"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him
in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."
Ephesians 2:6
Searching for my identity and calling I remember years ago during a Wednesday night "School of the Spirit" service, my pastor was teaching on the 5 fold ministry gifts: the apostle, the prophet, the teacher, the pastor and the evangelist. I remember asking the Lord after listening to it all, "Lord, what am I? What have You made me to be?" And I remember Him quickly and simply saying, "My bride." I was surprised by His answer, but I remember it giving me such a peace and release. It was like a blanket that just settled over me. He didn't want me looking at a title or ministry gifting for my identity, but He wanted me looking to Him and to my relationship with Him. It wasn't about what I could do FOR Him, but who I was TO Him. I was His bride, His beloved, His pearl of great price, and He just wanted me to BE His bride and love Him with all my heart and soul and be there with and for Him. I remember the feeling of that performance mentality falling off of me and that I didn't have to DO anything. I didn't have to teach or preach or prophesy, I just needed to love Him and be His bride. It was a very freeing and liberating experience.
I believe that's what He wants for all of us--to just love Him and seek Him with our whole heart. It's the only thing He can't provide for Himself--OUR LOVE. And it's our gift that we give back to Him.
"We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:19
So as I take my seat as His bride I know I am fulfilling my call and place in His heart. As I take my seat as His bride I take it as His helpmate and life partner, and I take it at a place that I know and hear His heart and can move and act upon His promptings. Together we see from His heavenly perspective, and together we release heaven into the earth. It's not a place of striving, but a place of abiding, a place of intimacy, and a place of authority, because I am one with Him, and He has given us His name to use. It's the name of Jesus, the name above every name, the name by which every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. (Phil 2:9-11)
Let each of us take our seat. Let's take our authority IN Christ IN our seat as His bride. Let's rise up as the Church and as His Bride and leverage our intimacy with Christ and use the authority He's given us over the schemes and works of the enemy, over the "accuser of the brethren", over the "liar and thief". He comes only to steal, kill and destroy. He comes only to divide and bring unrest and division. Let's rise up into a higher realm, the realm and seat of authority we were created for, and take on the mind of Christ, aligning our hearts and minds with HIS through the renewing of our minds with the Word of God. It is our sword of truth, and TOGETHER with God WE WIN!
"Take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with
all kinds of prayer and requests. With this
in mind, be alert and always keep on praying
for all the Lord's people.
Ephesians 6:17-18
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