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Today is Saturday July 31, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Song of Solomon. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-july-31

Today's Message: A Soul Mate

Perhaps the most intimate relationship anyone could have here on earth is one between a husband and wife. When God created man He said that it was not good for man to be alone so He made a woman to complete him. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul....And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him....And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” - Genesis 2:7,18,21-24. When a man and woman become husband and wife they become one flesh, two souls joined together as one flesh, in other words, soul mates. So, when one soul is away from the other it feels alone and disconnected from the other. Did you ever wonder why some marriages just do not work out no matter how hard one tries to keep them together? In my opinion it is because one soul was disconnected from the other the whole time and never wanted to become one flesh in the first place. Here is a hint, if the person wants to get intimate with you on the first date he/she has no intention of becoming one flesh. Sadly, many marriages fail because one soul is not completely devoted to the other. Most of us long for a soul mate and blessed are those who have them, but more important than having an earthly soul mate is having a spiritual soul mate.

The Book of Song of Solomon is the twenty-second book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains eight chapters. The author of the book is King Solomon and it was written to Israel and all believers. The purpose of the book is to show the intimate relationship between Jesus and the Church as demonstrated by the intimate marriage relationship between a man and woman. What we are to learn from the book is that the divine model of love between a man and his wife is the pattern for the relationship between Christ (Man) and the Church (His Bride). Jesus Said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” - Luke 14:26,27. Our relationship with Christ is to be so intimate that it looks as though we hate everyone else. Before a soul finds Jesus it is lost and a lost soul will go searching for any one or thing that finds it. However, the whole time Jesus is calling, “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” - Song of Solomon 2:10-14. Jesus is calling and wants all to know that it is a new season of hope, He wants to hear all calling on Him, it is sweet music in His ears.

Jesus is our bridegroom and those who accept Him are His bride, I use to think that this sounded a bit odd, but when I looked up the meaning of the word marriage it became a little clearer to me, Besides being a man and woman becoming husband and wife by legal commitments or religious ceremonies, a marriage is a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other, or any close or intimate association or union with another. So, when we accept Christ as our Savior we join Him in a marriage by accepting His pledge (believing in Him) to be with us for eternity. “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” - II John 1:8,9.

As Christians, we sometimes enjoy a very close sense of the presence of Christ, but all too often, His presence seems far away. Yet our love for Him continues to grow as we wait expectantly for that first glimpse of Him when He welcomes us home. “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go,” - Song of Solomon 3:1-4a. Christ will return and as we await His return we have the comfort of Holy Spirit to keep us connected to our spiritual soul mate, it is comforting to know that our bridegroom is still with us, even though we can not physically see Him. It is amazing to stop and even imagine what the world would be like when He returns, but thank God that all His brides will be protected and safe upon His arrival. I guess there are many things that we will have to wait patiently to see, but that just makes it all worth the wait. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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