Dear Church Family,

December is here! For my family, this is more than the month we celebrate Christmas. This is more than the month for family gatherings with lots of food. This is the month, and I mean THE month of the wedding of the century! Okay, it may not be the wedding of the century, but it will be a wedding, and two people who weren’t married before will go home married!

In some ways, we feel ready for this wedding. In others, we feel behind. Depending on the day, one person is feeling one way and another the other way, and then we switch to make it fair. J Regardless of how prepared or unprepared we are, the date is coming and the wedding will happen!

I suppose this is not much different than some of the     December gatherings you may be planning. Hopefully, like the wedding, at the end of your event, the married couples go home excited to be together.

These events can be a very good time, but we must admit that these events can be very distracting as well; frankly, consuming may be a better word. It’s easy to forget God in the midst of planning. As I anticipate giving away my daughter as a bride, it’s easy to forget someday God is coming for His church that He sees as His own bride.

Isaiah 61:10 says, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

God has clothed us, His church, as a bride and someday the wedding is coming!

Revelation 19:7-8a reads, Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.

This December I would challenge you to not lose sight of who you are and Whose you are! Through faith, you are God’s child and Christ’s bride. That is reason to celebrate!

I love you all,

Pastor Daniel