The Unfolding of God

(This is an excerpt from Ben’s book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God. Hope it blesses!)[i]

"From childhood, his paintings in the heavens, his sculptures in the forest, his engineering in the molecular world, his power in the hurricane, and his singing in the wilds of the mountains surround us. We are born into this work of art as one of its characters with only a gradual awareness of his signature. As we grow, learn, seek, and experience the life he gives us, on his stage we move, dance, and weep.

"In the gradualness of his unfolding in our own lives, we find a relationship with him if we seek it, for God has built this wondrous floor upon which we dance. It is the adoring dance of the bride and groom who linger on the dance floor long after all others have gone. They are just barely moving together, embraced and enraptured in the touch and immediate presence of the object of all their affections. They have so much before them to be, to build, and to share together—joy, bliss, sweat, failure, victory, and miracle.

"And it is like this between us and God. He is the groom who loves his bride. He gave himself up for her. He lays down his very life for her. He works, plans, and accomplishes for her, the love of his heart, the bride. And the believer is the bride of God, the bride of Christ."

******************

3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Isaiah 63: 3–5 (ESV)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25–27 ESV

©2017 By Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.

[i] Bounds, Ben. The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God: Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, 2017, p.41–42. Reprinted by permission.

__________________________________________________________________________________

We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:

"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”

If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grand Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).

Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.

Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.

____________________________________________________________________________

Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.

Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).

Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.

Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.

Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.

©2022 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.