November 21, 2024

Even So Come

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon

Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon

Like a bride waiting for her groom
We’ll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing 

Even so come, Lord Jesus, come

There will be justice
All will be new
Your name forever
Faithful and true
Jesus is coming soon

Even so come, Lord Jesus, come
So we wait, we wait for You
God, we wait
You’re coming soon  

Kristian Stanfill / Passion
written by Chris Tomlin, Jess Cates, Jason Ingram

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When I recently heard this new song I became excited.  It talked about something I’m looking forward to—Jesus is coming soon!  The Church (the fellowship of believers) is waiting like a bride for The Groom, Jesus, to come get her.  In Jesus’ day, the bride would be waiting in her parents’ home for the groom to come and take her with him to the home that he had prepared for her. [Click here to learn more about marriage in Jesus’ day.)  How excited she must have been, waiting in anticipation.  Did she keep looking out the window, or crack the door open to check to see if he was coming up the street?  How many times did she straighten her dress, and check her hair to make sure everything was perfect for her coming groom?

With that same anticipation, preparedness, and excitement, we as believers should be looking for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We hear stories occasionally of a bride being left at the altar, jilted by her groom.  That is very, very sad.  But we have the assurance that Jesus is faithful and true, and He loves us so much that we never need to worry about being jilted by Him.  Jesus will come again to take us to His home in Heaven.  He has prepared a place for each of us to spend eternity with Him.

Here are a few encouraging and reassuring Scriptures to get you excited about our soon-coming King:

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!
Isaiah 40:3

Listen to me, O royal daughter; take to heart what I say.
Forget your people and your family far away.
For your royal husband delights in your beauty;
honor Him, for He is your Lord…
The bride, a princess, looks glorious in her golden gown.
In her beautiful robes, she is led to the King, accompanied by her bridesmaids.
What a joyful and enthusiastic procession as they enter the King’s palace!
Psalms 45:10-15

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

…there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter.
The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again,
along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord.
They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
for the Lord is good.  His faithful love endures forever!’
Jeremiah 33:11

“Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to Him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”
Revelation 19:6-9

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches.
I am both the source of David and the Heir to his throne.
I am the Bright Morning Star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.”
Let anyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.
Revelation 22:16-17

He Who is the Faithful Witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.
Revelations 22:20-21

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.
There is more than enough room in My Father’s home.
If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.
John 14:1-3

So with joy and anticipation, as this song says, “Wake up the saint, let every nation shout Jesus’ fame,” because it is a sure thing—Jesus is coming.  Maranatha!

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Dear God, we are so thankful to be called the bride of Christ!  What joy, what privilege, and also what responsibility.  Help us by Your Holy Spirit to be alert and waiting with great anticipation for our soon-coming King.  While in that waiting, may our joy draw others to seek You, too.  Come, Lord Jesus!  In Your Holy Name we pray.  Amen.

Amazing Love (You Are My King)

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are my King
You are my King

 Newsboys
written by Billy James Foote

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This song personifies Easter to me.  I love the parallels given in this song—forgiven/forsaken, accepted/condemned, alive/died.  All these gifts and blessings are mine because of Jesus’ sacrifice.  A sacrifice He willingly chose to make.

He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men,
a Man of sorrows and pains,
and acquainted with grief and sickness;
and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised,
and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
Isaiah 53:3 AMP

I can’t even find words for this!  How is it possible Christ would choose to be treated in this manner?  Amazing love indeed!  Mark 15:34 (AMP) gives us a glimpse of what Christ experienced:

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
—which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me
[deserting Me and leaving Me helpless and abandoned]?

Jesus was left helpless and abandoned on the Cross so we might be forgiven.  God turned His back on His only Son in order to redeem us.  Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT): “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”  We may be persecuted, but we will never be forsaken; struck down, but never destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Because of Christ’s selfless sacrifice, we are accepted and protected by God Himself!

And not only are we accepted, but Romans 8:1 tells us “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus…”.  Christ was condemned in our place so that we could share His robe of righteousness.  We will never be condemned by God.  It is that robe of righteousness that allows us to stand before God, holy, pure, unblemished and unstained.

Isaiah 61:10 (AMP) talks about why we should feel joy in honoring Him.

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness….

The opportunity for salvation exists only because of Jesus’ voluntary sacrifice.  THAT is amazing love.  It is our choice to honor Him with our lives.  We should be honored to call Him our King.

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Lord, I cannot even begin to put into words what I feel when I think of all You chose to suffer just so I could be forgiven and accepted.  ‘Thank You’ will never be enough to express the depth of my gratitude.  It is my joy to honor You in all I do.  In Your name I pray, Amen – so be it!