The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

"How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!"  -Song of Solomon 4:10

"Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: 'This is what the LORD says: "'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown."'" -Jeremiah 2:2

All throughout scripture a beautiful love story is interwoven between all of humanity and her bridegroom, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Every great love story has this plot of the handsome prince saving his princess, fighting off evil enemies in order to rescue her and gain the chance to win her hand.  In modern times, Beauty and the Beast, Allie and Noah, and Bella and Edward have been the forefront characters... but all great love stories involve a certain mystery, a certain magic, and a certain struggle that the man must endure and overcome to win the heart of his bride.  And continue to win it.

Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross was payment for every sin on this earth.  No one is without sin, and so we desperately needed a Savior who would be willing to lay down His life for us so we would not have to endure eternal death.

In this, as we realize just a piece of what kind of sacrifice was required, we learn to love a God who gave up His Son Jesus so that we wouldn't have to die.  Every great story has a derivative of this narrative; that's what makes it so great, and so compelling. 

As the story goes, Jesus is coming back for His bride one day, in a glorious wedding ceremony.  "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." -Revelation 21:2

But in order for Jesus to return for His bride, we have to be ready.  "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." -Revelation 19:7

Do you know your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  Pray that He would reveal Himself to you, and that He would win over your heart. We need to be found ready, so that His glory can be revealed in all those who believe in Him - His bride, the Church. 

The Enemy's Schemes

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” -Ephesians 6:11

Have you ever noticed the verse above talks about the enemy’s “schemes”? I used to think the verse said, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil.”  But, it actually says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  “What is a scheme?” you might say.  Well, according to the Dictionary.com, a scheme is a “plan, design, or program of action to be followed”. 

Why it is important to make this distinction between the enemy and his “schemes”?  We know that the enemy can’t be everywhere all the time, (while God is everywhere all the time) so it makes sense that he would put a “plan, design, or a program” in place to act on his behalf. He works hard to put schemes in place during our childhood, because this is the time in our lives where we are being “programmed”, either for success or failure in every area of life.

What are the enemy’s schemes?  Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10), so anything to do with stealing, killing, and destroying our relationships, purpose, money, and even our lives would be the enemy’s main intent toward us. But, how he does it is quite smart - he uses people in our lives to carry out these schemes - often the people closest to us - without them even knowing.  Many relationships have been destroyed for lack of understanding of the enemy’s schemes.

So how do we outwit Satan?  We can outwit him through Jesus and through the power of forgiveness.

“Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive - I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,  in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”  -2 Cor 2:11

Are you aware of the enemy’s schemes?  Make sure you are aware, so that you can act in forgiveness.  We need to outwit the enemy’s schemes so that God can fulfill His purposes in our lives.

Unconditional Blessing, Unconditional Honor

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”  -Romans 12:14



If you’ve spent any time in Christian circles, you’ve likely heard a sermon preached on blessing our enemies and praying for those who curse us. (Luke 6:28) We talk about blessing as it relates to people who are different than us, aka, sinners, or the unrighteous.  But how often on a regular basis do we get to mingle with people who are COMPLETELY different than us, unless we started hanging out at bars, strip clubs, or mosques?  And, how often does someone who is more like us rub us the wrong way at church? How do we respond? Do we actually know how to bless someone we disagree with, like Jesus did?



Our culture is pretty different than Eastern Jewish culture was back then.  Our culture is very much based on a performance-mindset - that is, “If you do what I want, I’ll bless you.”  This idea comes through in our parenting styles, our management, and our pastoral care.  No doubt about it there is consequence for poor or bad behavior.  But, in the Jewish culture they understood that blessing was a given.  You bless the person because they are a human being, created by God.  You believe the best for them.  You pray for them.  As far as honor was concerned, they honored people because of the position they held, not because of good or bad behavior, (not to say they didn’t confront them.) (Matthew 18:15) But, in our culture, I think we have it backwards. We’re called to bless, not withhold blessing based on performance.  In reality, we should honor everyone, no matter who they are. 



True love isn’t love if it’s conditional - true love is very hard. When we are offended or hurt by something, we naturally shrink back in self-protection.  To be possible, unconditional blessing requires the cross - it requires Jesus.



Are you able to bless others unconditionally?  When someone hurts you, instead of putting walls up, try blessing them instead. This isn’t condoning out of order behavior - but a recognition of the person in spite of their behavior. Pray and ask God how He might have you bless someone today.