RESTORE MY HEART

We are mid-way through this women's Bible study by Denise Glenn, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It's a light study that doesn't take a ton of time, but the stuff we are gaining from it is profound. She has two other studies, "Wisdom For Mothers" and "Freedom For Mothers", both of which I have gone through twice and was blessed immensely each time.

"Restore My Heart" is the study of Christ's passionate love for his bride. She takes all the traditional Jewish wedding traditions and lines them up side by side with what Christ has done for us, and the result is amazing.

Here are some examples taken from this study.

1) In Jewish tradition, the father of the groom chose the bride for his son. God chose us as the bride of Christ (Eph. 1:4).

2) The groom had to pay a bride-price, set by the Father of the bride, which was usually paid in silver. Often times, the Torah, or the scroll containing the books of the law, was sold to pay the bride price. Jesus, "the living Word", was sold by Judas for 30 pieces of silver to pay our bride price. He paid the price for His bride with His own blood (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

3) Once the bride price was paid, the groom had travelled from his father's house to the home of the intended bride. Christ left his Father's house to come to earth to claim His bride (Luke 2:4-14).

4) The bride had the choice of opening the door and letting him in, or rejecting him as her groom. We, too, have the choice to open our hearts to Jesus, or to say no to him (Rev. 3:20).

5) Once the bride opened the door to the groom, she invited him in to a betrothal feast. Christ instituted the Lord's Supper as a covenant meal for the church, the bride of Christ (Matt. 26:26-28).

6) Once betrothed, the bride was considered set apart exclusively for her groom. Christ betrothed us to Himself. We are set apart exclusively for Him (2 Cor. 11:2).

7) The groom gives a ring to the bride as a pledge of their forthcoming marriage. Christ has given us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our forthcoming covenant with Him in heaven (Eph. 1:13-14).

8) The groom gives the bride a marriage contract. We are given Christ's assurance through His Word (Matt. 6:25-34).

9) The groom left the bride to prepare the bridal chamber and their new home. Christ has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3).

This is just a sampling of the parallels explained in this study. It has totally made some things come alive in a new and exciting way for me. It has also made me realize once again, how personal His love is for me.