Samantha Wiraatmaja »

August 26, 2013

Here Comes The Bride – A Dream of Our Times

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A few nights ago I had a dream. I felt God speaking to me through the dream about His bride and the heart of Jesus our Bridegroom, as well as the times we are living in. I want to share it with you (:

The dream:

I was in a familiar place; somewhere that felt comfortable and familiar. I saw many familiar faces; people I knew well.

Suddenly, one of them came to me and said, “Hurry get ready, your wedding is in a few hours!” I was paralyzed with shock. “I’m only getting married in June next year, we’re still one year away! I haven’t done any planning, I’m not prepared!!” This couldn’t be happening – I decided to investigate.

As I walked around the corner, I saw that the adjoining room was a large hall filled with people decorating & preparing for the wedding ceremony… and my Bridegroom was already fully dressed and standing at the altar, waiting for me.

As my mind reeled and raced to come to terms with the situation, a bustling group of people came around me to do my hair and make-up. One of them held up a magnificent, beautiful, emerald lace gown and told me to “put on your wedding gown.” Ok… I thought I was getting married in a white gown. Never mind that people are fixing my hair, make-up, and wedding date without asking me; now I don’t get even get to choose the color of my gown? Great.

Oh well, at least the dress is pretty. Still in a daze, I put on my wedding gown… and saw to my horror that I had a paunch right where my flat belly used to be!! “How did I get so out of shape?” and other thoughts of similar nature swirled round my already spinning head. As I stared in the mirror, all I could think of was how beautiful the gown was and how my body wasn’t befitting the occasion and the dress.

As if that wasn’t enough, the realization that I couldn’t remember my vows hit me. I was about to walk down the aisle without knowing my vows! That threw me into a frenzy and the rest of my dream was spent trying to remember the vows I was supposed to make.

The interpretation:

Matthew 24: 36-39 says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

We, the bride of Jesus, need to get prepared.

We need to get out of our comfort zones, get off our laurels. Many of us are comfortable where we are with the people we are with – TOO comfortable to realize that the time is drawing near when Jesus is going to return. In fact, Jesus is already waiting and yearning for His bride… but He will delay His return so that His bride can get ready and prepare herself, that she may be presented to Him as a pure and spotless bride.

Ephesians 5:27 says that Jesus is working in the Church “to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” He has chosen the dress that we will wear, but will we be in good shape when the time come for us to put on our wedding garments? Laziness and complacency need to go! The Church, the Beloved, needs to understand the urgency of the hour and the intense desire of her Bridegroom for her. He is waiting for her, longing to finally be one with her – He cannot bear the distance that has been there since Genesis, and He cannot wait for the nearness and oneness that will come in revelations.

The significance of the vows is three-fold:

1. A time is coming when the Bride will have to acknowledge Jesus publicly. That is where wedding vows are said, aren’t they, publicly? I felt God say to me that the day is coming when the Church will be made to stand in public and speak about God. This will happen in 2 ways –

Sharing publicly about God through media. This is a social media generation, and so much negativity is going around the world wide web. But we are living in a time where the power of God is going to work in and through us to show the world the glory and the greatness of God. Then we need to make a choice – acknowledge God publicly, or not? To do so would welcome mockery, cynicism, rejection from our friends… to not do so is to reject the Bridegroom standing before us at the altar.

Persecution, where our allegiance will be tested. Will we choose to publicly acknowledge Jesus, even when it gets dangerous to do so? If the Bride is still in her comfort zone and wallowing in complacency, it is going to be very hard for her to stand in the face of trials.

Luke 12: 8-11 says, “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

These circumstances sound bleak, but Jesus tells us not to worry! At that time, Holy Spirit will tell us what to say. He is our guide, teacher, comforter, and helper – He will never leave us nor forsake us!

Read more about Holy Spirit’s role in preparing the Bride here.

2. Remember the promises made to God. Many of us have made promises to God – be it in a moment of passion, a moment of need, or a promise we truly intend to keep – and NOW is the time to make good on those promises. Don’t delay any longer, for the time we have left is very, very short.

“When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it” Ecclesiastes 5:4

3. Many in the Church have forgotten their first love. We need to go back to the love we once had, do the things we did at first. Too many of us have gotten caught up either in complacency or busyness – in the process of serving God, let us not forget God. He loves it when we want to serve Him, but what He looks for at the end of the day is our heart – He wants intimacy, love, communion. He is not coming back for a servant; He is coming back for a Bride.

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:4

“”This is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown.'” Jeremiah 2:2

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August 21, 2013

Dream A Little Dream – Why You Should Take Your Dreams More Seriously

Most of us know innately that we are made for greatness.

This manifests itself in different ways – desire to live & die for a cause, to make a difference in the world, for fame, stardom, success, wealth, power, popularity… the list is endless. While some of these lead to negative manifestations, I believe that the root of it is actually heavenly – human beings have a knowing deep within us that we are made for something bigger.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has planted eternity in the human heart..” Try to attain eternity by our own strength, and we end up running after the wrong things that leave us tired and empty. Come to the God of eternity, releasing our own plans and agendas, and He will propel us quickly in the ways of eternity.

When we gaze at eternity, it shifts everything in our heart and we begin to see everyday and every person in the light of eternity.

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Sometimes we wait and expect a loud booming voice from heaven à la Moses and the burning bush, that will thunder out God’s will for our lives and forever change the course of our destiny. That does happen, and it is wonderful when it does! However, most of the time God speaks in a still, small voice that we usually brush off/ignore. He has been breathing life into nothingness from Genesis, and continues to speak life into the mundane – that is why He often speaks to us in the most common and ordinary ways. (more…)

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August 7, 2013

Mirror, Mirror – Guarding Against The Mirror, Mirror Syndrome Part 5

On to the final pitfall of the Mirror, Mirror Syndrome – Immaturity.

To get the full picture, you can get links to all the articles in the Mirror, Mirror series here.

#4 – Guarding Against Immaturity

Instead of growing old gracefully into Fathers and Mothers to the younger generation , I’ve seen most men and women grow into bitterness, insecurity, and strife.

Learning to become a Father/Mother does not happen automatically at a certain age… if we wait for it to magically happen, I can assure you that it most likely will not. It is a mindset that has to be cultivated while we are still a Snow White in our prime.

What are some ways to grow towards being a Father/Mother NOW while you are still young? (Do take time to check out the awesome resources mentioned in this section)

1. Start inspiring others to godly living. Make it a habit to impart everything you can to the younger generation. Read this article on setapartgirl.com that shares some practical ways you can do that.

2. Learn what it means to be a Father/Mother. Watch this 17-minute sharing by Landon Schott, the spiritual son of John Paul Jackson, on the qualities of a spiritual father.

3. Be fathered. In an article by Tony V. Hammack on spiritual fathers he says, “By having spiritual fathers that don’t know us personally it sterilizes us spiritually. We don’t know how to birth spiritual sons because we ourselves are illegitimate, never having a spiritual father we don’t know how to raise up a son in the faith ourselves.”

4. Choose carefully who you allow into your life as fathers/mothers. One guy wrote from his experience as a spiritual father to many:

A spiritual father will see you for who you are and will be a champion of your heart.
Fathers give their sons and daughters an inheritance. An inheritance has to do with a tribe, a ministry, and spiritual DNA. Read more about it here.
Fathers are generous with their time with their sons and daughters. They are there for them in life’s storms.
Fathers teach their sons and daughters how to live life. They help wake them up to the kingdom.
Fathers don’t give themselves the designation of “father,” sons or daughters do. Men who talk about themselves as fathers a lot probably do so out of their own need for affirmation. Be careful of them.
A son or daughter should be slow to call anyone their spiritual father. They may want to do so prematurely because of the hole in their heart, but a father must prove his faithfulness over time.
Fathers are consistent. Too many of you have suffered under inconsistent father figures. Their inconsistency can be a form of abuse.
Don’t confuse authority figures, especially your pastor, with your spiritual father. Pastors may qualify as a spiritual father if they show up in your life over time in a deeply invested and personal way.
Some of you are fortunate to have dads who have loved you well and become a spiritual father to you. Recognize that your dad is part of a rare breed of man and you are privileged. You may have other spiritual fathers, but be sure to never let that fact diminish the role of your dad in your life. Honoring your natural father for who he is and what he’s invested in you is the fifth commandment God gave his people.
To get the most from a spiritual father, you have to press into them. Don’t expect them to do all the work. Make it easy for them to invest.

5. Always consciously cultivate the qualities of a spiritual father, as well as look out for men & women who possess these qualities and learn from them. Rev. Tony Cooke gives this list of qualities that a mature leader possesses, based on the apostle Paul’s relationships with Timohty, Titus, and the Churches he was mentoring:

He did not flatter them (1 Thess. 2:5). He wasn’t buttering them up just so they’d like him or so that he could get something out of them.
He was not covetous toward them (1 Thess. 2:5). He didn’t see having a relationship with them as a means of getting their goods.
He did not seek glory of men – he wasn’t seeking to be exalted (1 Thess. 2:6). This wasn’t about Paul gathering sons around him to feed his own ego.
He was not demanding of them. He wasn’t controlling, manipulative, or dictatorial (1Thess. 2:6).
He exhibited a heart-felt, compassionate concern for their well-being.
1. He was gentle toward them (1 Thess. 2:7).
2. He cherished them (1 Thess. 2:7).
3. He longed for them affectionately (1 Thess. 2:8)
4. He not only gave them the gospel, but he gave his own life to them (1 Thess. 2:8).
5. They were dear to him (1 Thess. 2:8).
6. He exhorted, comforted, and charged every one of them, as a father does his children (1 Thess. 2:11).
His energies and efforts went toward their spiritual development (Gal. 4:19).
He was not interested in shaming them, but did feel obligated to warn them. He wasn’t putting them on a guilt trip or making them feel intimidated (1 Cor. 4:14).
He was different than a mere teacher – he wasn’t just passing information on to them, but he had “begotten them” through the Gospel and was setting an example they could follow in their spiritual development (1 Cor 4:15-16).
He wasn’t seeking what was theirs (their money), but he was seeking them (2 Cor. 12:14).
He was willing to spend and be spent for them – in other words, he was willing to live and give sacrificially for them – for their advancement and their development (2 Cor. 12:15).

6. Be freed from the spirit of poverty and the orphan spirit. You’d be surprised at just how many of us have this in some degree or other, and it will greatly affect our ability to father/mother others.

Consider reading this book by Jack Frost, Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship
Consider some inner healing ministries like Ellel Ministries, Restoring the Foundation, Immanuel Healing.

*Just a note that every human being needs inner healing – there is nothing shameful about going for inner healing ministries. In fact, many established ministers have said that they go for a ministry session once a year as a “yearly medical checkup” for their emotional and spiritual health.

There’s a whole lot of resources I’ve just given to you; do take the time to check them out and also do your own research (: In fact, share with me any new thing that you have learnt!

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Here Comes The Bride – A Dream of Our Times

Dream A Little Dream – Why You Should Take Your Dreams More Seriously

Mirror, Mirror – Guarding Against The Mirror, Mirror Syndrome Part 5

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