Though I am loathe to admit it, my daughter rose from bed at 04:00 to witness the nuptials of Prince William and one Kathryn Middleton. I am given to understand that approximately 1 billion of her fellow humans did likewise. I appreciate the “romance” of the proceedings, and I understand – at some marginally intellectual level – the ‘draw’ to these events, but frankly, I can’t be bothered. This isn’t because I am not a romantic (I’m not), and it isn’t because I could care less about ‘royalty’ (I can’t). It isn’t even because I can’t stand what qualifies as “newsworthy” any longer (I can’t). So, why can’t I be bothered by this grand event? Simply put, because this isn’t the royal wedding I am waiting for!

What could possibly rise above the event witnessed this morning? What could have more pomp, richer surroundings, and more meaning?Well, first some “backstory”. There was a King who had power over all that was known, and He had a bride who He cherished deeply. He lavished active love and relationship on His bride, but eventually she grew more enamored with the creatures and surroundings in her garden than with her King. One day, she broke the only rule in the land, effectively divorcing her husband, the King. She was forced to leave the garden, and she had a difficult life with many ups and downs (mostly down).

The King watched and grieved from a distance, but nothing could be done; she had broken the only rule. Finally the King – in His infinite wisdom – sent His Son (in disguise) to live with His bride, walking with her, talking with her, and experiencing what she experienced. This Plan culminated with the Son taking on the consequences of the rule that had been broken – in full – and paying for that Fall with His own life. The King had won back His bride, but she still didn’t accept that great gift!

Over many years, the King reached out to His bride and for brief moments it ‘felt’ like she was beginning to admit that the debt was paid, the battle won; that she could return to Him, but it didn’t happen. The King – and all His host – strained at the bounds of the palace as they tried to reach the bride, but the King knew it wasn’t time. As the bride suffered and grew older, the entire palace wept for her. Finally, the land the bride lived in was in constant battle and natural disasters raged across the landscape. Her very existence was coming to an end. The King knew this was the time. He and His hosts left the palace to go to the lost bride to bring her home at last.

The King and his hosts appears in a moment, and all the land sees them and trembles. The masses had relegated Him to the ages as a myth, a story told by children to other children; certainly not real, and definitely not all-powerful. Yet, here He is – in power and glory – white, shining as a thousand suns! Undeniable, and present. The earth shakes under the force of His army, and He raises up His bride, and takes her home to His palace. He has been preparing her home for thousands of years, and now she will see it! They can be together forever.

THE Wedding

The renewal of their vows, THE wedding, will take place outside a city with golden streets. This city has 12 gates, each made from a different precious stone. The groom will sit on a throne so bright that one can barely look toward it. That throne will be surrounded by angels with several wings, raising their voices in praise to the King and His Plan for His bride. The bride herself will stand on a sea of glass that is fed by a river, over which is a tree whose fruit changes each month; the Tree of Life. The bride will sing in praises to her King, and the vows they renew will never again be broken. After this wedding, the King will sit down with His bride and eat, and drink. He has not done this for thousands of years, as the Son vowed would come to pass. Once again relationship rebuilt, the bride renewed, and the King’s Plan complete!

Men and women of the Lord, that bride is US! We are those for whom He died so that we could be reconciled to Him. This Plan, in place for eternity past, to save those that were lost; to bring us back to Him, into perfect relationship as He intended from the beginning. How awesome, and how humbling a thought that He would do this for us after we were unfaithful in so many ways. You and I will stand together on that sea of glass and sing praises to Him, we will partake in the cup with Him, and we will rejoice with Him in Heaven for eternity. THAT is the wedding I am waiting for, and nothing we can do here take even one step toward the royalty, the environment, and the meaning of our heavenly reuniting with God the Father through Christ the Son.

For those of you who are reading this that have not yet accepted Christ as your Savior, I urge you to pray right now. Ask the Lord to guide you as He draws you to Him. Be part of this glorious resurrection. He loves you, and wants you to live with Him for eternity. Don’t let this pass!

P.S. I am aware, that in the quick telling of this story that I have left out some critical theology and the judgment(s) entirely. Forgive my license and know that I know these things will come to pass as well, but I haven’t entire days to write these entries!

This message isn’t about whether or not you hide and search for eggs, or enjoy sweet treats on this holiday. Frankly, hiding things, searching for things, finding things, and tasting something sweet are all enjoyable things to do. My question is, “What are we focused on as we perform our activities on a daily basis, not only at Easter, but year round”?

Are you hiding something? From others, from God? What in our lives should we be bringing into the Light of Day, to be given to God and forsaken and forgiven? What should we be freed from that has a hold on us?

Are you searching for something that you haven’t yet found? Perhaps you attend a church, but you don’t yet feel like a member of the body of Christ? Perhaps you have walked with the Lord for many years, but you are struggling right now under the weight of this world and its attacks? Perhaps you are looking for a friend or companion to help and encourage you.

Have you found what you are looking for? Do you know that you have it, and that it will never leave? Are you assured that you have it, secure in that knowledge, and growing every day into His image?

If you are secure, walking in the Lord, growing with Him every day… are you taking JOY in the journey? Is there a song in your heart and on your lips? Can others not help but see the joy of the Lord shining through your eyes and in your life?

Too many times we are overtaken by the “here and now”, the temporal; but the power that raised Christ from the grave is ours, and it guarantees those that are saved that they will be with the Lord forever. Think about that for a moment: the power that raised Christ from the dead.. is yours. I don’t just mean the power to resist eating that extra Cadbury egg (trademarked), the power to avoid saying that short word to your spouse, or the power to deal with a child that is emotional at the moment, or even the power to overcome every sin on this earth; I mean, the awesome, heavenly power that brought our Lord back from the dead. (Romans 8:11, 1 Peter 1:3-7, Ephesians 1:17-21)

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In the Army we talk about “Be” and “Do”. that is, what character traits should a warrior have and develop, and then how should those affect their actions? We see the same thing in our Christian walk. As we come into contact with the Savior, we see His love, his mercy, and His grace that saves us and we feel the love He has for us, being better able then to pass that on to others. As we study our Lord, we see what He demands of His followers and how we are to communicate with Him to become closer in relationship and “being” to Him.

Why then are we always so focused on one or the other? In this case, I was focused on being a “good Board Member” for Hope Pregnancy Resource Center. I wanted to pray – even setting myself aside a little – and worship for a spell, but then I wanted to set that all aside and “get some work done”.

This conference has made clear to me that “BEing” prefaces “DOing”. I mean, that since we do not pray our will to be done in heaven, but God’s will to be done on earth, we must discern what His will is and we cannot do that unless we know Him. In order to know Him, we must spend time with Him. More than this, we must spend time with Him together, in community with others of faith. God has told us that He will be with us in community… do you understand what that means? I know now that God means that we can understand His heart if we seek Him together, setting ourselves aside, gathering together in agreement to seek His heart in a matter. Once the Spirit of an Almighty God descends on us and gives us each a part of His truth, we can fellowship one with the other and piece together a fuller view of what He desires for our ministry.

Rather than praying a short prayer after a 5 minute devotion, we need to worship our Lord, praising Him and thanking Him together for His work with us. After this, we can pray His answers back to Him in a corporate setting, piecing His will for us together, in community with Christ at the center of that effort. With that level of intersection with the power of an Almighty God, we cannot help but be more effective and on fire for His work.

It is time to put the Lord back on the throne of our lives and back onto the throne of our various ministries. In Psalms 46:10 God says to , “.. be still and know I am God”. We need to set ourselves aside, be transparent one with the other, and connect with Christ as our Lord and Savior.

I praise Him and thank Him for the opportunity to be at a conference with so many faith-filled people in daily contact with a Living God.