The Perfect Wedding

Jeanne Cesena has written an unusual Marriage UPGRADE about weddings. Her goal is to get us to think rightly about our role as the Bride of Christ.

Jeanne begins with a story:

"My wife had an affair, she left me, and is now a prostitute. God told me to go get her, pay to bring her home so she can be the happy mother and wife. My reaction: Okay God where is she?"

I (Dawn) think some of you might recognize that story from the book of Hosea in the Old Testament.

Jeanne continues . . .

This is an example of how God accepts us as His bride. And how we, as the church, take our rightful place as the Bride of Christ for all eternity.

This is an example of The Perfect Wedding.

In Hosea, God gives us an example of our sins and His eternal commitment. No matter how many sins we have committed, He will accept us as we are today.

Let me summarize the verses about Hosea and his wife-to-be.

1. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute.

Her name was Gomer. They married and had three children and God let Hosea know he is not the father of the third child.

Not only did she cheat on him and have someone else’s child, she then left him and went back to being a prostitute!

2. God commanded Hosea to love her.

“... God ordered me, start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who’s in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife. Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people, even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy" (Hosea 3:1 MSG)

We see an example of Hosea paying a price for his bride.

In Heaven, we "hear" a similar conversation between God the Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus had to pay the ultimate price of dying on the cross for our sins.

3. Hosea obeyed God.

“I did it. I paid good money to get her back. It cost me the price of a slave. Then I told her, “From now on you’re living with me. No more being a harlot, no more sleeping around. Your living with me and I am living with you" (Hosea 3:2-3 MSG).

Hosea recommitted himself to their marriage. He renewed his wedding vows.

But his wife Gomer was in a whole different place.

Gomer must have felt shame and hurt over what she had done to her husband and children. Maybe she felt she was not a good wife and mother.

She felt she could not stay in a home environment, and she went back to what she knew—prostitution and sleeping around on her husband.

She must have felt more comfortable with the chaos in her life as a prostitute than trying to be a loving wife and mother. So she left. 

When Hosea found Gomer, she was standing in a place of sexual slavery and about to be sold. She had no life of her own. Hosea paid to get her back, as God told him to do. She was his wife.

We are Jesus’ bride. We already belong to our Creator. But He paid a price for our salvation.

Just as Gomer had to accept Hosea’s forgiveness, we must do the same. We must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, because He died and paid the price for the forgiveness of our sins.

There's nothing that should keep us from living a life as the "kids" of our Lord and King. We were created with a purpose for our lives. But sometimes we pretend to be the harlot. 

Be who you were created to be.

Take action—take your first steps to a godly, purposeful life. Work out your salvation and take steps to find and live your life with purpose.

Get ready to celebrate as The Bride of Christ at the Perfect Wedding!

What sin is god speaking to you about that is causing pain in His heart? How or what can you change to recommit your life to Him? What are your "wedding vows"—your commitment to the Lord?

Jeanne Cesena is a strong woman, her strength built through many trials and a growing reliance on the Lord she loves. Enduring threats, abuse, abandonment and psychological struggles, she has come to see the Lord as her hope and healing. She is married, has three children—including a "bonus baby" at age 40—and a powerful message to women about God's redeeming power.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Pixabay.

My Eternal Hope

Jeanne Cesena is a woman who speaks authentically of the power of hope. In this UPLIFT story, she shares a testimony of her personal struggle, and how the Lord brought women into her life to encourage her as she trusted the eternal God of hope.

"Today is part of my eternity that began the day I was saved," Jeanne says.

I (Dawn) wish more people understood that concept, and chose to live each day in view of eternity.

What a difference it would make if we understood God's hope is for today and forever.

Jeanne continues . . .

What are your life goals? What are your eternal goals? What are you going to do today for God?

The great evangelist Billy Graham said:

"For the believer there is hope beyond the grave, because Jesus Christ has opened the door to heaven for us by His death and resurrection.”

The verse that came to my mind when I heard Billy Graham had passed away and entered heaven was: “The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant'" (Matthew 25:23 NLT).

Walking a daily life that is glorifying to God is no easy task. As we walk through our daily lives, we each make choices about what we are going to think, say and do.

Our daily learning steps are for us to work out our sanctification to be more like Him so others can see more of God in us, and see more of God through us. 

In our trials we have a choice to turn toward God. When we see others going through trials, we have a choice to get involved and show God's love to others. Or not!

A life trial: My story of Hope in My Despair

ALONE.

Where does a woman turn when her husband abandons her the night she come home from the hospital with her newborn baby girl?

Not knowing what is going to happen next can be very scary.

My husband brought me home from the hospital and initiated a disagreement, an argument, to get out of coming into the house to help with the baby. Things were not going well with him that night; he was doing drugs and drinking.

My life was not turning out the way I had planned it.

I carried my newborn into our house as my husband drove away. It was a very cold house.  The heating radiators had blown and it was below zero outside.

All I could do was climb into my waterbed with my beautiful baby girl. The water was heated—the only heat in the house. I held her close as she lay in my arms, and I kept reciting Romans 15:13 in my heart until I fell sleep:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Community: Eternal Hope in Action

The next day, the women from my church and my mom came over to my house. They brought things for the nursery, for my kitchen and for my dining room, and they helped me with the radiators.

That was hope in action.

These women were listening to that still, small voice of God inspiring them to take action.

They had to listen, think about what God wanted to do, talk to each other, gather the resources, get organized and then actually DO SOMETHING!

As these women were listening to God, I was putting all my hope in Him. The women became the answer to my prayers and a great encouragement to me.

We need to be open and receptive to the conversation God wants to have with each of us—to listen, learn, change and take action!

When I meet with individuals and couples, I often discuss some common communication techniques that are helpful. Here are two:

1. 1-800-God

This concept seems to have the most impact. Just like when your phone rings, no matter what emotions you are experiencing, you can choose to say a happy "hello."

You also have a change of focus. You are now listening to that voice coming from your phone. Then you have to listen, and think about what that person is saying before you speak or do something.

We can apply this concept to our everyday life.

Stop, connect with God, listen, then speak and do.

2. Represent Unconditional Love

When people look at us, they are looking at a representation of how we lived, what we have learned and our life experiences.

So we need to:

• know how much God loves us,
• be continuously filled with His love, and
• seek to share this love by application of God's words through our thoughts, words and actions.

We can start by asking ourselves:

Today, what am I supposed to learn from God through this? And what should I do?

Jeanne Cesena is a strong woman, her strength built through many trials and a growing reliance on the Lord she loves. Enduring threats, abuse, abandonment and psychological struggles, she has come to see the Lord as her hope and healing. Jeanne ministers with her husband with Blended Step Families at Rock Church San Diego and is also a wedding planner and event/conference coordinator for churches and businesses. She is married, has three children—including a "bonus baby" at age 40—and has a powerful message to women about God's redeeming power.

 Graphic adapted, courtesy of Skimpton007 at Pixabay.