(Photo via http://www.jnesbit.com)

“… that He might present the Church to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle or any other defect, but to be holy and unblemished. …” –Ephesians 5:27

I had a dream recently where I was preaching in front of many people in a church. I was preaching about Jesus returning for His Church. His Bride. I was preaching with such fervor, I remember spit spewing from my mouth. I was asking the congregates how they would react – what they would do – if Jesus Christ, Himself, walked through those doors. And I pointed to the doors in the back of the church.

Without waiting for an answer, I quickly replied, “This is what would happen!” Lo and behold, the doors began to open. I watched breathlessly as Jesus, my Lord, entered into the church.

His gaze immediately captured me. I am the one He is after! I am His Bride!

He walked down the center aisle, never removing His gaze. His eyes blazed with passion. Whether captivated by those eyes or weakened from His presence or both, I stood unmoving. Although every fiber in my being yearned to run to Him. Yet, I watched… and waited for Him to come to me. For me.

Suddenly, in the next blink of my eye, I am within His reach. His arms envelop me and he swings me into a dance. An elegant ballroom dance. A lovely song begins to sing over me. In the hidden locket of my memory, I recognize the song.

It’s the song from Sleeping Beauty.

‘I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. And I know its true that visions are seldom all they seem. But if I know you, I know what you’ll do. You’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.

Once upon a night, I dreamed we’d be together. In love forever. Once upon a night, I was wishing for a never, a never ending. Once upon a night. Once upon a time. Once upon a wish. Once upon a dream.’

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Wow! What a prophetic picture of the Bride of Christ!

She’s found proclaiming the gospel, preparing the way for the Lord’s return. The cry of the Bride echoes throughout the land awakening those who have ears to hear from their slumber. She is adorned with her jewels, clothed in garments of salvation, and arrayed in a robe of His righteousness. [Isaiah 61:10]

Her lamp is trimmed and her oil is ready. [Matthew 25] She watches and waits for her Lord’s return as a watchman on the wall. And the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” [Revelation 22:17]

For in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, heaven will open and behold, a white horse, and He who sits upon it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness He will judge. [1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 19:11]

Those not prepared – those who have forsaken the Lord and pursued their own pleasures – will beg, “Lord, lord, open up for us,” when the door to the wedding feast closes with a thud.

But He will answer and say, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”

His attention quickly returns to His Bride. The True Church. No longer is she called Forsaken or Desolate, but He gives her a new name. Sought out. [Isaiah 62] She was faithful and He sought her out. Rescuing her from death. She will reign with Him forever and ever.

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Perhaps the life we are living is like a dream…

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12

…and just like the song from Sleeping Beauty, we know Jesus and He knows us. We know Him because we walk with Him. We talk with Him. We come before Him with nothing hidden, making ourselves known. And He reveals Himself to us. He speaks to us through His Word. He directs us through His Holy Spirit.

When we wake from this dream and see Him face to face, He will take us in His arms and sing this song over us.

“I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream…”

Do you know Jesus? Are you walking with Him, hand in hand, through this moment in eternity we call life? Will He find you faithful? Or will He find you defiled with other lovers?

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.” –2 Timothy 3:1-5

If you are wasting your life on things that will perish, it’s not too late to give your life to Jesus. The things of this world grow dim in the light of His glory. This is my prayer for you…

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” — Ephesians 1:17-19

And for those of you who are already believers…

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” — 2 Timothy 4:1-2

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Boy, am I looking forward to that dance! Find me faithful, Lord!!!

(Please share this message of love and truth with those God has entrusted you with. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Let us proclaim the kingdom of God together!)