Listen carefully  -  "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR: and so shall we ever be with The Lord".

The Lord showed me recently-  when He said those who believe AND ARE BAPTIZED shall be saved - He was talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit "but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending,  and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Spirit".

Now  - the Greek word for "spirit" is "pneuma" meaning "wind" or "breath" -  air. So the verse above from 1 Thessalonians says we will meet the Lord IN THE AIR - In The Spirit which is how and where we meet with Him now after we are baptized in the Spirit- When we are baptized into the Holy Spirit we are not only welcoming the Holy Spirit into us but Christ himself, also. Indeed, we cannot seperate them, though each can be received seperately. If we acknowledge Christ with our minds - we must also welcome the Holy Spirit into our hearts - all three parts of our being  must surrender to and welcome all three parts of His being. To say we are "Born Again" while at the same time rejecting the Holy Spirit  is to invite deception into your heart: for either the Spirit of Truth is your heart's lover or the spirit of deception will be. "If therefore the light that is in you be darkness - how great is that darkness!" Many believe they've "seen the light" but the light (the revelations, the understanding) is a false light masquerading as light; it's actually darkness  - for they believe they're "saved" when they're not  - remember Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. How do we know which spirit we've embraced?  

One guides us into truth. One glorifies Jesus - the Word and teaches us our Father's wisdom and His understanding of the Word. One bears the fruit of the Spirit  - We must be baptized into the Holy Spirit,  then, all our lives, we must be, like Jesus, "led of the Spirit".

In this manner, we are ressurected from our old life of sin  - for one cannot live without breath. Just as the flesh is alive only as long as there's breath in it; so are alive spiritually  only as long as there's the breath, the pneuma of God, in us, in our spirits. It says "we which are alive" will meet THEM in the clouds; and the Lord in the air. So then, we who are baptized in the Spirit are already meeting with him, with ourLord Jesus Christ, "in the air" and we are meant to join with each other in "the clouds" - meaning, we are to be as the Old Testament priests who could not stand to minister because of the cloud of glory - signifying the Lord's presence.  We should always be in the Spirit - and therefore led by Him, when we gather together, for clouds float free above the earth, unfettered by gravity, by earth, and so should we be - free of "earth" i.e flesh with it's constant pull on our souls. When we meet each other "in the clouds" The clouds bring shade in the heat of summer, and they bring rain, which men need to survive, so do we bring the "reign" of Christ to those who need it. As well, we bring God's rain, the cleansing, life giving flow of His Word, spoken and written (actually the written word is most powerful when spoken)...

 My thoughts are led back to our Founding Father's famous words, and i can't help but think  -  they are the perfect rallying cry for the Body of Christ today  -

"WE THE PEOPLE,  IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION"

What greater reason could there be for us to come together-  but to fulfill The Father's Will?

" Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their Word; that they may all be ONE; as You Father, are in me, and I in you, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US"

O my people  - we should all be striving to "form a more perfect union" - A union by and of His Spirit- not of the flesh, with each of us unconcerned with position or our own needs - but looking to the welfare of others, not united under our pastor or church name, but united in Christ  -

"WE THE PEOPLE,  IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION- DENOUNCE AND DECRY DENOMINATIONALISM AND ANY OTHER SPIRIT BUT CHRIST'S: WE WHERE NO LABEL BUT "DISCIPLE OF CHRIST" - WE EXALT NO FLESH, FOLLOW NO MAN AND FEAR NO ONE AND NOTHING BUT YPU -  LORD. WE ARE ONE BODY, SERVING ONE GOD WITH ONE BAPTISM INTO OUR FATHER - LORD OF US ALL. WE ARE ONE AS YOU ARE ONE - MUTUALLY SERVING ONE ANOTHER, EXALTING NO ONE BUT YOU, OH GOD"

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing,  even life for evermore,. "

 A dead leaf spinning in the breeze

 while hanging from a spider's web

 appears from a distance to be

 alive but it's really dead

A bird with a broken wing

 is alive but hobbling 

 Not able to break free 

 of earth's gravity

 and so fulfill it's destiny 

And so.......the soul

 appears to be alive 

 yet is dead.

They fail to realize 

 all that lives is dead 

 can't fly, can't soar

 beyond it's flesh, forevermore 

 Never able to fulfill 

 The Father's Will

 until......

" I'll bring fire in the winters

 You'll bring showers in the springs

 We'll find our fly through the Falls and Summers

with love on our wings  -

 Through the years

 as the fire starts to mellow

 burning lines in the book of our lives

 though the binding cracks

 and the pages start to yellow

I'll be in love with you

I'll be in love with you"

                                         to Sheryl

 We have need that we give our hearts to Him daily - not just once at an altar call. Our hearts become an altar upon which we offer daily sacrafice.  I must renew my vow, to give him my heart completely-  each day: for my heart is a frail, wandering thing, prone to wickedness.  I must chain it to the Lord's heart  - and throw away the key. I must submit to the Lord daily, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

Sheryl's very cool testimony

 

So it's Sunday morning.  Sheryl is about to go to church.  It's raining so she wants to go to a church near her "abode". She hears a voice say "go to (her cousin) Terri's church. Her church is much further away. So she shrugs it off and goes on to the first church, but on the way, she again hears "go to Terri's church". So she does.

After she gets there, a young, newly-wed couple testify about their new house. They are really excited to have their own place  -  but they have, literally,  almost nothing. Just one piece of furniture. No beds. No chairs. No couches. No dressers, lamps. But they're so happy they want to show it off. They invite Terri and Sheryl goes with.

The next morning,  Sheryl goes to work. A co-worker,  an older lady, announces she has a table to give away  -  does anyone need a table? Sheryl tracks her down eventually:  has anyone taken the table? "Someone expressed interest, but no one's taken it". Sheryl explains about the young couple.  The lady says - "would they like a bed too"? Terri volunteers a truck  - and the young couple go to pick up their new, free items; and the lady throws in a box spring and mattress, a dresser, a lamp or two and a night stand! THEN she finds out the young man she's blessing is one of her former students! Is not God super cool?!

 There's the cocoon phase of our spirituality-  then there's the Butterfly phase. 

There is a time for growth. Like the roots of a tree, that will later grow tall  - the growth is hidden  - it's all happening inside the soil, our flesh  - where our heart is. What we were when we entered the cocoon, or when the cocoon was formed around us  -  is not what we are when we emerge, or who we are. We are vastly different, for our former selves could not fly. This flight that we take, this is possible because of the Holy Spirit-  He is the wind within us that our reborn spirit's float upon. He directs our flight path. Ever notice a butterfly's flight path is totally unpredictable? So it is with us, spiritually.  

Cocoon: Inward  -  growth  -  inaction 

Butterfly: Outward manifestation of inward growth  - action!

Satan's desire is to keep us in the cocoon  -  till we rot like the left over Manna  - we must use all God gives us, we must not keep our talents "buried" - hidden, in our cocoon (flesh). Like the veil in the Temple we must tear apart our own FLESH,  (Forever Lusting and Engaging in Sinful Habits) to enter into the spirit realm. Satan wants to abort our butterfly phase, therefore,  BUTTERFLY SAINTS need to guard jealously and fiercely our cocoon saint brethren. There's a time to be taught and a time to teach. A time to receive prophecy and a time to give it. A time to breathe in and a time to breathe out. 

By the way, Satan has a false cocoon for his own, only they emerge as moths...fake butterfly's in other words. Moths are nocturnal,  their wings drape down. Butterfly's are diurnal,  their wings are upright.  False saints are always "down", downward spiral, negative,  led more by the flesh than the Spirit. True saints are "up", usually positive,  floating up, looking up towards Heaven,  tobsee God's face. Yes there are seasons of sorrow...but we don't stay there.

In the Movies -  you can only see what they want you to see and you can only hear what they want you to hear. Everything is scripted, preplanned  - every word, every sight.

In some churches  -  you can only see what they want you to see and you can only hear what they want you to hear. Everything is scripted,  preplanned.  Every word, every sight.

The goal of both is to be so realistic that you forget what you're seeing isn't real. You forget it's all fake. You even pay money for both, don't you? Both movies and religions make millions every year don't they? For the spirit behind them both is the same - except in Hollywood the fake do not pretend to be otherwise.