowledge of God and accept the full measure of Christ. Like all mature humans, certain things are expected of us by our Father. He expects us to communicate with and about Him, and to obey Him. He expects us to take care of the gifts He gave us and to use them as He would see fit, and to work toward fulfilling His will for us.
Read more!Sunday, August 10, 2008
God is very funny sometimes
God is very funny sometimes.
I don't mean "strange" kind of funny. I mean laugh-out-loud funny. Sometimes I notice when He's being funny. Other times, I think I don't until a long time later. And other times, I am just too irritated to appreciate the humor.
I was not feeling particularly good nor particularly bad as I set out yesterday morning to drop a pair of pants off at a new tailor's shop in town. I had not been there before, but someone at work had told me about the place, and I was going to give it a try.
The place is in a sort of mall, which is more like a bunch of booths, and it is always crowded, and when I finally found the shop I was looking for, it was closed. I figured I would go grocery shopping and then get back to the mall, and perhaps happily find that they open late on Saturdays.
On my way out, a man sitting in a chair in front of one of the shops asked me, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?"
I answered him, and he seemed not to believe me, and so he asked me some more questions about salvation.
It turns out that this shop exists simply to tell people about Jesus Christ and the way to salvation.
Well, I never pass up a chance to talk about my Lord, and I was there for about 3 hours!
When it came time for me to leave, the man gave me a book, "The Way of the Master," which I hope to be able to start reading this week.
It was a nice way to turn my day around, and I was then off to Wal-Mart to do my grocery shopping. On the short drive to the store, I was laughing and talking out loud to God about how funny it was that He reminds me in the strangest ways that He is there and that I am one of His people.
At the store, I got about $60.00 worth of food for the week, and when I got to the checkout, it kept saying that my bank card was declined.
Not possible! My husband and I were both paid on Friday, and here it was only Saturday. Turns out that a $300.00 automatic payment which I thought we had cancelled was taken out.
Oh, my! It will be another 6 days that we will be without a cent, without money for gasoline, and with that unsettling feeling I get when we don't have any money.
I was pretty irritated as I got into the car, and again I started talking out loud about it. As I was speaking, that small voice reminded me that my needs were really taken care of. We don't need to use the cars for anything between Sunday and Friday, so gasoline wasn't an issue. We had enough food to keep us fed until Friday.
I started laughing, realizing that my first stop in the morning really helped me get through my second one.
God really is funny. Read more!
I don't mean "strange" kind of funny. I mean laugh-out-loud funny. Sometimes I notice when He's being funny. Other times, I think I don't until a long time later. And other times, I am just too irritated to appreciate the humor.
I was not feeling particularly good nor particularly bad as I set out yesterday morning to drop a pair of pants off at a new tailor's shop in town. I had not been there before, but someone at work had told me about the place, and I was going to give it a try.
The place is in a sort of mall, which is more like a bunch of booths, and it is always crowded, and when I finally found the shop I was looking for, it was closed. I figured I would go grocery shopping and then get back to the mall, and perhaps happily find that they open late on Saturdays.
On my way out, a man sitting in a chair in front of one of the shops asked me, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?"
I answered him, and he seemed not to believe me, and so he asked me some more questions about salvation.
It turns out that this shop exists simply to tell people about Jesus Christ and the way to salvation.
Well, I never pass up a chance to talk about my Lord, and I was there for about 3 hours!
When it came time for me to leave, the man gave me a book, "The Way of the Master," which I hope to be able to start reading this week.
It was a nice way to turn my day around, and I was then off to Wal-Mart to do my grocery shopping. On the short drive to the store, I was laughing and talking out loud to God about how funny it was that He reminds me in the strangest ways that He is there and that I am one of His people.
At the store, I got about $60.00 worth of food for the week, and when I got to the checkout, it kept saying that my bank card was declined.
Not possible! My husband and I were both paid on Friday, and here it was only Saturday. Turns out that a $300.00 automatic payment which I thought we had cancelled was taken out.
Oh, my! It will be another 6 days that we will be without a cent, without money for gasoline, and with that unsettling feeling I get when we don't have any money.
I was pretty irritated as I got into the car, and again I started talking out loud about it. As I was speaking, that small voice reminded me that my needs were really taken care of. We don't need to use the cars for anything between Sunday and Friday, so gasoline wasn't an issue. We had enough food to keep us fed until Friday.
I started laughing, realizing that my first stop in the morning really helped me get through my second one.
God really is funny. Read more!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
What I Believe
I am a born-again Christian. I believe the basics of Christianity.
I believe that the key to salvation is Jesus Christ plus nothing. The fundamental truth is that faith in Jesus Christ is all that is necessary for salvation. The byproducts of that faith are the fruits of Christianity.
I believe He is who He said He is. I believe that He lived, suffered, died, and rose from the dead for my sins and yours.
I believe I will one day have to look Him in the eye and account for how I lived my life after I accepted Him.
I believe that when He said to pick up my cross daily and follow Him, that's what he meant. I believe that picking up my cross is more than spreading the Gospel; more than being kind; more than going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. I believe it is much more, and I am endlessly amazed that the more I do those things, the more it is revealed to me what exactly picking up that cross entails.
Whether to wear a hat to church, observe the Sabbath on Saturday, Sunday, or whenever, or bring a covered dish...all of this is superfluous. I don't think it does any harm, but I know it has nothing to do with salvation.
I believe that "liberation theology" is the theology that Christ has liberated those who are open to receiving His truth.
I believe that the peace I am headed for is not in this world. We have been assured that there will be none. That does not excuse us from trying to attain it, but I'm not holding my breath. Read more!
I believe that the key to salvation is Jesus Christ plus nothing. The fundamental truth is that faith in Jesus Christ is all that is necessary for salvation. The byproducts of that faith are the fruits of Christianity.
I believe He is who He said He is. I believe that He lived, suffered, died, and rose from the dead for my sins and yours.
I believe I will one day have to look Him in the eye and account for how I lived my life after I accepted Him.
I believe that when He said to pick up my cross daily and follow Him, that's what he meant. I believe that picking up my cross is more than spreading the Gospel; more than being kind; more than going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. I believe it is much more, and I am endlessly amazed that the more I do those things, the more it is revealed to me what exactly picking up that cross entails.
Whether to wear a hat to church, observe the Sabbath on Saturday, Sunday, or whenever, or bring a covered dish...all of this is superfluous. I don't think it does any harm, but I know it has nothing to do with salvation.
I believe that "liberation theology" is the theology that Christ has liberated those who are open to receiving His truth.
I believe that the peace I am headed for is not in this world. We have been assured that there will be none. That does not excuse us from trying to attain it, but I'm not holding my breath. Read more!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Building churches
For quite some time now, I have been without a church.
In December of 2005, my husband and I had to move about 80 miles south of our home in order to find work. After 7 months or so, we ended up moving to another state 1,000 miles south of our home so that we could find work.
That is all another story for another day.
For today, I want to talk about the fact that I have attended scores of churches in the past couple of years.
The majority of the churches I have attended are in some stage of remodeling, annexing, or building a new building. That in itself is amazing to me.
More amazing, though, are the fact that not one of the buildings in which I sat was falling down or even very old. And in each of those churches, a preacher stood behind a pulpit and addressed the progress of the building -- whether it was still in the planning stages, or almost finished -- and asked the congregation for money for the project.
Maybe it's just me, but I really want nothing to do with a church that thinks that's okay.
I have no problem with a pastor asking for money from the pulpit, but not for such things. Outreach? Absolutely! Food for people in need? Sure thing! Bus trip for the youth group? Fine with me!
But it just seems to me to be self-indulgent to be building bigger buildings when there is so much that needs to be done in the world and so little time to do it in.
I recently attended a Pentecostal church in order to see a nationally-known speaker. The church was beautiful! From the outside, it was shaped like a huge crown, and it had a coffee shop and a school on the property. I don't mean it was extravagant, but it was nice enough that one of my first thoughts about the congregation was that they must be pretty well off.
I got there early enough for bible study, and was struck by the size of the auditorium-like interior. I'm not good at estimating that kind of stuff, but it seemed to me that it had room for several thousand people.
The bible study was nice. It was about Moses and Jethro, and was done with a projector and complete with maps. I like that kind of study. Knowing the geography and the culture always makes me see better in my mind's eye how things happened.
Then it came time for the service, and at the end, the speaker was going to be there. I am assuming that because the speaker was going to be there, many guests were in the pews. Even so, the place was not even half full.
The preacher dedicated a baby, led a prayer or two, and then started talking about how they needed more money for "the building project."
As I said before, I really don't like that much from any church, but the fact that this church was in such nice condition and was not filled to capacity made me feel so even more.
The national speaker was great. Well worth the trip. And when he was done, I wanted to tell the preacher what I felt about his requests for money for the building. Fortunately, I'm sure, the line of people waiting to talk to him and the speaker was far too long for me to want to stand in.
I figured that, like the Pharasees, he already knows that the point of church is to feed the flock so that they can do God's work, not to fleece them. That being the case, I don't suppose my telling him about it was going to change his heart. Read more!
In December of 2005, my husband and I had to move about 80 miles south of our home in order to find work. After 7 months or so, we ended up moving to another state 1,000 miles south of our home so that we could find work.
That is all another story for another day.
For today, I want to talk about the fact that I have attended scores of churches in the past couple of years.
The majority of the churches I have attended are in some stage of remodeling, annexing, or building a new building. That in itself is amazing to me.
More amazing, though, are the fact that not one of the buildings in which I sat was falling down or even very old. And in each of those churches, a preacher stood behind a pulpit and addressed the progress of the building -- whether it was still in the planning stages, or almost finished -- and asked the congregation for money for the project.
Maybe it's just me, but I really want nothing to do with a church that thinks that's okay.
I have no problem with a pastor asking for money from the pulpit, but not for such things. Outreach? Absolutely! Food for people in need? Sure thing! Bus trip for the youth group? Fine with me!
But it just seems to me to be self-indulgent to be building bigger buildings when there is so much that needs to be done in the world and so little time to do it in.
I recently attended a Pentecostal church in order to see a nationally-known speaker. The church was beautiful! From the outside, it was shaped like a huge crown, and it had a coffee shop and a school on the property. I don't mean it was extravagant, but it was nice enough that one of my first thoughts about the congregation was that they must be pretty well off.
I got there early enough for bible study, and was struck by the size of the auditorium-like interior. I'm not good at estimating that kind of stuff, but it seemed to me that it had room for several thousand people.
The bible study was nice. It was about Moses and Jethro, and was done with a projector and complete with maps. I like that kind of study. Knowing the geography and the culture always makes me see better in my mind's eye how things happened.
Then it came time for the service, and at the end, the speaker was going to be there. I am assuming that because the speaker was going to be there, many guests were in the pews. Even so, the place was not even half full.
The preacher dedicated a baby, led a prayer or two, and then started talking about how they needed more money for "the building project."
As I said before, I really don't like that much from any church, but the fact that this church was in such nice condition and was not filled to capacity made me feel so even more.
The national speaker was great. Well worth the trip. And when he was done, I wanted to tell the preacher what I felt about his requests for money for the building. Fortunately, I'm sure, the line of people waiting to talk to him and the speaker was far too long for me to want to stand in.
I figured that, like the Pharasees, he already knows that the point of church is to feed the flock so that they can do God's work, not to fleece them. That being the case, I don't suppose my telling him about it was going to change his heart. Read more!
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