The Bride of Christ thread

[kisstheson]

This makes me long for the Marriage Supper of The Lamb!

Ames I was hoping you would post this picture here! If humans can create something so beautiful for a love feast just think of what our father has created for Jesus and His Bride!

 

[kisstheson]

here's part of a short story that I wrote about the birth of the Bride. It begins in the Graden of Gethemane and continues right up to the moment she is born from His side. (Hopefully I can locate the rest of the story.)

You may kiss the Bride

He never thought He would be afraid of the kiss that would take His life. He had always welcomed it and spoke of it joyfully but when He approached the lips of Bride there was nothing at all beautiful about them. No appearance of rose color soft and welcoming. Instead they were dry and caked with blood. No smiling mouth but lips tightly shut, pulled down in bitterness and anger. Look again! Her mouth opened and foul stench invaded Jesus’ nostrils. He saw the effects of the poison, the rotting teeth and yellow coated tongue. He saw the bile, blood and blasphemies of a thousand generations. Her opened mouth became a filthy cup. And He knew. He understood He couldn’t give her a quick kiss on the mouth and be done with it. He would have to give her a deep, passionate kiss.

Passion Beyond Reason

Jesus shrank from Bride. “How can I?” He cried. Covering His eyes with His hands He turned quickly away. If He kept His promise He would have to drain that cup. There couldn’t be a drop of poison left or the effects of the poison would begin all over and He would have to come to save her again and again. No. The cup had to be drained once and for all. Draining the cup also meant that the poison had to enter His body and He would become sin! (2 Cor. 5: 21) Loves purity tainted? His dearly love Father would have to look away.

Jesus fell to the ground as the horror of what He had promised to do swept over Him like a title wave. Separation from the Father?

"Father, if there is another way let this cup pass from Me"

But there was no other way He would have to drain that cup.

He saw her again. He remembered her when she was first created, the dignity and sacredness of her body, soul and spirit. He had made her a living soul! She loved Him freely too because He had given her free will. How He loved the he-she of His being! He couldn’t bear it. The separation had already been much too long. He had waited an eternity for this moment. To send her away, to let her remain trapped in her cancer ridden body nearly killed Him with sadness.

“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death!” (Matthew 26:18)

Yielding wasn’t easy. He again saw a parade of everything that would happen to Him. The crown of thorns would remove the effects of Bride’s unclean thoughts. Wounding His hands will restore holiness and goodness to her hands that had worked evil. A multitude of tortures including crucifixion, one of the most humiliating, painful deaths of His time weighed upon His trembling frame. Drops of blood began to form on His forehead. (Luke 22:44)

The Treasure Hidden in the Field And The Great “Yes!”

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. He finds one of great value. In his joy he sells everything he has and buys the pearl.” (The Gospels)

“For the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross…” (The epistles)

The Prince is going to dive in head first into a sea of suffering. The Bride is worth it! He will give up everything to purchase His pearl for love pocesses Him. Jesus yields to the kiss,

A traitor’s kiss on His cheek.

“Yes!” resounds in His heart.

Before each kiss Jesus gives His “Yes!”

“Yes!” to her mocking, painful kisses.

“Yes!”

To His beard pulled out
To shame and spitting
To being blindfolded
To being punched and slapped
To prison
To words of abuse and blasphemy
To fatigue, hunger and thirst
To false accusations
To being dragged to four different trials
To nakedness
To scourging done by Romans exceeding the rule of thirty nine lashes when administered by Jews.
To the crown of thorns
To beatings on the head with a reed
To being marred more than any man
To the mocking purple robe
To the heavy cross
To each fall
To the stripping of his robe that had clung to His opened wounds
To the nail in His right hand.
To the nail in His left hand
To the nail in His right foot
To the nail in His left foot
To the jeering crowds
To the taunting thief
To the gambling and dividing of His garments
To the vinegar wine
To staying on the cross for six hours.

 

[RobinLayne]

That had slipped my mind, Amy. Yes, that makes the most sense, when you compare it to the story of Adam and Eve. But still, if Jesus hadn't raised, wouldn't we still be dead in our sins?

 

[kisstheson]

Yes I know. That's why I said we died with Him and were also raised with Him. Right...if Jesus didn't rise from the dead we probably wouldn't even be talking about Him. Maybe our birth took place at the cross but our first breath took place at the resurrection.

 

[kisstheson]

Here's a story I wrote about the birth of the Bride. I wrote this awhile ago and hadn't saved it to my files. I finally found it on another forum I post on. Actually I am hoping I posted the entire story there, which ends with the birth of the Bride. Most likely I did.

I believe my story will reveal His heart for us and what He was willing to endure to see us born from His side.

You may kiss the Bride

He never thought He would be afraid of the kiss that would take His life. He had always welcomed it and spoke of it joyfully but when He approached the lips of Bride there was nothing at all beautiful about them. No appearance of a rose color soft and welcoming. Instead they were dry and caked with blood. No smiling mouth. Her lips were tightly shut, pulled down in bitterness and anger. Look again! Her mouth opened and foul stench invaded Jesus’ nostrils. He saw the effects of the poison, the rotting teeth and yellow coated tongue. He saw the bile, blood and blasphemies of a thousand generations. Her opened mouth became a filthy cup. And He knew. He understood He couldn’t give her a quick kiss on the mouth and be done with it. He would have to give her a deep, passionate kiss.

Passion Beyond Reason

Jesus shrank from Bride. “How can I?” He cried. Covering His eyes with His hands He turned quickly away. If He kept His promise He would have to drain that cup. There couldn’t be a drop of poison left or the effects of it would begin all over and He would have to come again and again to rescue her. No. The cup had to be drained once and for all. Draining the cup also meant that the poison had to enter His body and He would become sin! (2 Cor. 5: 21) Loves purity tainted? His dearly love Father would have to look away.

Jesus fell to the ground as the horror of what He had promised to do swept over Him like a title wave. Separation from the Father? Father, if there is another way let this cup pass from Me! But there was no other way. He would have to drain that cup.

He saw her again. He remembered her when she was first created, the dignity and sacredness of her body, soul and spirit. He had made her a living soul! She loved Him freely too because He had given her free will. How He loved the he-she of His being! He couldn’t bear it. The separation had already been much too long. He had waited an eternity for this moment. To send her away, to let her remain trapped in her cancer ridden body nearly killed Him with sadness.

“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death!” (Matthew 26:18)

Yielding wasn’t easy. He again saw a parade of everything that would happen to Him. The crown of thorns would remove the effects of Bride’s unclean thoughts. Wounding His hands will restore holiness and goodness to her hands that had worked evil. A multitude of tortures including crucifixion, one of the most humiliating, painful deaths of His time weighed upon His trembling frame. Drops of blood began to form on His forehead. (Luke 22:44)

The Treasure Hidden in the Field And The Great “Yes!”

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. He finds one of great value. In his joy he sells everything he has and buys the pearl.” (The Gospels)

“For the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross…” (The epistles)

The Prince is going to dive in head first into a sea of suffering. The Bride is worth it! He will give up everything to purchase His pearl for love possesses Him. Jesus yields to the kiss,

A traitor’s kiss on His cheek.

“Yes!” resounds in His heart.

Before each kiss Jesus gives His “Yes!”

“Yes!” to her mocking, painful kisses.

“Yes!”

To His beard pulled out
To shame and spitting
To being blindfolded
To being punched and slapped
To prison
To words of abuse and blasphemy
To fatigue, hunger and thirst
To false accusations
To being dragged to four different trials
To nakedness
To scourging done by Romans exceeding the rule of thirty nine lashes when administered by Jews.
To the crown of thorns
To beatings on the head with a reed
To being marred more than any man
To the mocking purple robe
To the heavy cross
To each fall
To the stripping of his robe that had clung to His opened wounds
To the nail in His right hand.
To the nail in His left hand
To the nail in His right foot
To the nail in His left foot
To the jeering crowds
To the taunting thief
To the gambling and dividing of His garments
To the vinegar wine
To staying on the cross for six hours.

 

[Shulamite]

Beautiful! Amen to it all, Amy. All that you wrote is what He endured. When you think of all that He endured for you and I, it staggers the heart.

I've not been able to get online for a few days. I had family from New Jersey visiting from Friday till sunday and then I was out all day yesterday trying to get my boys some things they needed for spring/summer.

The picture posted by Amylisa is breathtaking!

 

[Amylisa]

Here's a story I wrote about the birth of the Bride. I wrote this awhile ago and hadn't saved it to my files. I finally found it on another forum I post on. Actually I am hoping I posted the entire story there, which ends with the birth of the Bride. Most likely I did.

I believe my story will reveal His heart for us and what He was willing to endure to see us born from His side.

You may kiss the Bride

He never thought He would be afraid of the kiss that would take His life. He had always welcomed it and spoke of it joyfully but when He approached the lips of Bride there was nothing at all beautiful about them. No appearance of a rose color soft and welcoming. Instead they were dry and caked with blood. No smiling mouth. Her lips were tightly shut, pulled down in bitterness and anger. Look again! Her mouth opened and foul stench invaded Jesus’ nostrils. He saw the effects of the poison, the rotting teeth and yellow coated tongue. He saw the bile, blood and blasphemies of a thousand generations. Her opened mouth became a filthy cup. And He knew. He understood He couldn’t give her a quick kiss on the mouth and be done with it. He would have to give her a deep, passionate kiss.

Passion Beyond Reason

Jesus shrank from Bride. “How can I?” He cried. Covering His eyes with His hands He turned quickly away. If He kept His promise He would have to drain that cup. There couldn’t be a drop of poison left or the effects of it would begin all over and He would have to come again and again to rescue her. No. The cup had to be drained once and for all. Draining the cup also meant that the poison had to enter His body and He would become sin! (2 Cor. 5: 21) Loves purity tainted? His dearly love Father would have to look away.

Jesus fell to the ground as the horror of what He had promised to do swept over Him like a title wave. Separation from the Father? Father, if there is another way let this cup pass from Me! But there was no other way. He would have to drain that cup.

He saw her again. He remembered her when she was first created, the dignity and sacredness of her body, soul and spirit. He had made her a living soul! She loved Him freely too because He had given her free will. How He loved the he-she of His being! He couldn’t bear it. The separation had already been much too long. He had waited an eternity for this moment. To send her away, to let her remain trapped in her cancer ridden body nearly killed Him with sadness.

“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death!” (Matthew 26:18)

Yielding wasn’t easy. He again saw a parade of everything that would happen to Him. The crown of thorns would remove the effects of Bride’s unclean thoughts. Wounding His hands will restore holiness and goodness to her hands that had worked evil. A multitude of tortures including crucifixion, one of the most humiliating, painful deaths of His time weighed upon His trembling frame. Drops of blood began to form on His forehead. (Luke 22:44)

The Treasure Hidden in the Field And The Great “Yes!”

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. He finds one of great value. In his joy he sells everything he has and buys the pearl.” (The Gospels)

“For the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross…” (The epistles)

The Prince is going to dive in head first into a sea of suffering. The Bride is worth it! He will give up everything to purchase His pearl for love possesses Him. Jesus yields to the kiss,

A traitor’s kiss on His cheek.

“Yes!” resounds in His heart.

Before each kiss Jesus gives His “Yes!”

“Yes!” to her mocking, painful kisses.

“Yes!”

To His beard pulled out
To shame and spitting
To being blindfolded
To being punched and slapped
To prison
To words of abuse and blasphemy
To fatigue, hunger and thirst
To false accusations
To being dragged to four different trials
To nakedness
To scourging done by Romans exceeding the rule of thirty nine lashes when administered by Jews.
To the crown of thorns
To beatings on the head with a reed
To being marred more than any man
To the mocking purple robe
To the heavy cross
To each fall
To the stripping of his robe that had clung to His opened wounds
To the nail in His right hand.
To the nail in His left hand
To the nail in His right foot
To the nail in His left foot
To the jeering crowds
To the taunting thief
To the gambling and dividing of His garments
To the vinegar wine
To staying on the cross for six hours.

How amazing He is....

Thank you Amy. Love from Him to you!

 

[kisstheson]

Thanks my sisters! It means a lot to me that you read my story. I hope you read the rest all the way through to the end when the Bride is born. I really felt Yeshua was with me when i wrote it.

I always miss both of you when either of you is not here. Glad to see you ang.

 

[Shulamite]

I miss not being here, Amy! I always wonder what is happening the "Bride of Christ" and "Beloved" threads when I cannot be here.

Missed you too!

 

[kisstheson]

Here's more of The Birth of the Bride


Kiss Of Death


The last and deepest kiss is for the Prince to give. Not yet! He will know when it is time.

He kisses her first lightly, “Father forgive them for they know not what do.”

“Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Forcing Himself up the vertical cross piece, Jesus pushes His feet against the nails He’s been standing on. Every movement sends fire through His body. The nails through His hands are like a life raft because they aid Him in pulling Himself out of the sea of suffocation. Bride’s approaching with a mocking smile. In her face He sees each member of the human race, their names, their struggles, pain, failures, loneliness, the incurable wound inflicted from the Fall. He hasn’t forgotten what Bride was, before she ate the poison. Again the cup is offered to Jesus. This time He will drink it until every last drop is gone.

He thought He had anticipated how terrible sin would taste ah but it is much worse. Yet His compassion is greater than His disgust. He choked and gasped as the vileness invaded his being. His senses nearly failed. Peering through the thick blackness that surrounded Him, Jesus searched for His Father. Death is coming and Jesus is afraid. He can feel the coldness creeping into His bones and most of all his Heart.

The cup was nearly drained. This too, the most poisonous drops of all?

“Yes,”

And He was separated from the Father.

Love had become tainted. Once pure and beautiful, Jesus saw His own character, His perfect obedience immersed in filth. He loathed the sin and He knew His Father hated it too. But the loneliness, the loss of perfect loveliness, goodness and truth caused Him to search desperately for Father’s Face!

“My God! My God! Why have you forsaken Me?”

The Law shouted back at Him, screaming in His mind, “Thou shalt not!”

Every broken Commandment was on Him. Justice had to be done.

“Cursed is he who hangs on a tree.”

He heard mocking voices below.

“He saved others but He cannot save Himself!”

“Come down from the cross and we will believe in you!”

“He trusted in God, let God deliver Him now.”

He heard another voice...coaxing him with a smooth caress to his upturned face. The tempter seemed nearer than Jesus' own Father.

“Use your power. Come down from the cross. You could slay all these people with a word. They hate you. Hate them back!”

But there was a greater power, a power even greater than the temptation. This same power had wooed Jesus to leave the splendor of heaven, forsake His Nazareth home to live the life of a vagabond, healing the sick, befriending the outcast, only to find Himself in this lonely place racked with pain. Love was that power and the powerful motivation that kept Him up on the cross so that all in their own time of suffering and questioning would be able to know that He too had been there.

His life was quickly ebbing away. He mouth tortured with thirst could barely form the words:

“I thirst!”

It was a cry not only for drink but for love ~ to be loved in return, to be loved freely as she once did in the garden. He had come seeking Bride. He had come to take the poison from her mouth and remove the curse. And He did. He kissed her deeply and the breath was nearly sucked out of Him. His knees bent and He felt Himself hanging by the nails through His wrists. The terrible grip of suffocation constricted his lungs and He heard the death rattle come from His own mouth.

The lesser power mocked Him: “You have died in vain and death is coming to take you. She will not love you in return. She will be mine forever.”

To be continued...

 

[Shulamite]

Kisstheson wrote:“I thirst!”
It was a cry not only for drink but for love ~ to be loved in return, "

Yes. He has laid that on my heart so many times. His asking for a drink at the well and also at this instance on the cross, declaring that He thirsted, 'give Me a drink?' is His way of not only letting you know of His physical situation, but of His heart's spiritual and emotional thirst.
He thirsts for love just as you thirst for His. It's the same thirst in both you and I and in Yeshua.

Beautiful story, Amy. Please keep writing!

 

[Amylisa]

Amy, your story....

 

[kisstheson]

It always shocks and surprises me how few people within the Bride realize that Jesus thirsts for our love.

The conclusion of the story comes tonight.. I am blessed that my story touches your heart.

 

[kisstheson]

Here's the conclusion of my story. Unfortuneately I can't find the very ending. Your welcome to write your own conclusion. I really would love it if someone gave a shot at this.

Well...let us look at the One who loves us...

We left off with Jesus desiring to drain the cup of His Passion...


Jesus drank the last bit of poison.

Suddenly His dark world exploded with light. In the center of the radiance Bride appeared, the He-She of His being, ten of thousands, millions of people loving Him in return, of their own free will. They were all in the One, His beautiful shining One. She was there as she was in the beginning, clothed in dignity. She held out her arms. Her lips curved upward with generous welcome. Clearly He saw her lovely rose lips and the brilliant flash of her smile. Gone! The poison was gone! He had drained the cup to the very last drop. All the effects of the cursed vanished in a moment.

Bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh!

The Prince had to tell the world! His wedding day had come! All that He had longed for was about to take place. With His last bit of strength He pushed Himself up so He could breath. He smiled a smile full of blood and tears as He kept His eyes on that vision of her.

“It is finished!” He shouted for all to hear.

And one last cry of triumph. “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit!”

And now the sea of suffocation pulled at Him. Jesus gave up the struggle. He willed Himself to let go, to be pulled under. He felt His heart clenched so relentlessly, squeezing the life from Him and an unbearable weight pressing His chest. He gasped for air but there was none. The bodily fluids were draining from Him and poured down his legs like water.

Jesus said “Yes!” to death. He bowed his Head and gave up His spirit.

“He tasted death for every man.”

He was rising upward like a person who takes a deep plunge in the sea and then sees the sun shining above the service. He swam toward that light. At last Jesus stood out side of His crucified body but He knew that one last deed had to be done before the wedding could take place.

One last time the Prince gave His consent. He watched as the Roman soldier approached His crucified form and stared up into the lifeless eyes and touched the bloodied feet.

“He’s dead!” said the guard.

“Make sure!” commanded the centurion.

The trained solder pointed his spear and drove it between the fifth and
sixth rib....

 

[kisstheson]

Born from His side...

 

[Shulamite]

[QUOTE]Kisstheson said: the He-She of His being,[/QUOTE]

Yes, yes!!!
The "he/she" of His being.
We are one with Him... .flesh of His very flesh and bone of His very bone. Taken from Himself. wow. Nothing more intimate than that. If one just stops and ponders the deep revelations of this, it staggers the heart and mind!

 

[kisstheson]

[QUOTE]Kisstheson said: the He-She of His being,[/QUOTE]

Yes, yes!!!
The "he/she" of His being.
We are one with Him... .flesh of His very flesh and bone of His very bone. Taken from Himself. wow. Nothing more intimate than that. If one just stops and ponders the deep revelations of this, it staggers the heart and mind!

Yes! WE are His Shelee! Thank you Yeshua!

I'm mad that I couldn't find the end where He says to her, "You are bone of My bone and flesh of My flesh." I posted this on exchristianforums as a way to witness to them but I was banned from there for talking about Jesus too much. So I know that forum has the entire story but obviously I can't get on there to get it. Maybe I could go on under my sister's name and get it. Maaaaaaaaaaaah!

 

[Shulamite]

Born from His side...

OH MY!!!!!!

HOW ABSOLUTELY LOVELY!!!!!!!!

I'M MELTED......

 

[RobinLayne]

Amy, don't you save your stories in a word processor? Or did you have your computer destroyed? I do hope you can get it back. Using your sister's name is worth a try.

I hadn't finished reading this story before I left the site the other day. I had only read the first half. I had thought that Jesus maybe suffered in Hell before His triumph, but I was just thinking last night or this morning that he said, "It is finished" (tetelestai) meaning, "It is accomplished, the word used for business transactions in the marketplace. So I was thinking that his suffering must have ended there. Would you guys agree?
I was surprised at how quickly Bride appears before him, but then when I realized it was a vision and not the reality, it made more sense. Or perhaps more appropriately, his vision brought the reality into being, just as the Father's words brought the world into being.

I wish I could write the ending for you, but I find myself at a complete loss here. But it may come in time.

Our visit with Paul Harrison at our church was great. Sunday night, we all came to the front and met in our home groups, stood in circles, and prayed in the Spirit loudly, and asked for diverse tongues and for the angels to come. Then we went about the sanctuary seeking the angels. A friend sensed one up in the back side, and my daughter (I'd managed to bring her, even though she wasn't feeling well) and I stood with my friend feeling the cool breeze and getting zapped with power. My daughter took a picture of the ceiling on her digital camera, and a small bluish bubble appeared in it. These bubbles have often shown in pictures taken where strong ministry of the Holy Spirit has been taking place. My friend, an on-fire new believer, said the bubble looked just like a smaller version of the spherical light she had seen one day when she was in the shower.

Paul told us to ask for a message from the angels, because they come not just to give us feelings of the presence of God but with messages from God to guide us in His work. What I heard was, "You are loved."
I said, "I know."
The voice in my mind responded, "But you have no idea how much."

It surprised me that I keep getting the same message in essence, but this exchange brought God's love into a new level in me. It is increasing my confidence and the willingness to love others. The song keeps going through my mind:

I am loved, I am loved, I can risk loving you,
for the one who knows me best loves me most,
I am loved, you are loved, you can risk loving, too,
We are free to love each other,
We are loved.

Three people in my home group said they have seen a change in me over the past few months--a brightness of smile, more of a reaching out. I had prayer last night because I hadn't been seeing results in praying to heal people for a long time and I used to see it regularly. Two friends there said that I may not be healing people physically but that my presence brings spiritual healing. This is not a brag. I was surprised to hear these things. We cannot see ourselves. It is all the Lord's work in me, and I wasn't aware he was doing it. It's encouraging.

This is a time of transition for me as I set about looking for work. I pray to find a niche where I will fit and be a blessing. I want to be out among people, not working from home where I am isolated and also distracted by my daughter and other things. I feel sometimes that I could be so heavenly minded I'm no earthly good. I'm not sure how to fit in in this world and relate to people who have no idea where I'm coming from.

Someone in my home group loaned me Paul's book, "Ministering with Angels." I have started reading it. The idea is not to focus on angels themselves but to seek hard after God and give up everything else. Angels come among us to guide us. But does God sometimes send them instead of himself? I think that's like asking why He uses us to do His work. He uses us, and he also uses the angels and saints. We are a big team.

Speaking of saints, I was thinking about C.S. Lewis, my favorite author, and his accomplishments as well as the shortcomings I will not repeat even if they keep me from being a published and successful author like him. And the Lord told me, "He's praying for you." Let's get the big picture: A huge crowd of witnesses cheering us on. Like many women, I may never be recognized in the world or the church, but I'm famous to God. I pray to be one of those women who is close to Jesus in Heaven that my pastor's wife told me about.

I once had a dream about C.S. Lewis. He was sitting in a chair in a corner of a room, and I was a few feet away, poring over John 3:16. Lewis was not impressed. I thought to myself, "I think John 3:16 is enough for a little person like me."

It was not long after that dream that I recognized I had never asked God whether it was His will to do the website I headed up, a debate site of the pros and cons of Christianity based on the Socratic Club Lewis headed up. It seemed to not accomplish anything. I had been so confident that I could do this thing and do it well, and I didn't, it seems. I was going to shut down the site. I have kept it online, but no one ever posts anything. I get requests for membership from time to time and I accept them, but nothing happens. If anyone is interested in getting it going again, it's http://groups.msn.com/TheNewSocraticSociety. You might check it out, and if you can't post, let me know. One member had that problem a long time back and I don't think it was ever resolved. I started a forum about miracles, but didn't get very far. It's hard to be interested in posting accounts of miracles when no one is there to read them and in the past when I did even the Christians discounted them or said they were not important. I think miracles are very important because they prove that God is real. Debating, in my experience, does no good at all. But if you witness a miracle, you have something you must deal with. I even read an article about a famous atheist (whose name now skips my memory) who doesn't argue that miracles don't happen but complains that they don't always happen--that not everyone is healed, for instance. How he can deny God exists while admitting that some miracles occur is beyond me. He will have to face God on that one. What he is really arguing about there, in my opinion, is not whether God exists but what God is like.
I also saw a book in the bookstore whose title claimed the Bible cannot explain suffering. Boy, they sure don't seem to have read much of it! Why do so many people think that everyone should be free of suffering, and that if there was a God or a loving God there would be none? The most basic experience of childbirth points to the idea that suffering gives way to joy. To question it in specific incidents is normal. Even Jesus did that, on the cross ("Why have you forsaken me?). But look at the ultimate result. The world has rejected the idea of Heaven, and so they only see the back side of the embroidery of life. No wonder they see a mess!

 

[RobinLayne]

Amy, don't you save your stories in a word processor? Or did you have your computer destroyed? I do hope you can get it back. Using your sister's name is worth a try.

I hadn't finished reading this story before I left the site the other day. I had only read the first half. I had thought that Jesus maybe suffered in Hell before His triumph, but I was just thinking last night or this morning that he said, "It is finished" (tetelestai) meaning, "It is accomplished, the word used for business transactions in the marketplace. So I was thinking that his suffering must have ended there. Would you guys agree?
I was surprised at how quickly Bride appears before him, but then when I realized it was a vision and not the reality, it made more sense. Or perhaps more appropriately, his vision brought the reality into being, just as the Father's words brought the world into being.

I wish I could write the ending for you, but I find myself at a complete loss here. But it may come in time.

Our visit with Paul Harrison at our church was great. Sunday night, we all came to the front and met in our home groups, stood in circles, and prayed in the Spirit loudly, and asked for diverse tongues and for the angels to come. Then we went about the sanctuary seeking the angels. A friend sensed one up in the back side, and my daughter (I'd managed to bring her, even though she wasn't feeling well) and I stood with my friend feeling the cool breeze and getting zapped with power. My daughter took a picture of the ceiling on her digital camera, and a small bluish bubble appeared in it. These bubbles have often shown in pictures taken where strong ministry of the Holy Spirit has been taking place. My friend, an on-fire new believer, said the bubble looked just like a smaller version of the spherical light she had seen one day when she was in the shower.

Paul told us to ask for a message from the angels, because they come not just to give us feelings of the presence of God but with messages from God to guide us in His work. What I heard was, "You are loved."
I said, "I know."
The voice in my mind responded, "But you have no idea how much."

It surprised me that I keep getting the same message in essence, but this exchange brought God's love into a new level in me. It is increasing my confidence and the willingness to love others. The song keeps going through my mind:

I am loved, I am loved, I can risk loving you,
for the one who knows me best loves me most,
I am loved, you are loved, you can risk loving, too,
We are free to love each other,
We are loved.

Three people in my home group said they have seen a change in me over the past few months--a brightness of smile, more of a reaching out. I had prayer last night because I hadn't been seeing results in praying to heal people for a long time and I used to see it regularly. Two friends there said that I may not be healing people physically but that my presence brings spiritual healing. This is not a brag. I was surprised to hear these things. We cannot see ourselves. It is all the Lord's work in me, and I wasn't aware he was doing it. It's encouraging.

This is a time of transition for me as I set about looking for work. I pray to find a niche where I will fit and be a blessing. I want to be out among people, not working from home where I am isolated and also distracted by my daughter and other things. I feel sometimes that I could be so heavenly minded I'm no earthly good. I'm not sure how to fit in in this world and relate to people who have no idea where I'm coming from.

Someone in my home group loaned me Paul's book, "Ministering with Angels." I have started reading it. The idea is not to focus on angels themselves but to seek hard after God and give up everything else. Angels come among us to guide us. But does God sometimes send them instead of himself? I think that's like asking why He uses us to do His work. He uses us, and he also uses the angels and saints. We are a big team.

Speaking of saints, I was thinking about C.S. Lewis, my favorite author, and his accomplishments as well as the shortcomings I will not repeat even if they keep me from being a published and successful author like him. And the Lord told me, "He's praying for you." Let's get the big picture: A huge crowd of witnesses cheering us on. Like many women, I may never be recognized in the world or the church, but I'm famous to God. I pray to be one of those women who is close to Jesus in Heaven that my pastor's wife told me about.

I once had a dream about C.S. Lewis. He was sitting in a chair in a corner of a room, and I was a few feet away, poring over John 3:16. Lewis was not impressed. I thought to myself, "I think John 3:16 is enough for a little person like me."

It was not long after that dream that I recognized I had never asked God whether it was His will to do the website I headed up, a debate site of the pros and cons of Christianity based on the Socratic Club Lewis headed up. It seemed to not accomplish anything. I had been so confident that I could do this thing and do it well, and I didn't, it seems. I was going to shut down the site. I have kept it online, but no one ever posts anything. I get requests for membership from time to time and I accept them, but nothing happens. If anyone is interested in getting it going again, it's http://groups.msn.com/TheNewSocraticSociety. You might check it out, and if you can't post, let me know. One member had that problem a long time back and I don't think it was ever resolved. I started a forum about miracles, but didn't get very far. It's hard to be interested in posting accounts of miracles when no one is there to read them and in the past when I did even the Christians discounted them or said they were not important. I think miracles are very important because they prove that God is real. Debating, in my experience, does no good at all. But if you witness a miracle, you have something you must deal with. I even read an article about a famous atheist (whose name now skips my memory) who doesn't argue that miracles don't happen but complains that they don't always happen--that not everyone is healed, for instance. How he can deny God exists while admitting that some miracles occur is beyond me. He will have to face God on that one. What he is really arguing about there, in my opinion, is not whether God exists but what God is like.
I also saw a book in the bookstore whose title claimed the Bible cannot explain suffering. Boy, they sure don't seem to have read much of it! Why do so many people think that everyone should be free of suffering, and that if there was a God or a loving God there would be none? The most basic experience of childbirth points to the idea that suffering gives way to joy. To question it in specific incidents is normal. Even Jesus did that, on the cross ("Why have you forsaken me?). But look at the ultimate result. The world has rejected the idea of Heaven, and so they only see the back side of the embroidery of life. No wonder they see a mess!