My heart is on fire, boiling over with passion. Bubbling up within me are these beautiful lyrics as a lovely poem to be sung for the King. Like a river bursting its banks, I’m overflowing with words, spilling out into this sacred story.
A Contemplative Song of Instruction for the Loved One
To the melody of “Lilies” This psalm is an illustrious prophecy of Messiah the Prince: it is all over gospel, and points at him only, as a bridegroom espousing the church to himself and as a king ruling in it and ruling for it. It is probable that our Saviour has reference to this psalm when he compares the kingdom of heaven, more than once, to a nuptial solemnity, the solemnity of a royal nuptial, Mt. 22:2; 25:1.
I. The Royal Bridegroom, who is Christ.
This emotional wedding song prefigures prophetically the relationship of Christ and His bride, the church (Eph. 5:32). Ancient rabbis have applied it to the Messiah and His majesty.
1. The transcendent excellency of his person (v. 2).
45:2 As this earthly king is identified among the sons of men, King Jesus oftentimes identified Himself as the Son of Man.
2. The glory of his victories (v. 3-5).
3. The righteousness of his government (v. 6, 7).
45:6, 7 The writer of Hebrews applies these verses to Jesus, the Son of God (Heb. 1:8, 9). “Messiah” represents the Hebrew word for one who is anointed.
4. The splendor of his court (v. 8, 9).
“Messiah” represents the Hebrew word for one who is anointed. The Hebrew word myrrh is taken from a root word that means “suffering.” Jewish Rabbis refer to myrrh as “tears from a tree,” a symbol of suffering love. The Hebrew text reads “aloes and cassia.” Both are equated with the anointing spice, the incense burned in the Holy Place. Or “from the ivory palaces.” This is an obvious reference to the Holy Place, as our High Priest comes from the chamber of glory to be with us. The word ivory is taken from a Hebrew word for “white and glistening.”
45:9 That is, there stands the “soon-to-be” queen. Ophir was an ancient source of gold, perhaps located in Arabia or Africa.
II. Of the Royal Bride, which is the Church.
Lilies in the Bible are metaphors of God’s precious people. See Song. 2:1–2; Hos. 14:5; Luke 12:27–28. Many believe this was the wedding song composed for Solomon as he married the princess of Egypt. But the language is so lofty and glorious that we see One greater than Solomon in its verses. This is a song of the wedding of Jesus and his Bride, the Church.
1. Her consent gained (v. 10, 11).
45:10 Forget means more than leaving parents as in Gen. 2:24. The bride of a king was often from another nation, and so she had to break with her own culture to marry, just as Christians now must forsake marriage to worldly things in order to be part of the bride of Christ.
2. The nuptials solemnized (v. 12-15).
45:12 The daughter of Tyre represents the inhabitants of the richest commercial city in OT times. Those who become the bride of Christ also receive gifts (Mark 10:29, 30).
Or “virgins.” (See Rev. 14:1–4; cf. 2 Cor. 11:2.)
45:15 Gladness: Likewise, believers experience excitement and joy in meeting with Christ. See Deut. 28:47.
3. The issue of this marriage (v. 16, 17).
45:16 Sons: The pain of leaving the old culture is lost in the joyous expectation of seeing future generations—one’s own children—reigning with Christ (Eph. 2:6).
How often do you pray for God's protection? How often do you turn to the word of the Lord in search for a passage that reassures you about the protection you are offered as a believer? You see when two professional athletes are fighting one of the main rules they are told is to protect yourself at all times. And I believe that if you look closely throughout the Bible we too as believers are told to protect ourselves at all times. Not through our own might or strength or ability but as believers we are to remain under the supernatural protection of Jesus Christ because we are in a fight.
It's a fight for some of us just to pray every day. It's a fight to read the word of God daily. It's a fight to be a doer of the word and not just someone who hears the word. You and I are fighting against the many temptations of this world. We're fighting at times against our own flesh and our own bodies. And of course we are fighting against the devil. And so I would like to remind you to protect yourself at all times, not through your own strength and mind, but through the supernatural protection offered by Jesus Christ.
Do not let your guard down. Ephesians 6 verse 12 to 13 says, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. There would be no need for you and I to take up the whole armor of God. If we weren't in a fight. It's the whole armor of God that helps us to fight all the various evil entities from the kingdom of darkness.
First Timothy chapter 6 verse 12 says, Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you were made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. You see walking by faith and not by sight is also a fight for us.
Galatians chapter 5 verse 17 says, For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. The flesh and the spirit are against each other they are opposed to each other, and this is another fight we have to endure.
So, I would like to encourage you today to remember that you are in a fight. However, you are not fighting alone, nor are you fighting from your own strength and from your own ability. Our blessing as believers comes from the fact that God's word says to us in Deuteronomy chapter 3 verse 22, You shall not fear them for it is the Lord your God who fights for you. Our blessing as believers comes from the fact that the word of god says to us in Exodus 14:14, The Lord will fight for you and you have only to be silent.
Now let us pray, Lord Jesus, I bless your Holy name. As I come before you seeking Your divine protection. I declare the words in psalm 55 verse 16 and 17 which says, But I call to God and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan and He hears my voice. There is no form of protection in this world that supersedes your protection king Jesus. There is no other form of safety that is better that is stronger than the blood of Jesus Christ, the precious lamb of God.
Your protection is superior Lord because you have given your Angels charge over me to keep me and to keep my family in all our ways. I declare that the power of the devil is destroyed and rendered ineffective over my life and my family. And because of the blood of Jesus Christ the devil has no power over me and he is a defeated foe. I will overcome him by the blood of Jesus Christ and through the word of my testimony.
Psalm 27 verse 1 says, The lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? My faith comes from the fact that your word is true and everlasting and even if I don't know what tomorrow holds I have a refuge and a safe place in you Lord Jesus. Should I face a storm tomorrow I will hold on to your word in Psalm 20 verse 1 which says, May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble, may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
Should this world's affairs become chaotic and confusing I pray that you would protect my heart and my mind with your peace Lord. Father, I understand that although weapons will be formed by the devil, although attacks will be sent by the enemy, no weapon formed against me shall prosper in Jesus name. And all those who rise up against me shall fall in the name of Jesus. I thank you for such a powerful promise of protection in your word. A promise that defeats not just the attacks of the devil but his plans are defeated too.
In you king Jesus I have a fortress and I have many reasons not to be afraid or to fall for the spirit of fear. I stand and declare that my life will not be affected by fear because Jesus Christ has given me the spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind. I declare that I am divinely protected against all principalities, against all rulers of darkness, and against the enemy himself. There is a protective covering over my life and over my family all because of you King Jesus.
Lord, I take refuge in you and in your word because you overthrow the powers of wickedness. You destroyed the darkness with your precious and holy light. You are He who neither sleeps nor slumbers. You are He who sees that which is hidden and brings it to light.
And so I trust you to keep me safe Lord, keep me safe from the schemes of the enemy. I will forever abide under your shadow and I trust that you will cover me with Your wings. I declare that I will not fear the terror by night, nor the pestilence at daytime because Jesus Christ is indeed my shield and my defense. I give you praise and honor Lord. I thank you for hearing my prayer. In the mighty and precious name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen. ~Grace for Purpose Prayers~
Unity is a triple-braided cord. One friend plus another plus Christ make the cord not easily broken. Our commitment to Christ binds us irrevocably to each other. We find our oneness in Him (John 17:21-23). We begin to think, feel, hope and work with unity of purpose and direction. When Christ is the source and center of a friendship, negative forces cannot pull us apart. There is a buffer of Christ's grace when we fail or disappoint each other. We belong to Him and to each other in spite of what happens around us. Christ longs for us to know the same oneness with one another that He has with the Father (v.11). To implement the answer to His own prayer for us, He engenders in us love, forgiveness, and patience for one another. When Christ is the unbreakable strand in the triple-braided cord, it cannot be severed. Praise Him for truly great friendships in which He is the strength of the relationship. (NSFLB)
Paul was deeply stirred by an expanding revelation about the church. Now seeing the church as Christ’s body and as God’s instrument to confound and overthrow evil powers, he writes an elaboration of these themes.
The Throbbing Message of Ephesians Is “to the praise of His [God’s] glory” (1:6, 12, 14). The word “glory” occurs eight times and refers to the exceeding excellence of God’s love, His wisdom, and His power. The magnificent goal is in Jesus’ announced commitment to build a glorious, mature, and ministering church, “not having spot or wrinkle” (5:27).
Ephesians Unveils the “mystery” of the church as no other epistle. God’s “secret” intention is revealed: 1) to form a body to express Christ’s fullness on Earth (1:15–23); 2) to do this by uniting one people—both Jew and Gentile, among whom God Himself dwells (2:11—3:7); and 3) to equip, empower, and mature this people to the end that they extend Christ’s victory over evil (3:10–20; 6:12–20).
With Sweeping Strokes, this foundational series of statements moves to a bold, new assertion, declared in Paul’s first of two prayers in this letter. He prays that each Christian may perceive God’s grand purpose in raising Christ to triumph—that now the church may know Christ’s victorious fullness as we resist evil and face life’s trials (1:15—2:10). Chapter 2 describes how God’s grace has formed a united people among whom He can dwell in His fullness and glory. Through this people His high purpose is to be unveiled.
Ephesians Unfolds the process by which God is bringing the church to its destined purpose in Christ. Basic maturing steps are taken toward the church’s appointed engagement in battle with dark powers: 1) before the church is called to war, she is taught to walk; and 2) before being called to walk, the church is taught where she stands.
The epistle divides into two sections: 1) the Believer’s Position, chapters 1—3, and 2) the Believer’s Practice, chapters 4—6. In chapter 1, the recurrent term “in Christ” sums up the Christian’s position, as having been given “every spiritual blessing.” Several of these blessings are enumerated: chosen, blameless (1:4), adopted, accepted (1:5, 6), forgiven, predestined, and sealed (1:7, 11, 13).
The Great Call to “walk worthy of the calling” introduces this letter’s second section (chs. 4—6). Systematically, Paul presents the ethical and moral implications of Spirit-filled living (4:1—6:9). The maturing process of the believer’s “equipping” (4:11–16) and the appeal to help each other forward (“speaking the truth in love”) will bring growth in the disciplines essential to the triumphant spiritual warrior’s life (6:10–20).
In short, Ephesians discloses awesome blessings of grace (“accepted in the Beloved,” 1:6) and awesome dimensions of spiritual authority over evil (“according to the power that works in us,” 3:20). But this awaits the believer’s first accepting the disciplines of unity (4:1–16), purity (4:17–31), forgiveness (4:32), and walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit (5:1–21). With this, relationships at every point must be in order (5:22—6:9), the idea being firmly established that true spiritual power flows from true obedience to the divine order in relationships and personal conduct.
Grasping the message of Ephesians requires understanding two words from chapter 3—“dispensation” and “mystery” (vv. 2, 3). The apostle declared that God’s “secret” in planning the church is hidden no longer (3:3, 4—now the “mystery” is known). He has designed the church to administer (“to dispense”) Christ’s fullness everywhere (3:2, 9), ministering as a living body, spreading over the Earth and penetrating “the Heavenlies.” God’s “manifold wisdom” now demonstrates His glory in the church (3:10, 11), a manifestation that eventually will issue in the believer’s strengthening (3:14–20), maturing (4:15), confrontation, and victory (6:10–20). However, the church cannot approach this without a practical understanding of how this present glory of God’s grace and presence is to affect everyday living.
As with Christ, the Holy Spirit is revealed into widely varied ministry to and through the believer. In 1:13 He is the Sealer, authorizing the believer to represent Christ; in 1:17 and 3:5 He is the Revealer, enlightening the heart to perceive God’s purpose; in 3:16 He is the Empowerer whom Christ gives to strengthen within; in 4:3, 4 He is the Spirit of Unity desiring to sustain the bond of peace in the body of Christ; in 4:30 He is the Spirit of Holiness who may be grieved by insistence on carnal pursuits; in 5:18 He is the Fountain, from which all are to be continuously filled; in 6:17, 18 He is the Giver of the Word as a sword for battle and the Heavenly Assistant given to aid us in prayer and intercession until victory is won. ~NSFLB
A LOVE LETTER FROM HEAVENLY FATHER
My dearest and precious child,
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalms 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalms 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalms 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27
In me, you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28
I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands ~ Isaiah 49:16
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalms 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalms 139:14
Before I formed you in the womb I knew ~ Jeremiah 1:5
I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalms 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalms 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but I am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my unconditional love on you ~ 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father ~ 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly Father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect Father ~ Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalms 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are broken-hearted, I am close to you ~ Psalms 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my SON, Jesus ~ John 17:23
For in Jesus, my unconditional love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my unconditional love for you ~ 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my beloved SON Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my unconditional love again ~ Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15
Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you ~ Hebrews 13:5
My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
Your loving Eternal Heavenly ABBA (Father), Sovereign, and Almighty GOD.
God's Love letter for you
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God Loves You and Wants You to Come Home
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Home is what we all long For
God loves You
And He has an amazing plan for your life!
It is embedded in the fabric of every human heart. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ came to earth to show us what God was really like and to become the way home for us to experience His Father's embrace. This is your birthright and your destiny. To live here on earth as a much loved child of Almighty God.
A Love letter from Jesus
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Read The Father's Love Letter Devotionals Online
PRAYER
Father, You are the Almighty God and yet You are the Father that I have been looking for all my life! I thank You that the Bible is Your love letter to me. I receive Your gift of love expressed through the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ. I pray that I will never leave this place of intimacy being rooted and grounded in Your love. Thank You for making me a co-heir with Your Son, Jesus in Your glorious inheritance. It is in Jesus, through Jesus, and by Jesus, that I come into Your throne room with the assurance that I am loved & accepted as Your child. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!!!!!!
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He is…….. (Name of GOD)
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Matthew 23:27-28 ESV - “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 23 talks about hypocrisy. This Bible chapter clearly rebukes those people who show cleanliness outside like doing good to others. They were very good in speaking but still the inner part of their body, including their heart, is like a tomb full of bones of the dead, everything is smelling bad, and the inner parts of the body is unclean. This is true to some of us including business sectors, trying to do something good to impress others. They do not even realize that God wants us to be genuine and true to Him all the time.
God will search not the outer appearance of the body but instead the inner part of us like what the Pharisees did and they were known as hypocrites who were leaders of the church. It is easy to hide our identity before others, but God knows every detail what is in our hearts. We must uphold honesty all the time and purity whatever we do.
PRAYER: Father, in the name of Jesus, we come into Your presence thanking You for __________(name of church). You have called us to be saints in __________(name of city) and around the world. As we lift our voices in one accord, we recognize that You are God and everything was made by and for You. We call into being those things that be not as though they were.
We thank You that we all speak the same thing: There is no division among us; we are perfectly joined together in the same mind. Grant unto us, Your representatives here, a boldness to speak Your Word, which You will confirm with signs following. We thank You that we have workmen in abundance and all manner of cunning people for every manner of work. Each department operates in the excellence of ministry and intercessions. We have in our church the ministry gifts for the edifying of this body till we all come into the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a mature person. None of our people will be children, tossed to and for and carried about with every wind of doctrine. We speak the truth in love.
We are a growing and witnessing body of believers becoming __________(number) strong. We have every need met. Therefore, we meet the needs of people who come — spirit, soul and body. We ask for the wisdom of God in meeting these needs. Father, we thank You for the ministry facilities that will more than meet the needs of the ministry You have called us to. Our church is prospering financially, and we have more than enough to meet every situation. We have everything we need to carry out Your Great Commission and reach the __________(name of city or county) area for Jesus. We are a people of love as love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We thank You that the Word of God is living big in all of us and Jesus is Lord!
We are a supernatural church, composed of supernatural people doing supernatural things, for we are laborers together with God. We thank You for Your presence among us, and we lift our hands and praise Your holy name! Amen.
If you would like to continue to pray on this topic, Germaine suggests that you pray the Prayers for the God's People, Ministers, and Ministries to be found in the Prayers That Avail Much Commemorative Edition.
Scripture References: Acts 4:24; Ephesians 4:11-15; Romans 4:17; Philippians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Romans 5:5; Acts 4:29; 1 Corinthians 3:9; Mark 16:20; Psalm 63:4; Exodus 35:33 ~Prayers that Avail Much
Jesus Christ is called a precious, living stone in I Peter 2. Believers are also called living stones. Ye also, as lively (living) stones, are (being) built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
The references to Jesus as a living stone, and to us his followers as living stones, actually look forward to the quotation from Isaiah that Peter offers shortly afterwards. That's what “living” means: An abstraction, justice, is now embodied in a person, Jesus the Messiah.
It is the rock upon which the weight of the entire structure rests. It is the cornerstone. Scripture describes Jesus as the "Chief Cornerstone" of our faith. As the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus ensures the stability of the whole system of our salvation.
It means enduring suffering, as Christ did for our sake when He died on the cross. Our role is not to fight a physical war for justice here; we will be going home soon.
Isaiah 28:16 ESV - Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
1 Peter 2:6 ESV - For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Galatians 3:28 ESV - There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV - So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
PRAYER: Father, thank You for sanctifying me by the truth; Your Word is truth. Jesus, You consecrated Yourself for my sake, so I’ll be truth-consecrated in my mission. In the name of Jesus, I repent and turn from my wicked ways. I wash myself, make myself clean. I cease to do evil, and I am learning to do right.
Father, You dwell in me and walk with me. So I leave the corruption and compromise; I leave it for good. You are my Father, and I will not link up with those who would pollute me, because You want me all for Yourself. I purify myself from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Father, I confess my sins. You are faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Jesus has been made unto me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
I submit myself to You, Lord — spirit, soul, and body. I strip myself of my old, unrenewed self and put on the new nature, changing whatever needs to be changed in my life. The desire of my heart is to be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, fitting for the Master’s use, and prepared for every good work.
Thank you, Lord, that I eat the good of the land, because You have given me a willing and obedient heart. Amen. ~Prayers that Avail Much
Scripture References: John 17:17,19; Isaiah 1:16,17; 2 Cor. 6:17; 2 Cor. 7:1; 1 John 1:9; 1 Cor. 1:30; Ephesians 4:22-24; 2 Tim. 2:21; Isaiah 1:19
