Religion, cold and hard... Full of bible facts without the knowledge of God...the people cold and lifeless like old rocks on a mountain top... But beneath the surface of dead religion... revival fires burn hot... The next move of God so pregnant and about to pop... Suddenly an explosion and revival flames shoot up... Knocking religion rocks out of the way and out to the side... fresh lava flows... Burning down man's traditions and creating fresh new paths... revelation upon revelation... You can almost see JESUS' face... the old angry stones of religion attack the new move... With screams of blasphemy and fear of what's new... But revival burns hot without fear or apology straight through religious rock...... A beautiful exciting sight... New songs born and sung like beacons of salvation in a long cold religious night... But over time the lava cools and slows... Old man religion creeps into control.... Hot lava becomes cold dead stone... Denominations are born and titles are given... Money is made and man's pride is given... a front row seat .... in what has become a show with man in center stage... Jesus' is kept in the back neatly locked in a cage...old rocks of religion on a Cold mountain top... But beneath a fire is burning and ready to pop....

It's interesting how we as human beings think... Always wanting to identify ourselves with something... You can see these lines drawn quite clearly in the teenage years... You have the jocks that identify themselves with sports... The smart people identifying themselves with their intelligence... The partiers identifying themselves with partying... Its the natural tendency of man to want to Identify with something that separates and gives you distinction from other people... The music, the clothes, the interests... As we all know these lines are drawn quite clear in the teenage years as young people try and grasp who they are, what they believe and what they think is cool and not cool... As we get older the lines aren't quite as clear but the drive is the same... Every since Adam and Eve lost their identity in the garden mankind has been searching for their identity and some "fig leaves" ever since... Now as Christians these same desires remain...Now what Father God wants to do is give us a beautiful identity in JESUS...Its sad in Christianity we have been called to identify with our precious Lord and savior JESUS but we tend to identify with a revalation or spiritual principal instead of Jesus... Let me give you an example... Every denomination that is in the earth today, all centers around a revelation... Now don't get me wrong God loves revelation ... Everytime we have had a revival it has been birthed by a revelation... God reveals a part of himself that is not presently understood... For example Martin Luther and "The just shall live by faith" that one revelation of God's word transformed the entire church world wide... Some embraced it and most attacked it, but it was truth and it radically changed everything.., each denomination was birthed in a revival and grew cold as those involved chose to identify with that revelation and stop growing with God... Being a Christian is about having a dynamic, living relationship, that grows and changes as we know God more and more... But what happens is we get comfortable with the part of God we know and we refuse to see other aspects of who he is and what he wants to do in the earth...and it is at that point that we become religious and stop growing.., we seek the comfort of the old and Familiar and refuse to move on with God... Look folks JESUS is alive and he's not in a box... How many of you know you can have a friend for years and years and suddenly find out something about them you never knew or a part of their life you've never experienced... How much more God!!! But whatever he is revealing of himself will ALWAYS line up with his word...Now as God reveals himself through revelation knowledge he wants us to build on the foundations that have already been laid... And not to attack and disrespect them... We have to honor those that have labored before us... We stand on their shoulders... But we must be ready to embrace the new as the spirit of God reveals it in his word... And not be afraid when the old move attacks the new... Were not called to attack people but to declare truth... When truth is declared what is error is revealed... We build on former foundations but we tear down what was born of man..."New wine in new wine skins" stand firm and move forward as God reveals more of who he is and what he wants to do in THIS generation!!! A fresh fire burns and is exploding all over the earth!!! His name is JESUS!!!!

© 2011 Jeremiah Johnson