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.