Do You Have Religion Or Relationship?

God asked, “Do you trust My love as much as you trust My wisdom?” Moment of silence. “No, LORD. My ability to trust love, even Yours, is broken. Please heal me.” God asked that in 2016; this, as do I, continues to be a work in progress.

God wants us to choose an intimate relationship with Him, not consider Him a catalog we order our wants-of-the-flesh from. FYI: My notes for this article were made mid-February. I tell you this so you know I didn’t pull any of it from Jamie Walden’s video, which I watched February 23. How many of us truly understand what love is and how to live it? Jamie either confirms you’ve got it right or that you, like I, still need God’s help with this. He also clarifies what lust is—and what it is not. You may be surprised. (118) MATTERS OF THE HEART – FROM LUST TO LOVE – YouTube

But how to examine and or express our relationship with our LORD and, thus, with others as a result of it? I use the Sh’ma prayer to remind me, as well as to open my daily time with Him. My prayer blends wording used in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in the Complete Jewish Bible and the King James Version (original and New versions). Below are my line-by-line personal thoughts when I say these words.

“Sh’ma, Yisra’el! ADONAI Elohenu, ADONAI echad.” Hear, Isra’el! Spiritual Isra’el! The LORD our God, the LORD is one … Me: God’s people, in His own words, are called Isra’el, whether born Jewish or a Gentile who’s later grafted onto the Vine/Messiah Jesus. FYI: The root meaning of Hebrew is one who’s crossed over from being a Gentile/Pagan and therefore not a member of God’s Kingdom, to one who now is. Any who belong to Messiah Jesus are considered by God to be spiritual Isra’el.

We are to love the LORD our God with our whole heart, our whole mind, our whole soul, our whole being, all our strength, and all our resources … Me: What part of our existence does that leave God out of? Everything we do, every way we apply ourselves in life, even the way we use everything HE provides to us, including strength, is to be used with Him in mind—to glorify and magnify Him, showing His grace and mercy to all—but in truth and in love, according to His Word, not to appease those in the world deceived by the Adversary, or feed self-pride. What do we watch, read, listen to, say, write, share on social sites? Does it glorify or grieve Him? Does it obey His commands as to Kingdom behavior or does it satisfy worldly self-pride and the flesh?

We are to carry these words in our heart and teach them carefully to our children … Me: The message of these words is to be as much a part of us as our skin and skeleton. This is not to be a church-attendance-only way of life but in every moment. Children hear what adults in their lives say but imitate what they see them do, no matter how subtle. Even when we struggle, a child should see us turn to our LORD, to His Word, to get on our knees in prayer, even asking them to join us in prayer. They need to see us live relationship with our God, never lip-service or the prideful look-at-me posturing the Adversary loves to tempt each of us into. This includes every child everywhere, not just those in our family.

We are to talk about these words when we sit at home, when we travel on the road, when we lie in bed, and when we get up … Me: This can sound so odd to us because most of our families and or churches are usually more worldly than Kingdom. This is evident if either someone with zeal for our LORD tries to talk with us and we get uncomfortable or anxious, or if we who have zeal for Him try to speak about Him and what’s in His Word with someone who doesn’t have a true relationship with Him. Those who do, love to speak of Him and support each other in following Him, according to His Word and His promises. We are to represent Him wherever we are and at all times. I don’t mean we’re to be annoying, but we are not to be one kind of Messiah representative at church or temple and another at home, with friends, online, at a sports arena, cinema, job, store, backyard, our bedroom, and so forth.

We are to wear these words as a sign on our hand and on a band across our forehead … Me: Everything we do should glorify and magnify Him, whether hammering a nail or mopping our floor or a floor not our own. Our thoughts should be attentive to Holy Spirit and we are to be guided by His Word at all times. Others should readily see and hear Him in us than see and hear us reflect the world.

We are to write these words on the door-frames of our house and on our gates. … Me: We’re to establish our homes, properties, and ourselves, as where our LORD can and does abide. It should be easy for anyone to see that our LORD, and thus His Way, lives in our heart and the hearts of our family members, every room of our residence, and all our properties, owned or rented or temporarily used, such as a hospital or rehab room. Gates represents our municipalities, where contracts/covenants and justice occur: Are they known as places where Holy Spirit abides – or dens of vices? FYI: If you have any items that grieve God, get rid of them now, IF you want Him to see you’re serious about being in relationship with Him and walking in His Kingdom ways. [To learn more about how we invite demons into our residence and life—and how to be rid of them, read Vicki Joy Anderson’s book, They Only Come Out at Night. Her content covers far more than just sleep paralysis! She has numerous videos on YouTube.]

Here’s the entire prayer as I say it: “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad.” Hear, Isra’el! Spiritual Isra’el! The LORD our God, the LORD is one; and we are to love the LORD our God with our whole heart, our whole mind, our whole soul, our whole being, all our strength, and all our resources. We are to carry these words in our heart and teach them carefully to our children. We are to talk about these words when we sit at home, when we travel on the road, when we lie in bed, and when we get up. We are to wear these words as a sign on our hand and on a band across our forehead. We are to write these words on the door-frames of our house and on our gates.

Sadly, and far too often, we do reflect the exact state of our relationship with our LORD. How much time do we give to feeding the flesh-nature rather than our spiritual growth and relationship with Him? How near or far are you from meeting the descriptions for each prayer line above? Hey, my hand is raised as one who is waaay behind on this curve and needs to do better. Way better. Join me in asking our LORD to help us with this by His grace, not by our feeble human will and strength.

This relationship needs to be with Yeshua/Jesus of the Bible (a reputable Bible, that is!). What do I mean? We’re supposed to do what we need to do to become more like Him. Sadly, far too many these days believe it’s acceptable to insist Messiah Jesus be or is like them. That is following a false Jesus. It’s also seriously, dangerously narcissistic, and takes us right back to the serpent’s deception in the Garden.

Who is the real Messiah Yeshua/Jesus? His bio – or, rather, about a paragraph of it – is found starting with Genesis 1:1 and ending with Revelation 22:21. Messiah Jesus is the same God in both Old and New Testaments: He didn’t change. The entire book must be read and studied so that His nature is revealed. Too many have decided that the “Suffering Servant” is Who He is all the time. They keep aspects of Him they like and ignore the rest. They ignore or forget that the LORD is a Warrior; the LORD is His Name. When He returns, it won’t be as the Suffering Servant, but as the Righteous Judge bringing His wrath upon the wicked. It bears repetition: Any Jesus but the one in the whole (proper) Bible is a false one. Not only is it dangerous to follow a false Jesus, but as William Gurnall reminded us, if we sin and lead others to sin as well, we may one day repent, but our repentance does nothing to save those we influenced.

Let’s face it: The world is in quite a state. Those familiar with God’s Word more readily recognize this than do those who barely or never spend time in His Word. He told us that the day comes when there’s a famine in the land – not of food and water – but of His Word. People will hunger and thirst for His TRUE Word, and not be able to find it. We’re getting closer to this point. Several years ago, the U.S. House of Representatives stated aloud that God has no place in their House. People promote a false “woke” Jesus who is fine with abortion, pedophilia, homosexuality, transgenderism, destroying the bodies and minds of our youth, and on and on, ad nauseum. Bing’s ChatGPT reveals it was programmed by far-left, woke, globalists, etc., and therefore puts out far-left, woke, globalist content. When asked to provide conservative content or content about conservatives, the AI says that goes against its “ethical” programming. How long before the true Word of God or any mention of Almighty God—the Ancient of Days—will also be disallowed, labeled hate-speech? It’s being done now in some quarters, including by seeker-friendly churches.

It’s time we get serious—because it’s getting serious all around us. Doing religion isn’t going to cut it when the Satanic Stuff Hits the Fan full force. God told us in Daniel 11:32 that those who know Him will do great exploits. By “know,” He means in genuine relationship. Every demon in existence knows about Him. Get to know your God Who is your Father, your King, your LORD. And put this into your heart and mind: Though Messiah Jesus became like us to save us, He is not like us. He is God and He is Holy. We are to strive to be more like Him, not the other around.

My prayer for those who are saved and those who still can be comes, in part, from Ephesians 1:17-19 CJB: May the God of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the glorious Father, give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we will have full knowledge of Him. I pray that He gives light to the eyes of our hearts, so that we will understand the hope to which He has called us, what rich glories there are in the inheritance He has promised His people, and how surpassingly great is His power working in us who trust Him. May our LORD increase our hunger and thirst for Him, His Word, and His Kingdom Way. May He guide our every thought, word, and action so we carry His love in our hearts for our Messianic brothers and sisters, as well as the lost who can still be saved. May He strengthen us, especially to humble ourselves to Him so we obey and trust in Him fully as these days progress. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Recommended Video from ThePatriotNurse: (255) Sit Down, Y’all: We’re About to Hit JUDGEMENT J-CURVE – YouTube