Just a thought - Relationship or Religion

I remember very well the time I was going through the deepest of emotional, spiritual and social trauma.  I just wanted to hide in the shadows and die.

This entire period had been heralded with the announcement that Is. 50:10-11 was to be one of the foundational Scriptures moulding my life during the coming period - obviously this Scripture was shaping and forming my mind radically and I pondered almost daily on it - and on this particular occasion it was no different but I had just the Words "Trust in the Name of the LORD your God" chiming through my mind continually.

Also during this period, building on what I now see was not a chaotic mess but a Divine move of YHWH, I had cause to visit another brother in "Christ". We were speaking about odds and ends and my brother in Messiah said to me that he had a Word for me.  I obviously asked him what the word was; he told me he felt the Ruach was telling him to tell me that I was to call The Father "Papa" (we were speaking Afrikaans) - immediately my borders were challenged - you see dear brother and sister, I was brought up in a very loving but undemonstrative home - my Dad was plain Dad; my Mom? Well just Mom.  So for me to have to refer to The Father as "Daddy" was earth shattering and I told my believing brother so.  

I left him feeling angry and stupid - his Word was childish, immature and certainly not necessary - anyway God knew my heart, why did I have to go and do something so embarrassing?  Nonsense, ignore it.  But I could not!

Driving home I was fervently debating the non-merits of this "Word" with The Father - I mean I am a man, and a war veteran with combat experience and many other "macho" strings to my bow, and what was more I even had teenage children at that time - this was just pure emotional rubbish!

Cut a long story short, I lost the debate with Abba, so there in private just between Him and I, I for the first time used the Name "Daddy" - it felt so strange, so demeaning:   But I continued as best as I could, telling Him the whole time that in my "exulted opinion" this was not really necessary at all!  

Abba did not relent or agree with my deductions, and in fact in this time another strange thing happened to impact my mental and spiritual progress/process - I was introduced by an outside source to the Words "Trust The LORD your God!"  These Words kept coming up continually in my spirit, and I, as a matter of course, voiced my opinions on the situation advising Abba that I did not understand what HE was trying to do because I knew that I must trust in "The Name of the LORD my God" so why was HE continually repeating the instruction to me? - then in it happened - You dear reader may have already picked it up, but I tend to be a little slow, especially in the field of "sensitivity" - Abba was leading me into a more personal relationship with HIM away from the religious theologies and check-lists we (or is it only me?) like to cling to so often for safety!  HE HAD MOVED THE EMPHASIS FROM TRUSTING ON HIS PURELY THEOLOGICAL NAME TO TRUSTING IN HIM PERSONALLY!

Do you see dear reader, Abba wanted me - insignificant, lost, weary, confused, mostly worthless, argumentative me - TO ENTER INTO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM - HE WANTED TO BREAK DOWN ALL MY BARRIERS BY HAVING ME CALL HIM DADDY!  HE REQUIRED OF ME TO MAKE MYSELF VULNERABLE AND SURRENDER TO HIM AND NOT JUST TO A THEOLOGICAL OPINION OF WHO HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE!  In short, ABBA needed me to drop the pride, arrogance and fears and just be me, be myself before my "Daddy!" No more pretences, no more religion, just an open teachable heart for an open discussion One-on-one! 

Oh dear brother and sister, this was a great day in my life, it changed my entire prayer life and focus: In my brokeness I found HIS Love, acceptance and favour - HE WAS TAKING A CHANCE ON ME - BUT NOW I WAS REQUIRED TO TAKE A CHANCE ON HIM, ON HIS LOVE, ON HIM NEVER ABANDONING ME OR RIDICULING ME!

Dear reader, anyone who comes in our home can read Zanja and my Katubah (Marriage Covenant) and get a pretty good idea of what we stand for - BUT NOT ONE OF YOU WILL EVER KNOW THE DEPTH OF OUR LOVE, INTIMACY, TRUST, RELIANCE and all the rest of the emotions and acts that make up the dynamic safety and satisfaction that our marriage is and which in turn sets us free and allows us to reach our full potential as husband and wife to each other within our Marriage Covenant!

The Bible dear reader is a Katubah (ONE MARRIAGE COVENANT, FOR ONE PEOPLE, WITH ONE ELOHIM (Lev. 24:22; Num. 9:14; Deut. 6;4-8) from beginning to end), and reading it will give you a pretty good guide line to what YHWH wants from His Bride, and what He in turn will do for you BUT UNTIL YOU HAVE A PERSONAL, INTIMATE AND TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HEAVENLY SUITOR YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT HE IS LIKE AND WHAT YOUR REAL POTENTIAL IN HIM IS!

We all have a lot of religion based on man's ways with many do's and don't's, but this will never compensate for a relationship with Yeshua, a relationship guided by the leading of His Ruach and based on His Written Word, a relationship with Him at the Head, not man and his ways, a True Relationship which leads to a Life in fullness and which sets you free to trust HIM and love HIM experimentally, all within the protective physical guide lines, guide lines which when applied impact us spiritually and mentally, guide lines mandated in His Katubah, His Torah! (Rom. 2:13; 7:14; 12:2; Eph. 4:23-24, Eph. 5:24, 28-32, Jer. 2:2-3).

Zanja and I try to never break our Katubah (Covenant) because within  the restrictions (protective fences) of that Katubah we have found a relationship with each other that often seems to defy gravity, and at other times slaps us down to earth with a jar - a truly deep and trusting relationship covering every aspect of life both physical, emotional and spiritual.

Our Katubah, which is reduced to writing, is to show the whole world what we stand for within our marriage and our lives together; our Covenant is made under the authority and guidance of the Ruach HaKodesh, it is in no way answerable to any country, government, denominational or human laws - IT IS ANSWERABLE TO AND EMPOWERED BY OUR TRUST IN THE LORD OUR GOD - YHWH, ELOHIM OF YISRAEL!" Our Katubah with Messiah is a collection of His Spiritual realities reduced to written Laws restricting our flesh physically in every aspect or our lives - A Shadow and template of the Heavenly Torah given to Moshe at Mt. Sinai - The Torah.

When submitting ourselves, our very flesh, to these Physical Laws which YHWH Elohim has deemed necessary we are humbling our selves and drawing nigh unto Him, and then He draws nigh unto us - James 4:3-10 

I leave you with this verse from the Amplified Bible which talks of the People of Israel whilst still in Sinai and and supposedly under the "Restrictive Law of Moshe":

"And I was provoked, (displeased and sorely grieved) with that generation, and said, They always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognised My ways and become progressively better and more experimentally and intimately acquainted with them." (AMP. Heb 3:10 read verses prior and after this one if you get the chance).

Enjoy the day,  shalom

Bo'az