our sins. Our marriage was on the brink of divorce and I was in very bad shape physically, mentally and emotionally. Through reading and applying God’s Word daily, repenting of my many sins and forgiving those who had sinned against me, Jesus set me free from the prisons of hate and bitterness and has turned our marriage into something beautiful. My heart’s desire is to share with others how Jesus set me free and to be able to help others get set free also. God is no respecter of persons and what he did for me He can do for anyone. His Word has the answers for every area of our lives and these messages share practical ways of seeing and applying His truth." Janice McBride
The name “Preparing Christ’s Bride” tells where Janice’s primary passion is. It is to help those in the church to glorify God by learning how to love Jesus with all their heart and by getting set free from all bondages.
Her testimony of God’s power of forgiveness and healing from abuse and sin motivates many to deep life changes. Using only the Word of God for teaching and her own life an example, she shows that one’s hurts and sins of the past do not have to control the present or future.
Born in Scotland, Janice lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband Richard. They have worked with and discipled people from all backgrounds. They teach His Word internationally to people of many denominations. They minister on military bases, in prisons, in churches and retreats to people of all ages and backgrounds.
If you feel led, please send contributions to Preparing Christ’s Bride Ministries or send a word of encouragement and thanks.
1941 Croftdale Dr.
Florissant, MO 63031
"I'm sure many will not agree with this, but Richard and I have been led of the Lord to not become a not-for-profit organization. So there would be no donation receipt. All donations get plowed back into God's kingdom towards helping other people glorify Christ in their lives. " -- Janice McBride, Preparing Christ's Bride Ministries
Bible StudyBelow are several study series of short Bible lessons (about 3-4 minutes to read) that went out every Sunday in English and German/English for several years. The lessons are transcripts of many of seven years of radio programs Janice did in the St. Louis area. Then they went to an email Bible Study list every week. They were being translated into German, Swedish, Russian, Finnish and other languages and were sent through several other countries.
God’s Faithfulness in My Daily Battles (42 lessons) (Also in German) One of the main things that separates Christians from non-believers is how we handle life’s jolts. Join us in this study of Psalm 27, observing how King David handled pressure from his enemies and, in turn, learn how we can handle pressure in our own lives.
The Joy of Obeying God’s Word (84 lessons) (Also in German) Janice teaches this series on Psalm 119 using the psalmists love for the Word to reflect her own. Obedience is not to be a trudgery, but a delight. The Word can captivate our entire being if we let it. The Bible says that the ways of the flesh are hard but in God’s presence is fullness of joy. Join us in a journey with the lover of our souls.
The Lord is My Shepherd (35 lessons) (Also in German) Janice teaches this series on Psalm 23 using characteristics of sheep and shepherds that she has learned from her home country of Scotland and her own relationship with the Good Shepherd. These teachings can impact your own relationship with Jesus and with others in your life.
God’s Virtuous Woman (64 lessons) (Also in German)
The Bible tells us that Proverbs 31 is written by King Lemuel about what his mother taught him. This chapter is not just for women. It is also for parents and grandparents to train children, and for young men to know what to seek in a wife. Single women can use the same principles in their relationship with God and authority figures.
Preparing Christ’s Bride Ministries
“Welcome to Preparing Christ’s Bride. In 1976 Richard and I put our trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. Our marriage was on the brink of divorce and I was in very bad shape physically, mentally and emotionally. Through reading and applying God’s Word daily, repenting of my many sins and forgiving those who had sinned against me, Jesus set me free from the prisons of hate and bitterness and has turned our marriage into something beautiful. My heart’s desire is to share with others how Jesus set me free and to be able to help others get set free also. God is no respecter of persons and what he did for me He can do for anyone. His Word has the answers for every area of our lives and these messages share practical ways of seeing and applying His truth.”
As I read this, I think of the first place the word “light” is mentioned in the Bible. Genesis1:1-4 (NASB) reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earthwas formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Godwas moving over the surface of the waters.Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and therewas light. God saw that the light was good;and God separated the light from the darkness.”
This verse is the story of my life! In the beginning God created me. My life was formless and void. Darkness covered my life. The darkness of growing up in an alcoholic, violent,and abusive home. The darkness of anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness. The darkness of all my sin, and a marriage on the brink ofdivorce. The darkness of health problems and a lot of debt. The darkness of a life without purpose or hope, and the darkness of empty religion.
Then on March 30, 1976, GOD’S AMAZING GRACE revealed to my husband Richard and me that even though we attended church weekly and helped needy people, we did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We both repented of our sins and put our trust in Christ as our Savior. We prayed, asking Jesus to change our lives and make them pleasing to Him. The Holy Spirit entered into our lives, and God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light!
Daily we would read the Bible, and the light of God’s Word started to separate the light from the darkness in our hearts and lives. Oh,beloved, what an exciting adventure we started on as the light of God’s Word revealed so much sin in our lives, and God’s grace and mercy brought us to repentance and removed the darkness of guilt and shame. The Holy Spirit gave me His power to forgive everyone who had abused me as achild. He removed the darkness of hate, bitterness, and unforgiveness. He healed me and set me free.
The Holy Spirit removed the darknessof pride, selfishness, self-righteousness, and unforgiveness from our marriage and filled our hearts with the light of His love, patience, grace, and mercy for each other. We have been married since 1968.
The Lord helped us get on a strict budget and control the lusts of our flesh. Over a period of time we paid off all our debts. What a joy it was when the Lord removed that darkness as we made the final payment on our mortgage in1983.
Our lives are no longer formless and void and without hope. We now have an international ministry helping others get free from their darkness as the Lord forgave us and set us free. I thank God for removing my darkness and for filling my life and home with the light of His mercy and grace!
Beloved, He can do the same for you. Beloved believer, God can remove all your darkness, and unbeliever, there is a God who loves you and wants to remove your darkness also.
With a goal to glorify Jesus Christ, Janice McBride
http://www.janicemcbride.com/_pdfs/psalm_27_german/1_Psalm%2027.pdf
Number 1 in the series “The Joy of Obeying God’s Word”
As a new believer in 1976, I was so gratefulfor my salvation that I wanted to get to know Jesus, the Savior of my soul. I was overwhelmed by His love, mercy, and amazing grace, which He demonstrated by dying on the cross to save a sinner like me. I knew that the only way to get to know the Lord was to spend time with Him: daily reading my Bible, talking to Him, and listening to Him. In many ways it is like a human relationship. To get to know someone, we have to spend time with him, talking to him, and listening to him.
I did not just want head knowledge. I wanted a deep intimate relationship with the Lord. I wanted to get to know Him and to love Him more. My earthly father left before I was born, so I never knew a dad. However, one day I read in Psalm 68:5 that God is a father to the fatherless. Ephesians 1:3-6 told me that God chose me before the foundations of the world; that through Christ it was His good pleasure to adopt me into His family.
Beloved, I cannot describe the joy that filled my soul as I read those words. You see, for 16 years over and over my mother would tell me that she wished I had never been born, that I was a mistake, and that she did not love me. The words I read in the Bible brought healing to my heart and soul. In Hebrews 13:5, God promised me that He would never leave me nor forsake me. I saw that God, my heavenly Father, was not like my earthly father. God was my Creator. He was my real Father. I wanted to spend as much time with Him as I could, and the more I came to know Him, the greater I trusted and loved Him.
Psalm 107:19-20 reads, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them…” Beloved, I love the Word of God. As I have daily read and obeyed it, I have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse, deliver, heal, and restore my spirit, soul, and body. Applying the Word of God healed me of the hurts, anger, and bitterness I had towards my father for deserting me and my mother who physically beat me for 16 years. The power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit helped me forgive as Christ had forgiven me.
God is not only my Creator. He is my Abba Father and my best Friend. Jesus is not only my Savior; He is my best Friend. The Holy Spirit is not only my Teacher and my Comforter; He is my best Friend.
Beloved, can I ask you a question today? Do you love God’s Word? All the answers to your pain and problems can only be found in the Bible. I want to repeat that. You can search everywhere you want to, but the true answers to your pain and problems can only be found in the Bible. The Lord loves you. He wants a deep personal relationship with you. While others will fail you, the Lord will never leaveyou. He will never forsake you. I encourage you to stop trying to run your own life. Give it to Jesus. Only He can save your soul and truly help you.
— Janice McBride
http://www.janicemcbride.com/_pdfs/psalm_119_english/Psalm%20119_no1.pdf
Number 33 in the series “The Lord is My Shepherd"
Looking back over my life and all the sin that I was involved in and all the sin done to me, I can clearly see God’s goodness and mercy in my life. I am constantly overwhelmed at God’s goodness and mercy in sending Christ to die on the cross to pay for all of my sins. His goodness and mercy healed my abusive childhood, gave me the power to forgive, and healed my broken marriage. So I have to ask myself a question: “What does God and other people say about my life?” Do I extend the same goodness and mercy to lost sinners that Christ gave to me? Wherever I go, whomever I meet, do I leave a blessing or a curse behind me? Are people sorry or glad to know me? Does my life bring pain or joy to God and to all whom I meet?
As I teach the Bible throughout the U.S. and other countries, I meet a lot of people and live in alot of homes. I often return to the same churches to minister, so I have a lot of opportunities to evaluate my life. Matthew 5:10 (NIV) reads, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This scripture tells me that if I am living according to the Bible, I can expect to be persecuted. Many people were offended at Jesus’ life and His teaching. Many are offended as we live and teach the truths of the Bible today. However, I do not want to see people turn away from Jesus because of the ungodliness in my life.
God proved His love to me by sending Jesus Christ to die for me. Jesus proved His love for me by freely giving His life and dying on the cross for a sinner like me. The Holy Spirit proves His love for me by daily giving me His peace and joy; by comforting me when I need it; by helping me read, understand and obey the Bible daily; by giving me the power to resist temptation; and by giving me His wisdom for every situation I encounter. I want to show the love of God to everyone I meet, to forgive my enemies as He forgave me when I was His enemy. I want to extend the same patience, goodness, mercy and gentleness that He daily gives to me. Wherever I go, I want to be a blessing and not a curse. I want to follow Jesus’ example to serve others and not expect them to serve me.
Beloved, God’s amazing grace and His goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life. That is why I want to minister and leave behind me a blessing in every place I go and bless every life I touch. I want to leave a blessing, not a curse. Beloved, how about you? When you look back over your life, are you leaving a blessing or a curse behind you? Is your life impacting others for Jesus? My hope is that you are leaving a blessing. If not, I encourage you to treat others as Christ treats you.
— Janice McBride
Good in the Hebrew means: “to please; to do one’s best; to be cheerful and gracious; to be joyful, kind, loving and pleasant.” How long must I do this? Since Malachi 2:16 tells us that God hates divorce, we are to do this for as long as we live. All God asks and helps us to do is to treat our mate the same way He treats us. You may be thinking, “But what if my mate is an unbeliever or does not love and treat me right?” God does not hold us responsible for our mate’s life, He only holds us responsible for our own.
As a new believer in Christ with aneight-year-old marriage destroyed and on the brink of divorce, I chose to take my eyes off of my husband, Richard, and to put them onto Jesus. I chose to place myself under the authority of God and His Word and to allow Him to change me and to make me into a virtuous woman.
When I got over the shock of seeing myself-righteous pride, I saw that all the problems in my marriage were not my husband’s. God needed to change me, and I needed a lot of help. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I chose to apply Ephesians 5:33 (Amp.) which reads, “However, let every man of you (without exception) love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband–that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him and loves and admires him exceedingly.”
Right now, your emotions may be screaming, “Lady, you don’t know my mate!” You are right, I don’t know your mate. But this was not my idea. This is God’s Word. He said it. These are fighting words to the feminist. You may be thinking, “This is not fair, look at the way my mate is living.” You’re right again, it’s not fair. But I don’t want what is fair. It was not fair that Jesus Christ loved and died for us while we were His enemies, or that He forgave our sins or that He rose again to give us new life in Him. It is not fair that He daily loves us and treats us so well when we give Him so little time and attention, and daily sin in thought and deed.
Jesus’ own words in Matthew 5:43-44(KJV) read, “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemy, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who despitefully use you, and persecute you.” This is what Jesus did for each of us on the cross. This is how He loves us and treats us daily.
God’s amazing grace empowered me to apply these scriptures and to apply all of God’s Word. It has changed my life and my marriage. You can have the same if you are willing to humble yourself and get under the authority of God’s Word.
— Janice McBride
Number 2 in the series “God’s Virtuous Woman “Does my life glorify Jesus Christ?” This is a question that believers need to ask themselves frequently. This is the second in the series on becoming a virtuous wife, a study of the Proverbs 31 woman.
I previously said how amazed I was when I found out the contextual meaning of the word virtuous. It means: “army; disciplined; moral courage; a woman of strength; a woman of resolution who is wedded to God’s principles and stands firm in them; a woman made strong by God’s wisdom, grace and the fear of God.”
God gets no glory from weak women who are undisciplined in God’s ways and who allow their emotions to rule their lives and destroy their families. God also gets no glory from feminist women who reject God’s design for their lives and become bitter and militant. I see both in the church when I travel and speak in churches of many denominations, and neither glorify Jesus Christ.
God wants to bring His divine balance into our lives, that we would be women with what 1 Peter 3:4 (KJV) calls a “meek and quiet spirit,” and at the same time to be disciplined and strong in the wisdom and ways of the Lord.
When I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior, my marriage was on the brink of divorce. It had been close to divorce for eight years. Since I wanted my life to glorify Jesus, I cried out to God in prayer to help me. All I knew about being a woman and a wife I had learned from television, movies, books and magazines. None of it was good, and it did not glorify Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace led me to read, study and obey Proverbs 31, and the Holy Spirit transformed my life and marriage.
Let’s look more closely at the meaning of virtuous: “an army, God’s army.” 2 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us that God has chosen us to be soldiers in His army. An army has to be disciplined and under the authority of their commander. I placed myself under God’s authority and the authority of His Word. According to Ephesians 5:22 I submitted myself to my husband as unto the Lord.
Richard had a very imperfect life at that time, but so did I. But Richard was God’s responsibility, not mine. All God holds me responsible for is for me to obey Him and His Word.
As I read and obeyed the Bible, God started to bring order and discipline into my thoughts, my emotions and my entire life. This greatly affected my marriage for good. The Holy Spirit gave me the moral courage and strength to stop reading books and magazines that did not glorify Jesus. He gave me the power to stand firm, to discipline my time and to stop watching violence and immorality in programs on television that were destructive to my moral well-being and my home. He gave me His wisdom, grace and the fear of God when talking to my husband, as I submitted my thoughts, words and emotions to Him.
Stay with me as I continue this series and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your home as He has mine, even if your mate never changes. We’re not responsible for our mate’s actions or lack of them; we are only responsible for our actions, words, thoughts and emotions. Men, can I challenge you to apply the same principles to become godly husbands and fathers?
Genesis 4
Part 83 of the Series “Women Who Radically Love Jesus'