Hugs and Kisses

Reading Time: 8 Minutes

On Sunday morning, January 3, 2021, I was still laying in bed and asked the Lord if there was anything He wanted to show me. I closed my eyes and waited. The first thing I saw was an “X”. I had no idea what that could mean so I waited on the Lord. Then to the right of the “X” I saw a “stick figure” church building; a box with a triangle for a roof and a cross on top. This really puzzled me because an “X” and a church seemed so negative. I felt like there was more, so I waited with my eyes closed. An “O” appeared to the right of the church so that from where I was looking toward the figures, there was a church in the middle, an “X” on the left, and an “O” on the right.

My first thought was the little game “tic-tac-toe,” but that didn’t make any sense. I waited and asked the Lord to show me if there was more. Nothing more appeared and I heard nothing from the Lord. So I asked Him to reveal what it meant at the right time.

Later on, like a little happy gift from heaven it came to me; kisses & hugs surround the Church! Wow! I love how the Holy Spirit speaks to us using parables, riddles and puzzles to engage us in deep and intimate conversation!

The Love Of God

For me, X’s & O’s are something you write at the bottom of a letter. They are written to someone you deeply care about like a family member, but most often to the person you are very much in love with. In The Beautiful Dream God gave me, Jesus came into my darkness and asked me to dance. I said, “Yes,” and the moment He touched me, all fear, sickness, sadness, and condemnation were gone. His love saturated me and I couldn’t bear to be away from Him! The spiritual romance I experienced was innocent and spiritually passionate beyond anything I have ever experienced.

Redemption

The cross on top of the little church represents our redemption through Jesus Christ. In The Beautiful Dream, I experienced total and complete redemption in my spirit, soul and body and it felt like pure love. God wants us to experience the supernatural redemptive power of His love in every area of our lives.

Our Father sent Jesus so that He could lavish us with the most extravagant gifts a father can give. These are gifts of love to us that glorify the love of our God. They are not meant to make us spoiled brats, but for us to become just like our Father; generous and full of loving grace. This freedom in Christ begins when we say, “Yes,” to following His lead, and, “yes,” to God’s hugs and kisses– His grace!

Kisses

A kiss in the Bible can represent many things. What I found is that a kiss in both the Old Testament and the New Testament was the way you greeted a loved one; a family member or close friend. Many cultures today still kiss like this, usually on the cheek or beside it in the air, and in some cultures on the forehead or hand. Not saying goodbye with a kiss was offensive. Samuel kissed Saul as he anointed him king, expressing his approval of the one God chose to rule the land. David and Jonathan kissed each other and wept before they parted for the last time. A kiss was a sign of acceptance, allegiance, loyalty, love and devotion.

A Kiss of Betrayal

God judged those who kissed idols and false gods because they had turned their affection away from Him. Judas lied about his allegiance to Jesus when he betrayed Him with a kiss. He had spent three years following Jesus and appeared to have loved Him, even by kissing Him, but his heart had fallen in love with money– a root of all kinds of evil.

A Kiss of Devotion

A pure and holy kiss is the result of increased devotion and love for Jesus in a person’s heart.

As she stood behind him [Jesus] at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Luke 7:38 NIV

This is a picture of pure devotion! She had experienced the redemptive power of Jesus and her heart was overwhelmed with gratitude! This woman wanted to be close to Jesus, her Messiah, and express her love! The Lord is calling us back to this kind of intimacy and worship!

You gave Me no [welcoming] kiss, but from the moment I came in, she has not ceased to kiss My feet. Luke 7:45 AMP

Like this woman, God is calling us to kiss Him with outrageous love and devotion, not just privately in our hearts, but in public, no matter the cost. The fragrance of the Gospel will be poured out wherever we go because we are so in love with Jesus!

The Song Of Songs

The Song of Songs is so beautiful to me! I love reading it purely in the spiritual context of the Kingdom of God and our relationship with our King, Jesus. Every passage is pure, holy, and very symbolic.

When I read of vineyards, I think of the blood of Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit and the parables Jesus told regarding the harvest of souls. The perfume is the fragrance of the Good News of Jesus. When He says to catch the little foxes that ruin the vineyard, I believe He is referring to the power He has given us over the demonic realm for His glory.

I could go on and on, but the most beautiful of all is the love that the King and the Bride have for one another. It is alive and joyful, free and transparent. She was willing to be mocked and even beaten because of her undying love for Him!

Your lips cover me with kisses; your love is better than wine. Song of Solomon 1:2 GNT

Jesus is calling us to the spiritual intimacy with Him; to the secret place of spiritual communion with God in the heavenly realms. The more we know our King personally, the more passionate and loyal we will become because of His intense and powerful love for us. Scripture comes alive when we allow Him to spiritually cover us with His kisses. Just the mention of the name of Jesus reminds the Bride of Christ of the wonderful fragrance of the Good News!

Jesus rescued us because He loves us! God’s Word should always be read through the revelation of His extravagant love. Psalm 2:12 commands us to kiss the son and take refuge in Him, otherwise, we will go down a path that will lead us to destruction. How beautiful it is to know that the Lord wants us to be overwhelmingly and intimately in love with Him just as He is for us! The church is surrounded by His kisses, hugs and the redemptive power of His cross!

Hugs

The words “embrace” and “kiss” are often used together in scripture. “Embrace,” like “kiss” is an expression of love and loyalty toward family or close friends. But the Lord also used the word embrace regarding His people who had embraced other gods, implying that we must only embrace the Lord. This is what He says about Wisdom, the Holy Spirit:

Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her. Proverbs 4:8 NASB

Embracing God

God is urging us to embrace all that He is and everything He has taught us in His Word. In doing so, we are embracing Him. We cannot embrace the ways of the world and the Lord at the same time. That would be betraying the Lord with a kiss. So, we turn our hearts away from the wisdom of the world and toward the wisdom of the Word, Jesus. We can only embrace God if we are engaged with Him through the Holy Spirit. We embrace only what has been clearly spoken to us from God. The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to reveal Truth if we seek Him with all of our hearts and be seated with Him!

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. Song of Songs 2:6 NET

Embracing The Body Of Christ

We are surrounded by God’s hugs and kisses. He is continuously trying to show His undying love and passion toward us, His Bride. We cannot love Jesus and not love the Body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the Body of Christ. His Body is the Church– those who believe and follow Jesus.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35 NKJV

Any distasteful thought, motive, word or action against a brother or sister in Christ is also against the Lord Himself. But if we are passionately in love with Jesus, we will embrace His Bride with the same grace He has poured out upon us. The love we receive from God our Father is like hugs and kisses from a loving parent to their little child. It is pure and passionate, full of devotion and adoration. Let us live in the awareness of our Father’s great love for us, receive His affection and let it overflow to one another!

Greet one another with a holy kiss. 2 Corinthians 13:12 NIV

Hugs & Kisses,
Peggy