"Look at that wedding gown! Isn't she beautiful!"

Ephesians 5:25-33  NKJV
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Revelation 19:6-8 NKJV
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Dear Jesus,
I want to be part of Your Church, Your pure bride.

"The Church, the Bride of Christ, is clothed in fine linen, pure and shining. There is a contrast with the scarlet and gold of the great harlot. The white linen represents the good deeds of God's dedicated people; that is to say, it is character which forms the robe which arrays the Bride of Christ" (William Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 224).

A white wedding gown for a bride is a uniquely Christian tradition. White is a Biblical symbol of purity. It represents the bride's sexual purity.  The martyrs of Revelation are described as having washed their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb, Your blood.

I know a fraction of the passionate love You feel toward Your bride.  I remember when the most beautiful girl in the room, clad in a white wedding gown, walked down the aisle of McConnell Auditorium to me.  Breathtaking wonder!

The flood of emotion upon walking my only daughter, Katherine Rose, clothed in a beautiful white gown, down the aisle was unparalleled. It was May 20, 2007. Beth and I had guarded, protected, taught, nurtured, loved and disciplined our precious girl. The emotions of the day were unlike anything I had ever felt. Joy sobs started somewhere behind my belly button and worked their way up my torso and out my eyes with liquid laughter. I have never felt those emotions before or since. I was giving young Mr. Peter Lanigan our only daughter--a pure bride--the very best that Beth and I had to give.

A white wedding gown is a prophetic symbol from the Revelation of Jesus Christ, anticipating the pure bride of Christ, the Church, who has been washed and cleansed in the blood of the Lamb, and made a suitable bride for Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom.

John Oswalt writes: “The Church ... has lost sight of the biblical doctrine of holiness... The Church expects to go down the aisle to meet its Bridegroom in a dress as filthy as the one in which He first found her in the gutters of life. It is a Church that will not survive the fires of the coming Tribulation” (Called to Be Holy, 1999, p. 6).

Lord Jesus, help Your Church, Your bride, to recommit herself to Your call to holiness.  May Your transforming grace of holiness, at work in Your bride's life, grant her the right to wear white.  May Your respond, "Look at my holy bride!  Isn't she beautiful!"

In the Name of our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God,
Amen.

"Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married!"

Revelation 19:6-9 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Lord Jesus,

One of the most thrilling thoughts of scripture is the Biblical symbol of a male and female pair joined in holy marriage.  Two complementary opposites come together.  Male fitting with female relationally, procreatively, intimately.  Joined together for life, blessed with offspring from their union, the web of personality and relationship is wound together in a bond which You intend to become unbreakable, except by death.

Your Word starts with a wedding in Genesis and ends with a wedding in the Revelation of Jesus Christ as recorded by Saint John.  Your entire Creative theology is consumed with a male and female pair joined in marriage.

William Barclay indicates that "The thought of the relationship between God and his people as a marriage goes far back into the Old Testament. Again and again the prophets thought of Israel as the chosen bride of God. "I will betroth you to me for ever," Hosea hears God say, "I will betroth you to me in righteousness" (Hosea 2:19-20). "Your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is his name," says Isaiah (Isaiah 54:5). Jeremiah hears God say and appeal: "Return, O faithless children, for I am your master" (Jeremiah 3:14). Ezekiel works out the whole picture most fully in Ezekiel 16:1-63 ."

Barclay continues: "The marriage symbolism runs all through the Gospels. We read of the marriage feast (Matthew 22:2); of the bridechamber and the wedding garment (Matthew 22:10-11); of the sons of the bridechamber (Mark 2:19); of the bridegroom (Mark 2:19; Matthew 25:1); of the friends of the bridegroom (John 3:29). And Paul speaks of himself as betrothing the Church like a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2), and for him the relationship of Christ to his Church is the great model of the relationship of husband and wife (Ephesians 5:21-33)."  (William Barclay in the The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 222).

May love, intimate communion, comfort, joy, and fidelity grace my marriage. Remind me that my marital conduct is an act of thanksgiving and worship to You, as I am living out Your design.  Protect me from the seduction of counterfeit substitutes for Your design of holy marriage.  Point me to the culmination of Your Creation expressed in heaven when You marry Your holy bride, Your church. Prepare me through my earthly marriage, to be a member of Your holy bride.

I love You.

In the Name of my Heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Judge Me!

I Kings 8:31-32 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness."

Ezekiel 18:30-32 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”

Dear God and Judge of all, both living and dead,

I live in a sin-cursed world.  Lives are broken, shattered by sin and rebellion against You and Your moral law.  I grieve the brokenness around me.  

Even in my grief, some would declare that I have no right to mourn.  They quote a twisted distortion of Your Son's mandate:  "Judge not!"  They accuse my sorrow over the harmful effects of sin as an act of reprehensible judgment!  Incongruous.  To redefine compassion and concern for a soul, broken by sin, into an act of judgment is testimony to the darkened thinking of a mind dulled and distorted by sin.

William Barclay wrote: "Judgment is the inescapable consequence of sin" (Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, pp. 218-219).

The church and the world have adopted a carnival caricature of Jesus and His command that bears no resemblance to His teaching.  If I embrace our world's definition of "Judge not," a teacher could not grade a paper, a parent could not correct a child, a law enforcement officer could not make an arrest, and a driver could barely decide when to pass another car on the interstate!

"T. S. Kepler comments: 'The moral law can no more be broken than the law of gravity; it can only be illustrated.' It is said that the judgments of God are true and just. God alone is perfect in judgment for three reasons. First, He alone can see the inmost thoughts and desires of any man. Second, He alone has that purity which can judge without prejudice. Third, He alone has the wisdom to find the right judgment and the power to apply it" (Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 219).

I open myself to Your judgment.  Search me, try me, know me, discern my deepest motivation. Transform my character through Your imparted righteousness.  Make me holy.  Fit me for heaven. May Your perfect love penetrate every aspect of my motivation.  Make me a winsome example of Your grace.  May the beauty of Your holiness glow in me and through me, attracting others to You!

In the Name of the Judge of the Universe, 

Amen.

Clothed in Blazing Light

Revelation 18:1-3
"After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.'”

Dear God,

The earth is a dark and sinful place.  You are blazing light.  John describes Your angelic messenger coming from Your Presence and illuminated with Your glory!

William Barclay wrote, "Those who come from the Presence of God bring with them the light of God" (In The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 196).

I want to be a messenger of Your light today. I want to be illuminated with Your glory in the darkness of my world. Francis Bacon (1561-1628) said, "In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present."  Fill me with Your fullness that I might shine for You!

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

"There but for the grace of God, go I."

Romans 1:18-23 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

Dear God and Creator of all things,

I grieve the rebellion of Your Creation against You.  People know who You are.  Some hate You for it.  Others ignore You.  Yet, others open their hearts to You.  

Today, I am grieving for those who remain lost and estranged from Your love and embrace.  Some, in their ignorance, live as if You don't exist.  Others, in their pain, defy You, blame You, and even act against You in outlandish rebellion.  You grieve for them all.  I join in Your grief.  

"The tragedy of life and of the world is not that men do not know God; the tragedy is that, knowing Him, they still insist on going their own way." (William Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 167).

We spend our lives trying to paint Your picture in our imaginations.  Like the blind men groping to explain the elephant, we wander in darkness, reaching out for some hint of Your reality.  Our partial and pitiful representations of You resemble carnival caricatures of that which we observe in part, and understand even less.  

Your Word reveals Yourself to us.  Help me to know You in Your love letter to hungry, seeking people like me.  Increase my love, my burden for the lost.  Free my mind and emotions from judging others harshly.  May the sentiment of English martyr John Bradford (1510-1555) be mine when I encounter those broken by sin:  "There but for the grace of God, go I."  

I humbly intercede for You to draw my lost family, loved ones, neighbors, and all I meet into Your loving and great salvation. May Christ be seen in me. 

In the Name of Christ, my Lord,

Amen.

Do I Bear the Mark?

Revelation 13:11-14:1
¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ¹² And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ And he deceives those^[e] who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. ¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or^[f] the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Then I looked, and behold, a^[a] Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having^[b] His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Dear Jesus,

I want to bear the mark of the Lamb--Your mark! 

William Barclay tells how ancient pagans were marked with tattoos on their wrists and necks to identify their affiliation with idolatrous deities and their temples.  He writes:  "Herodotus (2: 113) tells us that there was a temple of Heracles at the Canopic mouth of the Nile which possessed the right of asylum. Any criminal, slave or free man, was safe there from pursuing vengeance. When such a fugitive reached that temple, he was branded with certain sacred marks in token that he had delivered himself to the god and that none could touch him any more. They were the marks of absolute security. The company of the Lamb are those who have cast themselves on the mercy of God in Jesus Christ and are for ever safe" (William Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 135).

There is a mark of a man that the beast foists upon the nations.  It is a mark of control and exploitation emblazoned upon the compromised and co-opted under the threat of starvation and death. 

But there is the mark of the Lamb--Jesus--the Son of God.  Jesus will mark His faithful disciples with His Father's name written upon their foreheads!  When revealed upon His faithful throng, the mark of the Lamb exposes the mark of the beast as a counterfeit. 

I flee to the Lamb!  I choose to bear Your mark!

In the Name of the Lamb who died, is resurrected, and lives forevermore,

Amen.

Are You Listening?

Revelation 8:1-5
"When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.  Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake."

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for listening to my prayers.  I cry out with such abject brokenness and ignorance. I do not what to ask, how to ask, or even when to ask.  My vision is so limited that prayer requests I judge to be good, if answered, may actually be bad for me.  I just don't know. Nevertheless, You are listening. 

Thank you for teaching me to worship You in prayer.  Thank You for taking my feeble requests and interpreting them to Father for me.  After all, Triune God, You know what is best for me, and I submit to Your design.  

Thank You for the picture of the Revelation that You are listening to my prayers, and the prayers of all of Your saints, as we confess our needs to You.  R.H. Charles: "The needs of the saints are more to God than all the psalmody of heaven."

Do You really turn off the music of heaven to hear my prayer?  I am humbled that You would tilt Your head toward me, cup Your hand around Your ear, and listen to my prayer.  I cry out so often to You throughout the day, that I must seem like a chattering child.  But this snapshot of heaven is that You stop everything to listen!  To me!

William Barclay described the heavenly response to prayer in Revelation 8: "The prayers of the saints are about to go up to God; and it may be that the idea is that everything in heaven halts so that the prayers of the saints may be heard...  Even the music of heaven and even the thunder of revelation are stilled so that God's ear may catch the whispered prayer of the humblest of his trusting people" (In The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 49).

If You are listening with that sort of tender attentiveness, how dare I ask for anything?  I am rendered mute.  I am prostrate before Your focused love for me.  I submit afresh to Your Lordship confessing, "You do all things well.  I trust You.  I need You.  I am utterly dependent upon You.  I lean into You and Your perfect will for my life."

Thank You for stopping everything to hear me. Thank You for listening.  I love You.  

Amen.

Surrounded by Glory!

Revelation 7:9-17 NKJV
"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,

Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,

Be to our God forever and ever.

Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Dear Heavenly Father,

The thought of meeting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit face to face in heaven is more than I can ponder. The wonder of Divine Person with Personality engaging with a human face to face is overwhelming. I will need a glorified body to endure such wonder, splendor and glory.  I cannot imagine such.  But I can wonder!

Then, there are the throngs of faithful who came out of great tribulation testifying to Your holiness. They find their suffering rewarded by serving in Your Presence.  Shouts of glory, chants of praise, and unending worship of the Lamb--Jesus Christ--the scarred and sinless sacrifice, echo throughout the throne room of heaven.  But look again!  You have welcomed suffering saints and martyrs from every nation!

William Barclay observed, "Here, indeed is a revolution. In the earthly Temple in Jerusalem no Gentile could enter in beyond the Court of the Gentiles. To have passed beyond its barrier would have been to become liable to death, and there were inscriptions on the barrier saying that this was so. An Israelite could enter further into the Temple; he could pass through the Court of the Women and enter into the Court of the Israelites, but beyond that not even an Israelite could go. Beyond that was the Court of the Priests, and into that court no layman might enter; that court was for priests and for priests alone. but in the heavenly temple there is no question of Jews and Gentiles; the way to the presence of God is open to people of every tongue and every race." (The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, pp. 42-43).
Might I be considered worthy of such suffering so as to be awarded a Lamb-laundered robe and dwell in the shadows of Your Glory!  If such is the reward of the faithful, expose me to tribulation; only grant me the grace of Your abiding Presence that I might endure for Your Namesake.

I am awestruck with wonder at the thought that You, the Creator of the Universe, would love me, and welcome me into Your throne room through prayer right now.  The wonder of Your blinding Glory captivates me.  Thank You for the blood of the Lamb that washes me clean.  Spread the covering of Your Glory over me and thrust me back into my sphere of influence--forever marked by the time You have spent with me.

Shepherd me, lead, wipe away my tears.

I worship You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen.

What are You Hiding From?

Revelation 6:15-17 "And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'"

Dear God,

Thank you for the privilege of fleeing to You.  You are safety, refuge, and comfort.  I need You.

But John describes a day of wrath that seems to change You.  What is causing this apparent universal fear and attempt to hide from Your face?

William Barclay writes:  "The terrible thing about sin is that it makes a man a fugitive from God; and the supreme thing about the work of Jesus Christ is that it puts a man into a relationship with God in which he no longer need seek to hide, knowing that he can cast himself on the love and the mercy of God" (William Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 2, 1959, p. 20).

That is it, of course.  Sin brings guilt.  Guilt brings fear.  Fear drives one to hide.  Adam and Eve responded that way to You in the Garden of Eden.

"That from which men flee is the wrath of the Lamb. Here is paradox; we do not readily associate wrath with the Lamb but rather gentleness and kindness. But the wrath of God is the wrath of love, which is not out to destroy but even in anger is out to save the one it loves" (Ibid, p. 20). 

So often, we flee from Your apparently angry visage, fearing You mean us harm, when all of the while, Your anger is an expression of Your protective love for us.  You want us to be safe.  You want us to be protected from sin's effects.  You want intimate relationship with us.  Our sin contradicts and opposes everything good You desire for us.  So, "the wrath of God is the wrath of love," and Your passionate longing is to save us from ourselves, our sins, our brokenness.

As a parent, I have known those moments of love driven to anger.  A child--in a moment of rebellion--may permanently scar herself.  My parental love longs to protect, even to the point of anger.

I think I understand a fraction of what You feel.  After all, You made me in Your image.  Thank You for loving Your Creation enough to be angry against that which would destroy us.  Protect me from wandering paths of self-destruction.  Remind me that I no longer need to hide!

In the Name of my Creator God who loves me that much,

Amen.