The Church's Pre-Occupation with Marriage

I often hold back on my views about Christ's Bride and what He has shown the Rooks Family because I never want to discourage others and I want to be absolutely sure that my motive is pure.     However, the Lord has put in me an urgency to not hold back due to fear or procrastination.   Last year through my Lyme and other physical ailments, He allowed my ability to think, read and even speak clearly to be "taken away".   Now that I'm getting my brain and passion back - I feel an urgency (I pray it's never an impulsiveness) to use my brain and ability to share for His glory!  An urgency to tell others about King Jesus, God Himself,  that is the center of all history and is coming back!

For the past 8 years, Jesus and His Church have been constants in my thoughts and discussions.  I love Jesus so I love His Church!  The Church is His dwelling place. His family. His temple. His people.  His Bride.   I see what God is doing - what He is always doing - wooing the true Church to turn back to Him and get back to the basics of worshiping Him alone.

The Church is meant to be under the reign of the King.  Not under the reign of money, buildings, power, culture,  popularity, entertainment or cultural definitions of "success" (numbers).   We are a free people who willingly choose to be slaves to Righteousness Himself and only Him.  We can not let any yoke of slavery be put back on us!   We can not let anything else drive us but Him!

When I think about the modern church's pre-occupation with marriage, it really convicts me.    We really are pre-occupied.  Pre-occupied with defining it (both groups on both sides of the "definition debate" are pre occupied) and we are pre-occupied with being astonished at the impurity in it.  We are also pre-occupied with trying to "fix" in our own strength all that is wrong in marriage today (fixing it with endless amounts of self help books, retreats seminars, groups, and conventions).     I believe it is true that we do only hate in others what we see in ourselves.   Our hatred toward the state of marriage today is a perfect example of this truth.

Wake up, Church!  We have been an example of adultery & impurity in our "marriage" long before anything we see in our surrounding culture today.

If we want to change the state of marriage, we must change the state of our own first!   I am not referring to our own personal marriages.  I am referring to our part in the marriage between Christ & His Bride.

I read in Romans this morning:

     24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.   1:24-25

The Church in America has committed adultery against our first love - Jesus.   We have exchanged truth for lies and we have worshiped and served things rather than the Creator!    Because of this, God has given the Church over to what it has desired:   human leadership and hierarchies, organization, power systems, money, entertainment and self focused religion.  

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. Matthew 5:13

If the salt has lost its saltiness --- why are we shocked at the decay around us!?   Salt stops decay.  Why in the world would we expect people in our culture to understand the purity and divinity in marriage if we ourselves have not stayed committed and pure in our adoration and relationship with our betrothed!?

Marriage on earth is supposed to be a reflection of the marriage between Christ & His Church ---- and in our country that is exactly what it is!   But Jesus won't allow this to continue forever!  He will restore the marriage!

Church, we must turn our eyes and pointing fingers off of others and our culture - and look within. Trust Him to do His work!

I long for His true Church to repent - starting with ME - of all things that we have allowed to come between us and our first love.

I pray for the Church to once again become pre-occupied with Christ!  I long for all in His Church to repent, fall on His grace and trust in HIS ability to transform self, our personal marriages,  the Church & *then* the surrounding culture through the Church.

Through struggle & hard times ahead  even being "trampled under people's feet"  I know Jesus will cleanse His Church.   His people will emerge and their saltiness will be restored!

King Jesus is so worthy of ALL our love & adoration.  He is the one and only King coming back!  I trust the true Bride will be ready for Him!