“How close is your heart to the heart of Jesus? Your answer is very important, so respond carefully. My desire is that it beat in unison with His. Understand this. Your life is really a time of preparation. Please understand how important your goals are as you walk with Me. It is important that you seek to be like Jesus in every way. My goal is to empower you to do so.
"In this life, you, My church, prepare for one of three situations, depending on your maturity. You prepare for your personal security, you prepare for war, or you prepare for marriage. Those of you preparing for personal security do only what it takes to spend eternity with Me. You spend your days confident in the work done for you at Calvary, and that is enough. The thought that I desire more for you is rarely in your heart, so you have become immovable and complacent, ill-equipped for even the smallest mission, unless it is for your benefit.
"If you are preparing for war, you have chosen to go deeper with Me, understanding that there is much more to your preparation than your personal security. You seek Me with all your heart and live a crucified life, allowing Me to eliminate your carnal nature at every opportunity. You are truly after My heart and My desire. You desire to represent Me with all your heart. You are valiant. I can trust you with much.
"Marriage preparation goes much deeper. It has all the characteristics of a warrior, but also includes a cleansed heart that beats with radiant, intense, holy love for Jesus. Your days are filled with preparation for Him as you represent Me. Your focus is His pleasure, as you prepare for His return. Nothing is more important to you than your understanding of His ways, so that your garments are spotless and ready. While you joyfully complete any mission that you are called to do, your eyes are ever looking upward, your heart is always waiting for His call. You have the heart of a waiting bride.”
Matt. 25:1-6 NIV
1) “At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to met the bridegroom.
2) Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
4) The wise, however, took oil in their jars along with their lamps.
5) The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6) At midnight the cry rang out ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!’”
Rev. 22:17 AMP
The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone come who is thirsty [who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened]: and whoever desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink of the water of Life without cost.
I am convinced that we, as members of the body of Christ, must look past all of the daily distractions, and understand that we should be preparing as if we were getting married soon. Within the church, there are many varied teachings concerning who or what the bride of Christ is. Some say that anyone who is born again is automatically the bride. In Revelation, the bride is represented as a city. Some believe that in the city resides the true bride. Most interpretations have enough Bible verses to back their theory with gusto. True Bible scholars have contended these and other viewpoints for centuries, all convinced that their opinion is correct.
I am certainly no Bible scholar, nor am I an expert in any way. In my study, the only thing I’m sure of is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the Messiah who said that one day He will return. We should take comfort in that promise. From that base, however, it seems that the Lord is continually addressing the heart and motive for everything we do as the body of Christ. If that is truth, wouldn’t it be wise for every one of us to seek to position our hearts as close to the heart of Jesus as possible - for His pleasure?
As Jesus desired only to please the Father in every way, we should be doing the same as our daily pursuit; that’s a given. I see that as basic Christianity 101. To make that pursuit complete, however, there are many verses throughout the Word that goad us toward a holy motive, a pure love, a deeper calling — one characterized by the heart of Jesus — that is attainable through the power of God. Wouldn’t Jesus be most blessed if it were our mission to be as much like Him and waiting only for Him as a pure waiting bride? Why would we think He is worthy of anything less if we call Him Lord?
Wanting to have pure motives,
Jim Corbett
