Wednesday, February 1, 2012

GOD, PRAY NONE ARE FOOLISH



   Art work by Sean Seal Written by Rick Stassi

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

Matthew 25:1-8 (KJV)

…regarding our relationship with Jesus Christ, our promise from our Father, and the anointing we have received of the Oil that is the Holy Spirit. We solemnly and keenly read this discourse from our Savior regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. For this discourse is about a bride and bridegroom who, under Jewish custom, are: 1) engaged; 2) betrothed; 3) married. Thus we are likened in parable to this in our walk and pilgrimage to the Celestial City – most high heaven!

The Bridegroom is Our Savior, Jesus Christ with whom we have committed our lives to in love under our repentance and grace of God.  In this commitment is our engagement with Him, commitment to Him, and submitting of all of ourselves to Him

We are betrothed in ceremony first asking with sincerity for Him to intercede in our lives as we repent our sin nature. We begin our sojourn at this point as we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, anointed with His oil, sanctified by the blood of our Savior.

We await our marriage day. We do not know the time nor place of the Bridegroom’s arrival. So, we are prepared always. Some are prepares and some are not. For those who are not, the oil of the Spirit’s anointment is not communal in nature, but maintained by us individually between our self personally with the Father.

So, we prepare. We search our hearts, we commune with God. We pray for others we ask God’s favor over us and others. At the same time we account for our commitment to His authority in our lives through our searching in our desire for obedience.

As we walk we seek knowledge and desire of our sanctification. Who we are is who God made. We need to see our position in our walk for the path can become dark and the light of the lamp will lead those who possess the oil. Without light we stray. Our path is straight but to remain on the straight course, we sail with the wind but are mindful of the rudder that steers. A boat without a rudder is hapless and aimless in its pursuit of a straight direction. We see the Sun setting on the horizon, yet without our rudder, we drift as the current ebbs and flows. We drift. We stray. The place on our head that once was glistening with the shine of fresh oil, our Help, is turning to a matte finish of a spent walk powered in our strength. We need God’s strength.

Our priority, our heart, our walk. All are culminated in Jesus, the Bridegroom, who awaits us at the right hand of God in heaven. Today is a day of inventory. Seek God and ask Him to expose the darkest, deepest parts of your heart. What He exposes, we then know where we need to change. 

This is preparation: A personal relationship  with God, belief that He will expose our heart as we search and ask Him to take a lighted lamp into the cavernous depths of our hearts. We want to change and continually grow. 

We encourage the 5 foolish virgins who stray: “Please, God, an anointing anew!” My heart thus prepared. My forehead now glossy with the shine of the sanctifying Oil. We await His return.

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