“Put off thy shoes from of thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

What makes a place holy? The great Ga’on, Saadia (10th Century Babylonia), was one of the earliest to recognize that holiness is not intrinsic to any one particular site, that holiness is the result of what we do and the meaning we can focus into a particular moment or a special ritual. In commenting on the words, “holy ground,” Saadia explains that this means “made holy.” The sanctity of that site derives from what God and Moses do there, not from the nature of the place itself.

then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Similarly, Ramban (13th Century Spain) recognizes that “even though [the site] is distant from the bush, take care with it, because the descent of God’s presence sanctified all of the mountain.”

Hizkuni (13th Century France) notes a similar description elsewhere in the Bible. When Joshua is commanded to circumcise the Israelites, he is told that the place is sacred — so he should remove his shoes, and when the priests ministered in the Tabernacle’s holy of holies, they did so barefoot. Why? “Because in every instance in which a sign of God’s presence precedes prophecy, there you find the place ‘sanctified.’”

“a focusing lens for meaning.”

Fighting for the presence of the Lord. Every other way is a thief and a robber. Distracting and dismaying us from entering into the presence of the Lord. The thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. In His presence is FULLNESS of joy and His Joy is our STRENGTH. He is the Source
and the Answer. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

The enemy knows this and is trying to cause us to retreat or at minimum, wander. If he can’t cause us to bow the knee to his lies and delusions then he will cause us to go aimlessly round and round the same things in confusion because where…there is confusion and every evil work.

God wants us to focus on Him and LIVE!

Our Lord teaches us to pray that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in Heaven”

On holy ground we take off our shoes (our way of thinking and doing) and our feet are shod with the PREPARATION of the Good News of His Kingdom of Peace. (Be still and KNOW that I am God) This peace in the midst of all conflict goes far beyond anything this world has to offer us. It does not make sense for it is spiritually discerned and received by God’s grace in Christ Jesus.

The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
before the promise there is a question–
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones. God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to these dry bones. God will cause them to live again.

We shatter the enemy when we walk in Christ’s Peace and he has to flee seven ways when we come into the fullness of Christ’s Presence with shouts of Joy and triumph for we are more than conquerors in Him. MORE THAN. God’s MORE THAN enough. For He is the God of all flesh.

He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. “…the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”

Because of His GREAT LOVE, God came down in the frailty of human flesh, as a babe in swaddling clothes. He gave us love and to those who entered into that simple trust, believing He blessed them for all eternity. He was moved with compassion to touch us where we are and lift us up to live with Him forever in the light of His love.

We can encounter God anytime, any place; the Creator is not limited by time or space but we need to seek Him to close our hearts and minds to every thing that vies for the preeminence.
All fear and worry must go because we need God. They cannot abide in the presence of God.
It is time to connect with the Living God and live in communion with Him.

Before we are ready to start our intercessory prayers, we need to wait upon God until we know we have established communication with Him. This is a time of silence in the mind, will and emotions where we shut the door to every other distraction around us.

Jesus said , The words I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Father God, help us concentrate on who You are and what You value, to link us to You in spirit and in truth. Let the things of this world grow dim as we walk in the light of Your perfect love.
Help us to be still and know that You are God and You will be exalted among the nations as we stand in Your presence in fullness of joy. Help us to recognize that as Your ambassadors in Christ Jesus, we carry the Ark of Your Covenant with us – for our bodies are the Temple of Your Holy Spirit. Let every place we stand be transformed into Holy Ground for the saving of multitudes. In Jesus’ name we ask, simply trusting, Amen.

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.
“For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. “The lips of the righteous feed many” , and Jesus said, “Feed My sheep” “Teach me your way O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

“And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice–the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.

The message of the trees is the story of a life of obedient trust or not. Apart from God we can do nothing in Him is all wisdom, knowledge,understanding, peace, joy ...Life!

“…but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:17

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5,6

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.”
Psalm 86:7

“Elisha…went in, shut the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.“
2 Kings 4:32-33

Elisha means “My God is salvation” and in 1 Kings 19:19, we see Elisha “burning his bridges” on his former earthly life as a farmer and in connection with his natural inheritance as the natural-born son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah.*

*Abel-meholah (meadow of dancing) was the place where Elisha was working, diligently plowing in the field of his father.

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” -Psalm 30:11

Shaphat of Abel-meholah holds the distinction of being one who has not bowed the knee to the idol worship of baal nor kissed its image. The very name, Shaphat, means “Judge, He is decided.” Isaiah 33:22 tells us that “… the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: He will save us.”
God is the ultimate Judge in our lives as He alone decides whether we will have eternal life (Heaven) or eternal death (Hell). All of us will be judged by God for our sin. The only difference between the righteous and the wicked is that the righteous have accepted salvation in the form of Jesus Christ, the one sent by God the Father to save us from sin and death.

When the prophet Elijah covered Elisha with his mantle, he received the adoption as spiritual son in discipleship to the God’s prophet Elijah. Later, in 2 Kings 2:9, we see where he rends off his own cloaks and puts on the inherited double portion of the firstborn spiritual son of Elijah when the Lord takes up the prophet into glory. Likewise, we tear our hearts (not our garments) and put on the Lord Jesus Christ as sons and daughters of the Living God.

In Elisha, we see portrayed the example of a willing heart that lays aside everything else that could come between and hinder our walk with God the Father and potentially lead us astray.

If you want to really follow the leading and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, you must be willing to part wholly with everything which could potentially rise up to dispute your allegiance (your total devotion) with God. Turn your eyes from looking at any created thing or being, for apart from the Eternal Life, theirs ceases.
Real and everlasting life is the gift of the Creator alone.

Stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from Me

You will never find the breakthrough power you need until you are willing to come to the Almighty Father in prayer and like a child,
humbly say, “Abba Father, I need help! I can’t do it alone!”

There is a Father in heaven that has a purpose and plan for your life that is beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations! He loves so much that He paid the price for our sin to revive our hearts in love and bring us back (restore) us into communion with Him in the precious offering of His Son Jesus’ life poured out on the cross. His was no ordinary life for He laid it down in perfect submission to the perfect will of his Father in heaven and took it up again for he is the Resurrection and the Life and no man comes to the Father except through him.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11

If you want to really live, you start by coming to Jesus and learning to really love his way. How did he do this? The life he lived was by the power of the Holy Spirit in communion with his heavenly Father. Whatever the Father said, Jesus did. Apart from Him, he did nothing of his own. And the Father blessed his works.

“What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8

When Jesus returned to the heavenly Father, he did not leave us abandoned but he sent His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all Truth. Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life and the Holy Spirit reveals more and more of Jesus who is the Living Word of God the Father. For the Father sent His Word and healed and delivered us from destruction at the cross.

The Father supplies all your need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. He is your Source. He is your Answer. He is your Real Life.

If you are a parent and your child asks for a glass of milk, you wouldn’t give him an alcoholic beverage? How much more will your heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit to fill you with all you need to learn from Him?

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. But I will protect the orphans who remain among you. Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.” Psalm 68:5 – Jeremiah 49:11

This word picture of an evergreen tree portrayed in Hosea 14:8 symbolizes its beauty in God’s majesty, its tenacious clinging to the source of life, and its continual verdure –in season and out of season. The unbroken ceaseless Real, Everlasting Life that only comes through the perpetual supply of sap — this is the continual abundant life lived in Christ Jesus through the unbroken supply of the grace of God.

“…From me is thy fruit found“… from Him we receive grace and strength to enable us to be fruitful and in the he who bears fruit, the Father prunes that he may multiply more abundantly.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
Deuteronomy 30:19 – Deuteronomy 30:16

copyright James Rizzi

I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. (Jeremiah 31:4)

“If we take God for our Father, and join the church of the first-born, we shall want nothing that is good for us.”
(Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 31:41)

“Choose you this day, who you will serve!…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD! They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.”
Joshua 24:15 – Job 21:11

Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren't going to the same place?

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them.
You’ll need them throughout your life.
God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.
In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.
Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters.
Keep your eyes open.
Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
-Ephesians 6:13-18

Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.-Miquel Cervantes

We have come to this TIME and PLACE to STAND before heaven and earth to bring glory and honor to our heavenly Father with the faith of a child who simply trusts and obeys whatever he is told to do.

My brothers and sisters, try hard to be certain that you really are called and chosen by God. If you do all these things, you will never fall.
And you will be given a very great welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter:1:10-11

We have come to God’s Kingdom of His Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ for such a time as this. It is essential that we are prepared and trained and exercised in The Way, The Truth and The Life. There will be a test – it is an OPEN BOOK test for He has already given us everything that pertains to Life and Godliness through KNOWING Him as the only Way that leads to the Father for no man comes to the Father except by Him. Jesus is the Living Word of Almighty God the Father and heaven and earth shall pass away but only the Word of God stands the test.

I'm standing on the Rock (Christ Jesus, God's Living Word) and my name is on the Roll, I'm a BELIEVER!

Father God, help me to have a teach-able spirit and willing heart to learn and follow in Your Spirit so I will grow more and more in Your Truth by making a practice of Your lessons. I know that all things You allow into my life are for training in righteousness so that I lack nothing in order to stand where You place and to go where You send as I daily walk in faith, hope and love with You. Use me as You will not as I want. In Jesus’ name Amen.

Teach me to have a child like heart! So I can sing and dance and share Your great mercy with a world that is hungry and thirsty for the Real and Everlasting Source of Life, again, I ask in Jesus’ name Amen.

love one another as I have loved you

God is telling us how to come into His presence and what is acceptable to Him. AS WE WALK WITH GOD EACH DAY, HE WANTS US TO BE SERVANT LEADERS, HONORING HIM IN EVERYTHING WE DO. Our decisions need to be based on what is right in God’s eyes, following the examples of His Son, Jesus. We should be asking “What would God have us do in each situation?”

God wants us to have a heart of compassion for others, treating others as Jesus did. Our FOCUS NEEDS to be on God’s GREAT LOVE for us and the expectation that we share His love with others, in all we do. Peter wrote, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)

I shall do all I can to love others in spite of their faults AND mine.

God wants us to WALK EACH DAY WITH HIM in an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP that would GUIDE our thoughts and actions. Our faith should grow stronger through the knowledge and experiences that we gain through our daily walk with Him. It is important to do all these things with a humble heart, THANKING GOD EACH DAY for His love, mercy and grace.

Dear Father God, THANK YOU for loving us and being Someone who WALKS WITH US EACH DAY! Help us to do what is right and FOCUS on the needs of others. Be near to us, dear Lord Jesus and guide our thoughts and actions. Help us to have a heart of compassion and humility so that we honor You in all we do. Amen

(from William Worley, Superintendent of Scools, Cocalico School District, Pennsylvania)

He will never give up on you and neither will I, my friend.

(NOW) Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.
It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God.
Because of our faith, we know that the world was made at God’s command. We also know that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.
Hebrews 11:1-3

NOW is the TIME to Worship God and the HOUR is for those who Worship DO so in spirit and in truth for the LORD seeks to live in hearts that seek to DO so NOW. We are each born and we die and whatever we DO in thought, word or deed either give glory to our Father in heaven or not. It’s as simple as that. If we love God, we do whatever He says. Again, it’s a simple as a child seeking to please their father who they deeply love.

Jesus told us that is this world we will have many trials and tribulations be to not be afraid but to be EN-Couraged for He has overcome the world! He has already given us everything we need that pertains to REAL Life and Godliness through Knowing Him as Lord and Savior!

It is the Lamb’s Book of Life and Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world and the Lamb standing before the throne of God the Father –this same Jesus is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our Faith. It is His Book – the Lamb’s Book of Life. Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday, today and forever – He changes not. He is forever Faithful and True. From Everlasting to Everlasting He is Lord.

Given that He is the Living Word of the Almighty Father God sent to heal and deliver from sin and destruction, we can trust Him implicitly in all things. No matter how something “seems”, “looks” or “appears” — no matter what anyone else says — look to Jesus only for He is the Answer, He is the Source of Life. Whatever He says, is…it surely comes to pass no matter what comes against it.
The trying (testing) of your faith builds it and proves it genuine to those who are watching and bearing witness that God’s Word is Truth.

When a challenge or resistance comes against what God said, this is where the rubber meets the road. You are standing on holy ground for wherever God places you is where His authority reigns supreme –
simply trust and obey whatever He tells you to do!

God is teaching you to remain at rest in HIM firmly established by faith.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Romans 8:26-28

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6

For all of you are God’s children through faith in the Messiah Jesus. But all who have received Him, to them–that is, to those who trust in His name–He has given the privilege of becoming children of God.
Galatians 3:26, John 1:12

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5:13

For whoever DOES the WILL of God (the FATHER), he is my brother and sister and mother.- Jesus

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the
victory that has overcome the world; our faith. Who is he who
overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son
of God?
1 John 5:4-5

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Matthew 24:35 ESV

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Mark 13:31 ESV

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Isaiah 51:6

I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
Mark 13:30

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:10

They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
Psalm 102:26

Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

LAMED- You are to eternity, Lord Jehovah, and your word stands in Heaven.
Psalm 119:89
Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away …but the word of the Lord stands forever…And this is the word that was preached to you. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. Preserve my life according to your love, and I will obey the statutes of your mouth. Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
Matthew 24:35, 1 Peter 1:25, Psalm 89:2, Psalm 119:88, Psalm 119:152,
Psalm 119:160

Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction.
Deuteronomy 33:3

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister [Mary] and Lazarus.
John 11:5

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.

She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
Luke 10:38-41

But there’s only one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better, and it is not to be taken away from her.
Luke 10:42

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
James 1:22

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Romans 2:13, James 2:14

I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
John 5:25

…Indeed, in the whole world that Gospel is bearing fruit and still is growing by its own inherent power, even as it has done among yourselves ever since the day you first heard and came to know and understand the grace of God in truth.

You came to know the grace or undeserved favor of God in Reality, deeply and clearly and thoroughly, becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with it.
Colossians 1: 10, Colossians 1: 6

Behold, I will liken you to Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches and with forest like shade and of high stature, with its top among the thick boughs even among the clouds. The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall; its rivers ran round about its planting, sending out its streams to all the trees of the forest (the other nations). Ezekiel 31:3-4

Stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.

Thus says the Lord of hosts…
“Behold (look at, keep in sight, watch) the Man (the Messiah) whose name is the Branch, for He shall grow up in His place and He shall build the True temple of the Lord.
And there shall come forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse David’s father, and a Branch out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit. Zechariah 6: 12, Isaiah 11:1

Growing in grace they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap (of spiritual vitality) and rich in the verdure of trust, love, and contentment. Psalm 92: 14

Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees,
for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
o neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters,
but only God Who makes it grow and become greater.
Isaiah 44:23, 1 Corinthians 3: 7

The seed is the word of God. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

I will instruct you and teach you in the Way you shall GO; I will guide you with My eye. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit and that the Messiah would make his home in your hearts through faith. Then, having been rooted and grounded in love.

They will be called Oaks of Righteousness, the Plantings of the LORD, so that He might display His glory. Isaiah 61:3

In Matthew 15:13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

I see men as trees, walking. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him , having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. Ezekiel 47:7

And on the banks of the river on both its sides,
there shall grow all kinds of trees for food;
their leaf shall not fade nor shall their fruit fail to meet the demand.
Each tree shall bring forth new fruit every month –
these supernatural qualities being because their waters came from out of the sanctuary.
And their fruit shall be for food and their leaves for healing. Ezekiel 47: 12

Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of My hands, for the display of My splendor. Isaiah 60:21

The uncompromisingly righteous shall flourish like the palm tree –be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful;
they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon –
majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible .
Psalm 92: 12

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith ; be men of courage; be strong.

Whatever and whoever you are investing your time, heart and attention to is what you treasure.

What does God treasure? –

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine…The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 28:9

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Jesus GAVE HIMSELF for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify FOR HIMSELF a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus 2:14

“… Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first (COVENANT which stood ONLY in meats and drinks and divers washings and Carnal Ordinances), that he may establish the second (Heb. 8:13, 10: 8 – 9).”

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63).

Jesus fulfilled all of the natural, carnal, physical ordinances and moved them out of the way by NAILING THEM TO HIS CROSS, crying out, “IT IS FINISHED!” The veil has been torn for us to come boldly before the throne of grace to find strength and help in time of need. But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh–
Tear your hearts, not your clothes. Return to the LORD your God. He is merciful and compassionate, patient, and always ready to forgive and to change his plans about disaster.
Philippians 3:3; Joel 2:13

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 34:18; Psalm 51:17
2 Corinthians 3:1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,saith the Lord Almighty.

Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Malachi 3:10

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

3:7-12 The men of that generation turned away from God, they had not kept his ordinances. God gives them a gracious call. But they said, Wherein shall we return? God notices what returns our hearts make to the calls of his word. It shows great perverseness in sin, when men make afflictions excuses for sin, which are sent to part between them and their sins. Here is an earnest exhortation to reform. God must be served in the first place; and the interest of our souls ought to be preferred before that of our bodies. Let them trust God to provide for their comfort. God has blessings ready for us, but through the weakness of our faith and the narrowness of our desires, we have not room to receive them. He who makes trial will find nothing is lost by honouring the Lord with his substance.

Here’s my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.
But seek ( aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.
Romans 12:2; Matthew 6:33 Amplified

Hebrews 11:6 tells us of God’s rewards… “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured…
Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won’t need anything. By standing firm you will gain life. It is written that it is more blessed to give than to receive and Jesus gave His life to set us free from the curse of sin and death to be restored to life as true sons and daughters of the Living God. It is the Father’s good will to give you the kingdom. He delights to give good things to His children! When we come as His children by faith asking for wisdom, God is open handed and more than generous in giving us what we need…it takes wisdom and understanding to gain patience…learning not just enduring from the trials and tests that we pass through. God gives freely.
Colossians 4:12; James 1:4; Luke 21:19

At that time Jesus said,

“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,”
1Corinthians 6:19-20.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:18; 20

Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds–like the fish of the Great Sea.
Ezekiel 47:10

Jesus called out to them, Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!

Follow Me…

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Matthew 1:21 Acts 10:43 Acts 4:12 Acts 13:26 1 Timothy 2:5

Follow Me…

He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Psalm 19:8 Psalm 34:5 Psalm 43:3

Follow Me…

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”

Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!“

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and remarked,
“Here is a true Israelite who is sincere.”

Then Nathanael declared,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

There was a written notice above him, which read:
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. The people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.
John 4:22 Romans 9:4

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.
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Romans 2:29
Deuteronomy 30:6

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos“; another, “I follow Cephas“; still another, “I follow Christ.” So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
Acts 18:24 Acts 19:1 1 Corinthians 1:12 1 Corinthians 3:7

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

On the last and greatest day of the Feast,
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Matthew 5:6 John 4:14 John 7:37-38

He said to me:
“It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 21:6 Revelation 22:17

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. …The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endures for ever

Come Follow Me...we Follow Christ because He Lives, He Loves, He Lifts and He Leads.