Have You Said, "I Do" ?

Key Verse:

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. Romans 19:7 NKJV

Recently, I attended the wedding of Scout the Dog and Jessica Bear.




Boy the Bear officiated the ceremony.

Guests like Sarah the Doll enjoyed dancing, cake, and watching the happy couple open their gifts.

My daughters planned this event in their bedroom and pulled off a pretty decent wedding. They even remembered the most important detail: Scout and Jessie each said, "I Do."

Watching my girls set up the wedding for their stuffed animals and seeing their imagination hard at work, I was struck by the fact that they instinctively knew that Scout and Jessie were not actually married until those words were uttered.

It reminded me of an analogy I read in a book called The Search For Significance by Robert S. McGee.

An engaged couple may intellectually know they want to marry each other, and they probably feel very close to one another but until they willfully say, "I do" to each other, they're not married. Many people are at this point in their relationship with Christ. They need to say "I do" to Him.

As I planned this week's devotion, I felt there would be someone reading this who would be able to relate. You've shown up, you're wearing the pretty dress, you've gone through the motions of the ceremony, but when it comes to saying the vows, when it comes to letting go of control of your own life, you've never said "I do" to Jesus.

You aren't alone. It is comfortable to stay back at a safe distance, liking the idea of religion, but feeling unsure about the accountability that would come with giving all to Him.

But ALL of you is what He wants, what He requires. How many grooms would be satisfied marrying a woman who said, “I’ll give you some of me, some of my heart, but not all of it.” Jesus, your Bridegroom, wants all of you. All of your heart.

Personal Application:

When it comes to your relationship with Jesus, are you play acting at the wedding but never getting to the marriage? Don't be distracted by the ceremony, the other guests, the pageantry or the tradition. Focus on the groom. Are you married to Him yet?

So how do you get ready for this wedding? Some think they are supposed to get all cleaned up before they come to Jesus. You'll never be able to do it. The Bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags compared to His righteousness. Instead, when you admit your need for Him, when you make Him Lord of your life, He puts His salvation on you like a beautiful wedding gown.

Read Isaiah 61:10:

I delight greatly in the LORD;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Jon Courson says it this way, "Good news! The validation of our relationship with our Bridegroom doesn't depend on our sinlessness, but on his."

I want to encourage you today, take the leap! Make the commitment. Give Him ALL of you! There is no one you can trust more. Let Him be Lord. Give up the control. Accept His free gift of salvation. Don't wait until it is too late. Know with confidence that you will be at the wedding feast when He comes back for His bride.

Jesus, I admit my need for You. I accept the gift of salvation You freely offer. Thank You for paying for my sins on the cross. I give You all of me, not holding back a single part. I am saying "I do" to you today, my Beloved Bridegroom. Amen

More of God's Word:

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
-Revelation 22:17

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