Influencers Weekly Devotional

Are You Expecting?

By

Rocky Fleming

“All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.” Romans 8: 22-25 - The Message

I realize my audience for this devotional is primarily men, and this title would likely be seen in a woman’s magazine instead of a devotional for men. If the reader were a woman and pregnant, she would be interested in any new information that could make the childbirth process easier, and the title would capture her attention. Believe me, as a husband of one wife for 43 years and the father of two daughters, I speak with great experience on this. I’ve had more than enough magazines around me than I need for the rest of my life that discuss this issue. Maybe you are the same? But don’t let the title confuse you, for I am asking you men directly, “Are you expecting?” Several years ago I heard my son, Gorden, preach on the Bride of Christ. He sounded like his old man when he said, “I’m like most men, and I don’t get real excited about being anybody’s bride.” He took the words right out of my mouth with this intro, and he summarized the attitude of most men who would agree with him. But, he followed his opening statement with, “…unless it is being the Bride of Christ. As freaky as it sounds, I want to be His bride.” The rest of Gorden’s sermon was given to understanding what The Bride of Christ means, and the fact that if we are His man, or woman, then we are in His Church, and His Church is called, The Bride of Christ. The culture of marriage in Christ’s day was different from ours today. We think in our culture a marriage is completed when the ceremony is done, papers are signed, and the bride and her groom go and live together. In Christ’s day, the marriage ceremony was followed by a lengthy delay before the groom could claim his bride. They were legally married, but she went back to her father’s house to wait, and the groom went to his father’s house to build a room addition to it that was equal or better than the one the bride had lived in at her father’s house. After it was built and the local Rabbi approved it, then the groom could go and claim his bride. The bride had to be ready at any time and have her trousseau packed and ready to go, for she could be surprised with the call, “Here is the bridegroom!” Knowing this information helps us understand better what Jesus meant when He made the statement that His Father has many rooms in His house and He goes away to prepare a place for us. When you also read the following words of Jesus in Matthew about His return to claim His Bride the Church, it helps to understand how we could fail to be ready for that day: "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meetthe bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose andtrimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you,I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for youknow neither the day nor the hour.” How does this passage apply to men today? It applies to us as directly as it would the five foolish virgins, or the wise ones. You decide which camp you fall in. What we see with the foolish gals is they were not prepared for their bridegroom. They had grown weary of waiting and forgot about the big day that would come. They began to doze off, and were surprised by His call. On the other hand, the five wise gals were expectant of Him for they had prioritized their life around their bridegroom's return. They were ready, and they were not disappointed. The foolish brides were. How about you? Are you expecting your Bridegroom to return? Are you living with this expectation? Have you prioritized your life around being prepared for it? Are you prepared today to greet Him when He returns because you are doing the things He left for you to do in preparation of that return? Will He find you laboring for Him, or will you be slumbering? Another of Jesus' instructions given to us is that His Bride is to pray for laborers,because the harvest is ready. Are you one of His laborers? His Bride, the Church, should be the greatest labor force He has for shining a light to our world. This light is “the oil for the lamp,” of the faithful brides as represented in the parable, and it shines in the darkness to this world. Will He find you being light to this world by your witness and actions, or will He find you with no oil in your lamp and as dark to His ways as the rest of the world is? As I look at current events, I am reminded more each day that the Bridegroom is close to His return. Is your oil lamp lit, and are you great with expectation? If you listen carefully, you may hear His footsteps outside your door. Better be ready, for it could happen anytime. TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS DEVOTIONAL, CLICK HERE