Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 16:26:43 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Oct. 8); BP: Jer. 33; RBTTY: Phil. 4; Is. 30-31
October 8 “With A Voice of Joy, Gladness and Praise”
“The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, ‘Praise the Lord of Hosts—for the Lord is good—for His Mercy endures forever’. . .”
Jeremiah 33:11a
Hang on, Pilgrim. It’s not long until Dawn (Ps. 30:5b).
How long the nights when hearts are heavy and the clock’s secondhand sounds like a death march’s metronome. Minutes seem like hours and hours seem like an eternity—especially when a loved one’s life hangs in the balances and doctors’ prognoses are not good.
Likewise, when your dreams have been dashed on the hard rocks of reality. . .or your heart’s been torn out by its roots and trodden underfoot in a callused way. . .or your rose-colored view of things has been shattered by man’s inhumanity to man. . .you must pull aside and nibble on today’s Manna for a while. Otherwise, the bitterness of the “present” will prevent you from tasting the sweetness of that which is yet to be:
“The Voice of joy and the Voice of gladness. The Voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the Bride. The voice of them that shall say, ‘Praise the Lord of Hosts—for the Lord is good—for His Mercy endures forever. . .”
Only the Redeemed know the joy of “cleansed consciences and pardoned iniquities” (v.8; Jer. 31:34; Heb. 9:14). Only those who’ve experienced firsthand “the Blood of the Lamb” can sing with gusto “Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing flood, Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb? There’s a Fountain flowing for the soul unclean, O be washed in the Blood of the Lamb.” Hallelujah!!
How wonderful will be that Day when the coming Bridegroom is finally united with His Bride-to-be—the Church! But, we, like an earthly bride, should not be content with saying, “Ho-hum, it won’t be long until my Wedding Day. I’ll get ready one of these days. I’ll go buy my wedding dress one of these days. I’ll lose some weight, get my hair and nail fixed one of these days.” A thousand times no!!
Instead, like a head-over-heels, eager-to-get-married bride-to-be, we should be doing everything we can right now to be ready for our Bridegroom’s return! We should daily be “sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the Word” (Eph. 5:26). We should be doing everything we can to be a “glorious Bride, whose bridal dress is without spot or wrinkle and whose character is holy and faultless” (Eph. 5:27). That way we’ll not be ashamed when He shows up “as a thief in the night” (I Thess. 5:2; II Pet. 3:10) and be more like the “foolish virgins” than a bride prepared (Mt. 25:1-13).
Oh, dear Pilgrim, when we realize Who our Bridegroom is (Jer. 33:14-16), we should do everything we can to make Him smile when we finally see Him face-to-Face. No bride wants to walk down the aisle on her wedding day with her dress soiled, her hair uncombed or face unmade—and neither should we. Help us, O Holy Spirit, to be ready, so we can join in Christ and the saints with “the voice of joy, gladness and praise.”
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