“Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles,” Psalm 105:4 Message
Elizabeth Barrett Browning said …nothings small ! …Earth is crammed with heaven. And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees, takes off his shoes. How true.
One day we will see everything clearly, but with the Holy Spirit’s help we can see things now if we are focused. He wants to show us the powers of the age to come and we can taste of it in the present if we believe. Enoch the 7th from Adam saw the coming of the Lord far in the future and ended up experiencing his own personal translation way back then, for he was taken and didn’t taste death. He tasted of the future and brought it into his day. Seeing is very powerful.
“who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age.” Hebrews 6:5
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
The Devil knows that the answer for us is in Christ. He knows that there is a spiritual principle available to us, that if we look at Jesus, we will be changed to be like Him. Paul said that we are changed from one level of glory to another as we consider the Lord through meditating on Him in scripture.
“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate a the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 3:18
One thing I am noticing now days is that there is a lot of contention as to who the Bride of Christ is. I don’t profess to have cornered the market but I’m more inclined to believe that she is a believer who is in love with Jesus. As you know, not everyone is in love with Jesus. Yes we are saved by faith, but not all Christians pursue Him as a bride. “This is what the Lord says:
“ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me ..” Jeremiah 2:1 (NIV)
The Bible mentions her in the Book of Revelation and all through the scriptures and it likens Israel and then the Church as a Bride. I feel it’s important to explore this thought. I am convinced that it’s the Church today, but is it all the Church? The Bride speaks of someone who is in love with the Bride Groom - Jesus, it’s someone who is close to Him. Jesus said to Peter three times, “Do you love me,” after he had denied the Lord just before His death. There was a need for Peter to repent of His sin and get back into a right loving relationship with the Lover of His soul. As you have probably noticed there are Christians out there that aren’t walking in love. Look at this verse.
“If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)
HE SONG OF SONGS Part 7 of Practicing His Presence
“The song of songs, which is Solomon's.” S/Songs 1:1 (KJV)
“This is Solomon's song of songs, more wonderful than any other.” (TLB)
King Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived and he penned the Song of Songs. If you were given writings by the wisest man that ever lived, I’m sure you would consider its content to be a cut above the rest. This book is called the Song of all Songs. It’s also called a song more wonderful than any other. So any other song that has been written pales in comparison to this song. Wow, that’s a bold statement. So this song is the ‘Mother of all Songs’!! There have been millions of songs written over the ages about all sorts of things in this world from rivers to cities, animals, love, hate, war and relationships just to name a few. Some have become famous and others are only one minute wonders, but this song claims to be the best of them all. It’s worth asking, “Why”? All the songs you remember are popular because of their tune rather than their content, but this song has no tune. Sometimes psalms begin with the instructions on what tune they to be sung too, but not this one. This is the greatest song ever written not for its tune but for its content. This song is all about a relationship between a man and a woman, and not just any man or any woman, but a song about the love relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Because this song is the inspired word of God, it’s a living song. It’s a spirit and life song The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)
