God is the God of RESTORATION!
Last night I had a dream, and though I only remember a few seconds, I believe it is a message of Hope from God. In the dream I was talking to my friend Jeannine about her marriage to Ian, which is the opening testimony of this blog, click here to read it again. Regarding the marriage, I said to Jeannine,
“This (marriage) is God’s RESTORATION!”
Today is the 8th, and I love the number 8 because it is the number of NEW BEGINNINGS! God gives us hope for new beginnings.
After pouring a lovely, warm cup of coffee this morning, I looked up the word “restoration” in my bible, and in The Spirit Filled Life Bible, there are several pages about restoration! One note by James Robison is worth repeating:
“According to the dictionary, ‘to restore’ means to ‘bring back to a former or original condition.’ When something is restored in the Scriptures, however, it is always increased, multiplied or improved so that its latter state is significantly better than its original state (see Joe 2:21-26).”
“Fear not!
Be glad and rejoice!
For the LORD has done great and marvelous things...
Do not be afraid...
Be glad...
Rejoice in the LORD your God;
The vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten....
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied
And praise the name of the LORD your God
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.” (Joel 2:21-27 NKJV)
“God multiplies when He restores.”
In the bible, when there is restoration or renewal, marriage is always a sign of the shift. In another one of my favorite books, God is a Match-Maker, Derek Prince says,
“Restoration of a culture will be marked by restoration of marriage as a source of joy and a cause for celebration. In Jeremiah 33:10-11 God promises the end-time restoration of Judah and Israel:
‘This is what the Lord says: “... there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord... for I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,” says the Lord.’”
“Today, around the earth, God is visiting and renewing His Church by the Holy Spirit. This renewal must be heralded, as divine renewal has always been, by ‘the voices of the bride and bridegroom.’ The Church cannot experience a full or valid renewal unless it once again embraces the biblical pattern of marriage.”
Declarations:
Thank You LORD for infusing us with Hope today! Thank You that You are the God of Restoration! Thank You LORD that despite what we see in the world around us, or in our circumstances, You remind us again not to fear, but to expect the promise of Your Restoration!
We declare that our God is the God of Restoration! - We declare that we do not have a spirit of fear, but of love power and a sound mind!
- We declare that we are glad, and we rejoice in the hope of the coming restoration in our lives.
- For the Lord says, and we declare, that He will restore the years of destruction, discouragement and hope deferred!
- We thank You Lord for the overflowing new wine, which was the first miracle of Jesus at a wedding!
- We declare that we will never be put to shame.
- We declare that God multiplies when He restores, and we wait with the expectation that we will see “exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think!”
- We declare that this is a day of restoration, and we will hear an increase of the voices of brides and bridegrooms, which includes our voices as brides and bridegrooms!
- Thank You Lord for hearing our prayers and declarations, and for Your promise of the restoration of Kingdom marriages!
Expecting to be amazed ~
Barbara
© Barbara Nelson – 2011
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