Always a Bride, Even After Divorce

Awe! Weddings! An accumulation of months of preparation. The selection of rings, the Bride’s dress, tuxes, flowers, bouquets, choosing the cake, and the guest list. Along with wedding ceremonial songs, the reception, and music for the first dance.

And finally the big day arrives. Two nervous people standing at an altar, before God, the Pastor or Priest, and their guest. The Groom and Bride are ready to express their sacred vows and proclaim their lifetime of commitment to love and cherish one another, in good times and bad, till death do they part.

What’s more lovely then a Bride strolling down the aisle to join herself to her groom? The man who chose her and she desired him to be a family, a home . . . because they completed each other.

The road ahead is mysterious. The journey of the marital union will take them to places unknown, uncharted for them, and possibly unwelcomed.

My Wedding Day

I will never forget my wedding day. The feeling of that special moment as my father walked me down the aisle, tearful.

Giving me away to a man he trusted to care for his daughter, to love her as he did, but more. My eyes gazed into the man I love. Willing to give my heart, soul, body, and secrets too—for the rest of my life. I was nervous but joyful to unite my heart with his, to become Mrs. Ramirez. I was a Bride, glowing with the anticipation of what lay ahead.

And I’ll never forget another day, when I received the notification from the court, dissolving those sacred vows. Thirty-six years of marriage, reduced to one piece of paper, declaring our vows were no longer binding by law.

That joyous wedding occasion and hope for longevity in our marriage, became a source of unspeakable pain. Trust, commitment, love, and hope unraveled to nothing. Replaced with rejection and abandonment. Our wedding rings, the meaningful exchange and representation of eternal love, now boxed away. Rings that made the statement, I’m devoted to another. I am taken.

It’s like that old song, “This diamond ring doesn’t shine like it did before. This diamond ring doesn’t mean what it did before,” (Gary Lewis and The Playboys).

Yet, when I think of this ripping apart—this loss, I’m reminded by God, that I wasn’t solely one man’s bride. As the haunting memory of love lost, and the I-can’t-get-him-off-my-mind . . . God gave me a vision. A vision to reflect on, every time my ex-husband and the sorrow invaded my soul.

A Vision From God

At Church, as we finished worship, I basked in the moment, but thoughts of my ex-husband soon occupied my thoughts, saddening my heart. With eyes closed, I prayed. God, he’s an idol in my heart and his taking the place of you. Help!

Then God gave me the most wondrous picture. Care if I share?

The aisle runner was gold, sprinkled with pink rose petals. The runner led to an arch, filled with draping fragrant flowers of vibrant colors of all kinds. My gown was spun silk with overlaid lace. Diamond buttons, sparkled as they lined down the back of the dress, fixed with loops. The bottom of the dress had three tiers of lace. The shimmering veil ran past the length of the dress, cascading onto the floor. The veil was held by a silk ocean blue band, which sat delicately on the back of my head, with white roses running across its length. Also petite roses adorned the ends of the veil.

His Bride, ©️Diane Ramirez

At the arch is the Son, the Groom, who chose me to be his Bride. The light was gloriously bright, and my hand outstretched to the light of Christ.

In this moment, God reminded me, he is my Husband. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He is a husband who will not run or walk away, when life is a twisted mess. God will never give up. He will not grow tired of life and fellowship with me, for he is the essence of life. He will not “fall out of love” with me. As he reminds me, he understands with patience—my worries, my struggles, and my flaws. He is trustworthy. He is committed to me in this life and in the next. Death will not part us.

He will cherish, care, and provide for me. He will comfort me, calm my storms, and heal my sorrows. He will look at me with delight, and remind me I am beautiful in him. His love is unconditional. There is nothing I have to do to win or keep his love. He accepts me for who I am, as I am made in his glorious image.

And there is a fountain. With the bluest of pure water, springing up and flowing over. He reminds me, he is the fountain of life. A cistern that never runs dry. It is he who will replenish my thirst when I am lonely, and fill my soul to the brim with his love. His living water flows for me, his Bride.

He will do this for you, too.

 Rekindled Identity, The Bride of Christ

I love when the Lord gives visions. Pictures to help us cope, to move on, and to take hold of a new identity. To not forget, who we are, his Bride and he our Groom, through the blessed gift of Salvation.

“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels,” Isaiah 61:10, NASB.

We know the Bride is the Church of Christ, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.” Revelations 21:9, NASB.

Yet, I believe those who belong to him—he wants us to know, we are collectively and individually, his bride. He desires all those suffering from the pain of divorce—those who have been abandoned and rejected by a spouse—as well anyone who has experienced deep loss, to know we are never alone in our sorrow.

“You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?” Psalms 56:8, NASB.

All our tears are kept in a bottle, written in his book. He knows. He will wipe our tears with his gentle hand. And because he is God our Father, who comforts all who mourn, we can take comfort in this, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness, For His name’s sake,” Psalms 23:3, NASB.

No matter our sorrow, we can rejoice in Psalms 23:6.  I encourage you to do what I did, insert your name and read it out loud, “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me [Diane] all the day[s] of my [her] life, And I [Diane] will dwell in the house of the LORD forever,” Psalms 23:6, NASB (brackets mine).

Allowing this scripture to take root in our spirit, will indeed give hope in which we will “ . . . dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Where there will be no more tears.

“To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified,” Isaiah 61:3

Not the End

Divorce, or any loss that grieves our heart, is not the end of us, nor defines us, as we are the Lord’s Bride and he our Groom, “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with the shouts of joy,” Zephaniah 3:17, NASB.

With some ancient versions of this verse, “He will be quiet in His love” is translated “He will renew you in His love.” He is our VICTORIOUS WARRIOR; therefore we are more than conquers over our pain and sorrow.

Imagine God our Husband, Creator of all . . . who rejoices, exults, and shouts with joy over us, and renews our heart with His love. That is Agape love (selfless love) in its purest form. And we have this in and through our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Can I get an Amen?

If this piece ministered to you, please share your thoughts with me. My heart is overjoyed, knowing that the words the Lord places on my heart, makes a difference. Please share, if you know someone who is in need of encouragement. Thank you so much. Diane

Play Date With Jesus, Having a Child Like Faith

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light,” Psalms 36:9.

© Diane D. Ramirez

I love this picture of my grandson, (who is ten now) he’s taking such delight in the simple pleasures of life. Water pouring over him like a fountain. The joy of the water splashing on his face. The pleasure of being drenched. The pure joy expression and excitement, as he takes in this moment, is priceless.

There’s several spiritual lessons, we can learn as adults from this picture.

1. Experiencing life from a child’s viewpoint

2. Enjoying the moment, being in the now

3. Exhilarated pleasure from Abba’s world

 Experiencing Life From a Child’s Viewpoint

Children see life through the lens of purity and curiosity. Their world is to be explored, and are, with bright eyes. Children touch, and are fascinated with how things work. Why is a question they ask often. Why is the sky blue or why is the giraffe’s neck so long?

Life, for them, is to be pondered. Within their soul is an innate inquisitiveness to learn, experience, and take hold of their surroundings.

I believe this is one of the very reasons, parents and grandparents adore their offspring, as they too can re-experience life through the point-of-view of the child. Everything is new again. And that is a wonderful feeling.

© Diane D. Ramirez

Jesus’s disciples, when parents brought their children for him to bless, felt it was an intrusion . . . but Jesus did not.

He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:16, 17 (NIV).

Jesus has an important message for us: Children possess the Kingdom of God. What a powerful and profound statement Jesus made about children—and we are to be like them in simple faith, accepting, receiving, experiencing God’s world, both in the natural and supernatural.

The kingdom of God, as outlined in the Strong’s concordance is basileia, and means:

1) royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.

The third definition is: of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom.

How do we hold on to that child like faith, yet be mature Christians?  The goal, I submit, is to rekindle wonderment into our moments, being present in our now. Realizing that within the child’s spirit resides the Kingdom of God.

When we face our adult life—the struggles, conflicts, worry, fear, uncertainty, and pain, we need to close our eyes and find our inner child like faith, which perceives Jesus as our ever present, protecting, interceding, and loving Father. The Abba Father, who will embrace us as we run into his arms like a child.

Enjoying The Moment, Being in The Now

Living life distracts us from the simplicity of our moments. As a parent, how many of us have said to our children, “Not now, I’m busy?” But now is all we have. What if God told us, not now. I’m busy? It would fill us with rejection and crush us. The moment, the now, is extremely important. Why? Because that is all we have and are certain of.

There is so much, which can steal our “play-time.” We need to make a play-date with Jesus. By this I mean, experiencing the present of our now . . . good or bad, inviting Jesus into that space.

© Diane D. Ramirez

As within that time, we can learn, we don’t rush and try to push aside what is happening, what we’re feeling or not. We need to contemplate, what this “now” is telling us or expecting of us.

I’m learning that gratitude in the now, helps lessen sorrow, worry, and fills any emptiness when I allow my thoughts to linger in the past, which only robs me of the present and overwhelms me with sadness.

Retraining our thought patterns, to stop the rewind button of the past, is essential to staying and appreciating our now. To do this we can be aware of:

1.     Sounds
   1.         Hearing laughter
   2.         Listening to every note of the music and the different instruments
   3.         Hearing the birds singing, the ocean waves, the cars passing by
2.     Sight
   1.         People’s faces, are they happy, sad
   2.         Your surroundings (ignore the unfolded clothes and dirty dishes)
   3.          Admire that rose before you walk into that building
3.     Touch
   1.          The feel of food as you prepare it
   2.         The feel of your clothes as you put them on
   3.         The the breeze as it brushes against your face
4.     Smell
   1.         The neighbor’s BBQ
   2.         The freshly laundered clothes
   3.         Your soap as you shower
5.      Taste
   1.         Enjoy that double fudge ice cream cone
   2.         Savor the taste of the medium rare rib eye (or well done)
   3.         Fill the cool liquid pass over your taste buds

All these senses can keep us in our moment when we are tempted to fly back into the past, or leap ahead of what ifs in the future. Gratefulness in the now, allows us to be present.

Exhilarated Pleasure From Abba’s World

© Diane D. Ramirez

Here’s another awesome picture, of one of my grand kids, who is eight now. She’s swinging for the first time. She is exhilarated by the feel. The expression on her face, is one, I believe, God would love to see on us, as we become abundantly satisfied in him, with a child’s faith.

The NASB says, “They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And you give them to drink of the river of Your delights,” Psalm. 36: 8.

Abundance in the KJV strong concordance means “fatness.” This is the fatness, I wouldn’t mind having! Wouldn’t have to worry about losing those extra pounds.

Abundance also means: a. Plentiful; in great quantity; fully sufficient; as an abundant supply. In scripture, abounding; having in great quantity; overflowing with.

Also, KJV and the HNV use the word “make” instead of “give.” I like how it reads in the KJV, “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of your house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.”

Imagine what it would be like if we actually experienced God’s river of delights or pleasures, daily. The word picture I get, is a dog when he’s scratched on his tummy. His leg moves uncontrollably. He’s delighted, satisfied, and exhilarated with pleasure, as his master loves on him.

Would you mind if God made you drink from his river of delights? Or another word we could use is “cause” you to drink. I know, I wouldn’t. I think it would be absolutely exhilarating to understand, feel, know, accept, relish in God’s abundance and drink of his pleasures. Think about it!

© Diane D. Ramirez

The verse before this is: “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings,” Psalm. 36:7 (NASB).

What does a child do when they are afraid? They run to their parent for safety. It’s when we take refuge under the shadow of his wings, where our Father’s lovingkindness greets us. Then we’re to drink our fill in the house of the LORD. And to experience his river of delights.

We too, should practice running under our Father’s wings, hiding under his shadow, when life or the enemy tries to rob us of being exhilarated from the simple pleasures of life and growing in grace. It’s so easy as adults to fret, become dissatisfied, and frustrated.

The dictionary defines a feeling of exhilaration as: elation, euphoria, exultation, exaltation, joy, happiness, delight, joyousness, jubilation, rapture, ecstasy, bliss.

My prayer is, we can learn to experience, enjoy, and be exhilarated—like a child, as we embrace the fatness of Abba’s house and drink from the pleasures of his river, in our daily moments. And when those moments are rough, we will run to our daddy, like a frighten child, for our refuge and peace.

 Please tell me, below how this article ministered to you. Or leave me a message on my author FaceBook page. I’d love to hear from you.

Be well my friend!

 

The Beauty of God’s Wrath

When sharing the salvation message, we tend to use several methods: The ABC—Accept, Believe, and Confess, or the Romans Road or even the Four Spiritual Laws. While there is nothing wrong with these methods, I wonder if we neglect an important factor and that is what we really are saved from. So what are we saved from?

Is the gospel just about escaping hell, gaining heaven where everlasting life is realized? I offer that the gospel message is really about the wrath of God and how God’s agape love made provisions to prevent us from his impending wrath.

I love the way Mark Buchanan described God’s agape love in his book Hidden in Plain Sight. He said, “Agape is unprovoked love: it seeks those who never saw it coming, who never had it coming, who never sought it out. It shows up unannounced, unexpected, undeserved . . .. It doesn’t depend upon our worthiness”(italics mine). God’s love is unconditional. His love encompasses his grace and mercy.

The beauty in understanding the wrath of God is the knowing that God—who is just—refused to leave mankind with a permanent death sentence. His “unprovoked” love provided a path for reconciliation (See 2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

Where did God’s wrath originate? In my humble opinion, God’s wrath originated when Adam and Eve choose to disobey God’s command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. With this disobedience, Adam passed his sin DNA to every generation. Everyone is born with this predisposed inclination for disobedience and rebellion against their Creator, the Holy and Just God.

The need for salvation is not just the sins we’ve committed today or yesterday, but the natural sin embedded into our nature—rebellion and unbelief toward God (Romans 5:17-19).

The Word says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him,” (John 3:36 NKJV). The message is simple; in believing in God’s Son there is life. Not to believe is to remain under God’s wrath.

Further the Word says, “He [God] is patient . . . not wanting anyone to perish; but everyone to come to repentance,” (2 Peter 3:9; brackets mine for clarification). God even made provisions for Adam and Eve and that is where we see God’s compassion and abounding love. God:

1. Hand crafted clothing from an animal to cover their nakedness (This was the first blood sacrifice)
2. Banished them from the garden least they get into more trouble

 “And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever,” (Read Genesis 3:20-24).

Otherwise, if Adam and his wife remained in the garden and ate of the tree of life, they would forever live in their rebellion—there would be no provisions to reconcile them to their Creator. They would live out their eternity under God’s wrath.

Everyone has a choice to believe or not believe. The United States’, in 2005, had a nine percent population of acclaimed Atheists and Agnostics, according to the Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005). To them, the gospel is craziness. God never was. Only weak people need religion, is their estimation. Nonetheless, it is unprovoked love, like Mr. Buchanan said which, “Shows up unannounced, unexpected,” and “undeserved.”

Adam’s sin cast a wide and deep chasm between man and God. A chasm so broad that only one person could reconcile and close the gap and that would be God himself. He came in the flesh, another difficult concept for some to receive. God came because we cannot as human beings:

• Save our self
• Become a god
• Work our way to heaven by being good
• Hope the religious road we’ve chosen, leads us to God’s kingdom
• Our be led by our feelings into heaven

One could pray a thousand times a day, spend endless hours at church but unless they believe and confess Christ Jesus as the Son of the Living God, they continue to miss the mark. Even the best of the best’s goodness pales in comparison to God’s righteousness. And if we could feel our way, work our way, or believe our religion could save us; there would be no need for God’s agape love. Jesus’ death would have been in vain.

Oprah, in 2008, interviewed an author; here is how she summarized his book. “What you’re saying is God and the essence of all consciousness, isn’t something to believe. God is. God is. God is a feeling experience not a believing experience. And if your religion is a believing experience, if God for you is still about believing, then it’s not truly God.” The author agreed and so did some of the audience.

Wow! But I guess our reaction to this is the same reaction people have when Christians say there is only way one to God. I recently read a quote,

“Every path you take will lead you to God, but only one path will lead to eternal life with Him.”

 Jesus remarked about the road to eternal life, he said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it [the gate to destruction]. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,” (Matthew 7:13-14; brackets mine for clarification).

Another statement Jesus made, which the Christian faith propagates, is what Jesus told Thomas, his disciple, when Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6). If this statement is not true, then Jesus is either a lair or he is delusional—or both, a delusional lair.

People are triune beings, meaning we are body, soul, and spirit. I like to explain it this way. Our soul is our emotions and will, or spirit is what we connect with God, and our body is how we touch the tangible world we live in. When Adam and Eve walked with God, they had all three in tack. But they fell for Satan’s deception and sinned. When they did this they were no longer pure innocent beings. Their sin brought separation and death. Thus we live in a fallen world.

As Jesus told Nicodemus, a Pharisee, “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit,” (John 3:5-8).

The provision God made for all mankind, is to come to the knowledge that:

1. We are under the Wrath of God because sin entered earth by Adam’s disobedience; therefore, sin also is in us.
2. Sin is punishable, unless one repents (turns from sin and walks toward Christ)
3. He provided covering of our sin by the death of his son, Jesus Christ, who knew no sin (and who was born of a virgin, another hard concept for some).
4. This atonement (compensation) comes through the confession that Jesus is the Son of God, who died and rose again (on the third day) and will one day return to gather his church.

The argument, in which all roads lead to heaven, will go on until Christ comes. But the truth remains that without Christ, without the “believing” and placing faith in him, people are under God’s wrath. There is no way around it. Peace with God is only found through Christ Jesus. Jesus’ gives us right standing before God.

“Whoever believes in him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son,” (John 3:18; brackets mine for clarification).

Sorry Oprah, God IS a believing encounter, NOT a feeling experience. There is nowhere if the Bible that says, “just feel and you will be saved.”

What are your thoughts? Are you firm in your faith? How would you answer Oprah’s declaration?

 Four Spiritual Laws

ABC’s of becoming a Christian

Romans Road to Salvation

Oprah Show