As for the Jew as for the Christian

Rom 2:28
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.

No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Have you been baptized in water? Have you been circumcised? Do you read your bible? Attend church every Sunday? Do you preach or have a public ministry?

Why do you do those things? Let me be honest I got baptized in water to please a family member not because I had any understanding of its meaning. I went through the preparation with the pastor and when asked to confess my faith I simply said what would be acceptable. I even came out of the water completely dry. How did THAT happen? Yes, I have a certificate of baptism but it means nothing, it's completely useless to save me.

Now over time, I have understood the true meaning of water baptism I have grown in wisdom and understanding. And developed a deep personal faith. Does my experience invalidate my baptism? No, because mere ritual means nothing. So, from personal experience, I can tell you that following along or playing lip service to the traditions and rituals and belief in the doctrines of men and of the church will not save you.

True spirituality has nothing to do with ritual or external signs: what you wear or what you do or what has been done in the flesh (to your body) circumcision, baptism, and such, 

For me, membership in a church, being the missionary president ( a previous church), and the outward ritual of baptism came long before the inner work of Christ. Romans chapter 6 particularly verse 3 has a lot to say about baptism I will cover that another time. 

I'm not saying traditions are bad in and of themselves I welcome some traditions but they should not replace a lifestyle of obedience to God's Word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Indeed the Lord and the Spirit are one and the same. This is the triune God in action.

2Co 3:17
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  

What matters is the state of the heart! By that, I mean the inner work of Christ for God's kindness leads men to repentance 

Whilst fellowship, bible reading, and singing and such are necessary for growth and social cohesion that alone will not save you.  The church (Body of Christ) is not a social club. You may indeed be well-balanced in the life you lead. Even the ungodly have a form of fellowship, a shared and common worldview, and social cohesion and are well-balanced but they will not inherit eternal life or share in the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 

Be sure to lean on Him. 

Ask yourself what religious things you do now or have done, out of mere habit that are of no use? I don't mean disciplines: those things that you have cultivated that are of genuine spiritual benefit to you or those around you. But those things that you do just because of mere tradition and ritual or because that's the way it has always been done. Or in my case, you had no understanding of what the ritual or ceremony meant and were simply performing for the benefit of men 

Amen 

 

The Good Shepherd

John 10:3
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

John 10:4
After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.

John 10:5
They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

John 10:14
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,

John 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

John 14:26
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 15:26
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.

John 16:12
“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.

John 16:13
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

John 16:14
He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

John 16:15
All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

I am the Good Shepherd 

My sheep know me and follow me- they listen to my voice

I will run after you when you go astray and get lost.

I will fight wolves and bears to protect you 

See, I have already defeated that old wolf that ancient enemy who came to kill, steal, and destroy. 

Have I not sent the advocate 

He testifies to everything you have heard me say to you for He is the Spirit of Truth 

He speaks of things yet to come and will guide your steps along twisted and stoney roads so that you do not stumble

He guards you with His cloud by day and His fire by night

Come gather under my wings and shelter from the stormy weather 

Surely these days are stormy do you not sense the spirit of the times.

Yet my sheep are safe from the storm in my pasture 

Surely I will both feed and water my sheep. 

Come drink the living water and thirst no more

Surely I shall restore springs and wells that have not flowed or held water since long ago.

Today I shall renew your strength and will mount you on my wings like an eagle her young

I shall teach you to soar upon the rising wind and when you have fully fledged you shall venture into the life I have planned for you since ages past.

You shall be a lighthouse for my light will shine through you into the darkness that surrounds you.

And like a moth to flame will gather the lost, the dispossessed,  the lonely, and the outcast.

Come let us live as one, you shall be as one who has died, yet lives, for my Spirit shall give you life 

Amen

Holiness and Intimacy

2 Cor 13:14

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

There are three concepts here grace, love, and fellowship.

As believers, we can never forget that our right standing with God which is the cornerstone of our faith comes from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The very next concept is the love of God. Aren't you glad that God's love is all-encompassing and unconditional in that we don't have to earn it, because we are created in His image and He loves us as His special creation, and more than that He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight?

This brings us to the concept of fellowship. My dictionary defines fellowship as a close personal friendship. The Greek word that is translated here is koinonia. Here are some definitions: fellowship, intimacy, partnership, and companionship.

Have you considered what is required to develop a close bond with someone?

As we get to know the Holy Spirit, His likes, His dislikes, The things which upset Him, and the things He does, then intimacy develops, and we develop a closer bond.

There is such a thing as a legal partnership. Defined in contractual law These normally have a list of obligations and duties for both sides and there are consequences for their neglect, misuse, or disobedience.

Ephesians 4:30 

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

Ephesians chapter 4 has a lot to say about the way we should live not lying to our neighbor, and making every effort to renew our thinking in regard to developing a Christ-like character. In fact a whole chapter on the way we should live to please God.

I would advise a study of Ephesian chapter 4 in-depth if you want to live a holy life in such a way as to not grieve the Holy Spirit.

Amen 

The keeper of keys

 I am the Lord who opens and closes doors 

See I have set before you the door to eternal life 

Walk in my steps for I have paved the way 

Trust in my Word and eat the scroll I have set before you.

Does it not taste sweet as honey 

Do not be afraid I shall show you my kingdom in all its glory 

It has always been my plan to visit you

Come into my presence and feel my joy and love 

Where can you hide from me? 

Be amazed I shall pour out astounding abundance into your life 

Search me out and seek me with all your heart

Reach out and take hold of my hand and I shall guide you through crooked and twisted roads

I make high mountains like plains and deserts like green pastures 

See, I shall make salt water as fresh and life shall return where there once was death and decay for I am the resurrection and the life.

As the risen Son shines upon your life. The fog that surrounds you shall clear like the morning mist. The night has ended and a great light has dawned over your life 

I am holy and righteous and completely in love with my creation

Yet there is one who seeks to separate you from me. Do not trust every voice you hear for the enemy loves to whisper lies and untruths in your ear.

I am the God who formed you in your mother's womb 

I stretch out the heavens like a curtain 

I set the planets in their orbits and know the stars by name

My storehouses bring the rain in due season and I hang the Earth upon nothing.

I shall pour out blessings like a torrent  You will barely have enough room and like the widow, the oil shall not run dry 

Amen   

When the Spirit of God hovers, moves, flutters, and shakes

Our hovering, moving, fluttering, and shaking God 

This aspect of God is only described in three verses in the Old Testament 

Gen 1:2
And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Deu 32:11
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

Jer 23:9
Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.

In Gen 1:1  the Spirit of God was MOVING over the waters 

In Deu 32:11 A mother eagle prepares herself by FLUTTERING over her young 

In Jer 23:9 A prophet becomes drunk in the Spirit: ...all his bones SHOOK...

So what can we learn from these three verses about our hovering, fluttering, and shaking God?

As I was pondering these verses I had an image of warriors in the desert calling in a rescue after a fierce battle and a Chinook helicopter came into land. Can you imagine that? This isn't the gentle hovering of a butterfly or hummingbird? This is the extreme downdraft of a massive military helicopter. Whilst the soldiers are safe, the ground around them is kicked up to such an extent that only when all the loose ground around them had been blown away and the helicopter touched down did they climb aboard the helicopter. And then the massive engines of the chinook kicked up the dust again 

God is hovering over your situation right now. He is preparing to land, to carry you to safety. To shake the ground beneath you to such an extent that all the looseness of the situation or circumstance you are in will be shaken and He will carry you to a new place. It will be as though your natural sense of your surroundings is blotted out and all you will see is the guiding hand of the Lord.

You will lose the sense of the importance of the situation you are in you will be like the proverbial drunk man you won't care what others think, You will be like Superman possessing supernatural strength. 

Amen