OUT OF THE BOX

  SUBSTANCE...OR STYLE? Religious people often substitute ritual and ceremony for real relationship with the Lord Himself. People who are short on intimacy with Jesus seem to find security in the outward forms. An organization can do the same thing. It is interesting that God gave Israel a portable tabernacle long before He gave them a stone temple. In Israel’s journey across the wilderness they had to follow the cloud of God’s presence that rested above the tabernacle. When the cloud moved, they moved; when the cloud rested, they remained still. The cloud did not rise or rest according to any rigid schedule of the clock or calendar. They could not prepare for movement by watching the clock, the sun, or the date. They had to observe and follow the cloud (Exodus 40:34-38). In the same way, Jesus Christ desires that the church and each individual in it be genuinely led by the Spirit in real spiritual growth where they can experience the riches and depth of what God intends for the true c