HOMECOMING - A-Spiritual-Re-Awakening: June 2026

PRAYERS

Welcome to this site. My prayer is that you take a look at the site and as you do, let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and reveal what God wants you to discover. (in Jesus' name)

God tells us that if we see a brother (or sister) in need we should do that which is within our means to help. Prayer is always within our means but we never know what doors Father may open through them. Should you desire prayer for anything (healing, direction, etc.) or if you want supportive prayer along with your own please feel free to e-mail that request to sharbu3@gmail.com and be assured that there are others who will be praying with or for you.

In this blog, I share what the Lord shares with me. I reference scripture a lot in support of what is being said. I realize that what is in each entry is NOT a complete 'word' (discussion) on what is being said, but is rather enough information to stimulate our spirits to dig deeper (remember the Bereans Acts 17:10-11) thereby gaining a fuller understanding for ourselves.

At the end of each post are the options to share, forward or make a comment. Click 'comment' to respond. Let us know if you like, don't like or are helped by what you read. Comments can be made or read by anyone. All you have to do is select the "comment" at he end of the entry.

I also reference Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries (Thomas Nelson Publisher) for Greek and Hebrew word meanings.

Monday, June 1, 2026

5-30-2026 Religion vs Faith

Today, how many people do we think practice a religion rather than living a faith? I’m not going to talk about numbers but rather differences.

First, let’s look at three words: religion, religious and faith and see how the bible and dictionary define them.

First, there are no Hebrew words translated as religion or religious. The obvious conclusion is that, even though the Hebrews practiced it, they didn’t call it as such. I suspect that because their actions were determined by the ‘Law of Moses’, there was no need further for description of words.

Religion

The Greek words used for religion are threskeia (G2356) which is religion, ceremonial observance, or worshipping and ioudaismos (G2454) which is religion or live according to Judaic Law.

‘Religion’ examples can be found in the book of Acts 25:5, Gal. 1:13 – 14, and James 1:26-27.

The dictionary defines religion as service and worship of God or supernatural commitment or devotion to a religious faith or observance. A state of being religious. Personal set of institutional of religious attitudes, beliefs or practices. Conscious tenacity holding to a belief system.

Religious

Greek words for religious are sebomai (G4576) which is devout, religious or worship and threskos (G2357) which is ceremonial in worship, pious or religious.

Again, we can only find examples in Acts 13:43 and James 1:26.

The dictionary defines religious as being bound by vows, separated from secular (worldly) concerns devoted to a life of piety (holiness).

Very basically, religion is believing in a set of rules while religious is putting those rules into practice.

Faith

Faith is a different story.

Hebrew words for Faith are emuwn (H529) which means trusty, truth and emuwnah (H530) which means stability, steady, truth, verity. Examples are in Deut. 32:20 and Hlabakuk 2:4.

Faithful aman (H539) support, be true, certain, trust or believe, steadfast. Emeth (H571) faithful, true sure. Examples are found in Deut. 7:9. Psalm 119:86.

faithless – again no Hebrew word.

However, the Greek words for faith are: Pistis (G4102* used most) is persuasion, credence, conviction, assurance, belief, fidelity. Elpis (G 1680) means confidence, and examples for faithless can be found in Luke 17:5 and Acts 11:2 AND Heb. 10:23.

The Greek word for Faithful pistos (4103) be trusted, faithful, sure, true. Examples are in Matt. 24:45 or Acts 16:15.

Faithless is oligopistos (G3640) lack of faith, lack of confidence or apistos (G571) untrustworthy, does not believe, unbeliever. Passage for faithless can be found in John 20:27.

The Dictionary defines:

Faith as allegiance, loyalty, fidelity, firm belief in something that cannot be proved, strong conviction

Faithful is belief, complete confidence, conviction, steadfast affection, given with strong assurance.

Faithless is not trustworthy, disloyal.

So faith and faithful bring into not just ‘knowing’ the principles and putting those principles into practice but truly believing in what we profess with all our heart, mind and spirit (Matt. 22:37). That is we truly understand who God is and what we believe and accept it without any doubt.

In a cult people allow someone else to form their belief system and either don’t know or don’t care about checking it out to see if what is being said is true or not. They practice a ‘religion’, a set of concepts and rules which they really (usually) don’t understand.

We all have our own concepts of what these words mean, but hopefully, this list will bring us to a better understanding of how we can discover what we are reading in the scriptures or hearing from other people. All helping us to follow the pathway God, the Creator of all things, has intended. That is discovering the difference between just knowing about rites and rituals but living in their truth from our heart (Job 42:5).

As Christians, we all should have had that personal experience with the Lord when He convicts us that were not yet His child (unsaved). That is we need ‘salvation’. The realization that Jesus Christ is our Lord as well as ‘Savior’ and with the need to confess Jesus with our mouth and believe in our heart that He is our Savior (Rom. 10:9). We recognize that He shed His blood on Calvary to cleanse us from our unrighteousness, our iniquity and our sin (1 John 1:7). For thirty years Jesus walked as one of us, then for a little more than three years (3 yearly Passovers John 2:23, John 6:4 and John 11:55) Jesus taught and preached the kingdom of God to His disciples (Luke 3:23, Helping us so we can understand our relationship with the living God (Acts 1:3). That Relationship is that The Father is in Jesus, Jesus is in the Father. The Holy Ghost was with the disciples in Jesus yet He (the Holy Ghost) shall be in us as well comforting us, teaching us and helping us to remember what we have been taught (John 14:9-26).

After the crucifixion, Jesus arose on the third day showing us that there is victory over sin AND death (John 2:19, Mark 16:1-6, 1 Corinth. 15:3-6) and we do have the promise of eternal fellowship with the Lord as we live in His Word and that He has given us the assurance we are His forever (Psalm 23:6, Matt. 28:18-20, 1 Thess. 4:16-17). The emphasis is abiding in the Love of God (John 15:10-17).

As Christians, Jesus has given us His Holy Ghost which indwelled Him (Matt. 3:11-17), giving us the same power in which He operated (Acts 1:8). As Christians, our bodies are the temple of God (1Corinth. 6:19). We may compare a temple with a tabernacle being that a tabernacle was the place where God first met with His children (Exod. 33:7-10). A temple or church is where we meet with God today (as group) and can be compared to a tabernacle. In the Hebrew, tabernacle is the word ohel (H168) a temple or dwelling place. The Greek word is skene (G4633) which is a tent or dwelling place. I like the idea of ‘dwelling place’ for John said the Holy Ghost will be in us and Father dwells in us through the Holy Ghost (again John 14). Let me say again, the Holy Ghost dwells in us. Twice we see where believers received Jesus but not the Holy Ghost at the same time (Acts 8:5-17, Acts 19:1-7). I, myself, was ‘baptized’ in the Holy Ghost six years after I had received Jesus into my heart. Jesus is with us (Josh. 1:9, Heb. 13:5, Matt. 28:20) and we are in Jesus Christ. Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus. Think about this connection for a while!

Father gives Jesus the works to do and Jesus gives us those works to do. Jesus says that as we keep His Commandments, we can ask Father anything in His name and He (Jesus) will do it enabling us to do what Jesus, Himself, did (John 14:11-17). All because Jesus has returned to the Father, yet, He will come back for us (John 14:3)!

The difference between religion and faith comes into reality through our relationship with the Lord. If we love Jesus, we are going to do His works. If we don’t do His works do we truly love Jesus or do we just love the praises of man? Do we do the works to show that the love of Jesus and He abides in us (via the Holy Ghost)? Do we just do a set of rules set forth by man? Or do we truly embrace God’s love by living the lifestyle Father has set before us? Thus a turning point, moving from religion into faith.

Amen

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THE FIRST STEP

Luke chapter 15 relates the story of a son who took his portion of the inheritance, left home and ‘did his own thing’. He found ‘friends’ in his new surroundings, partied and basically did whatever he felt like doing. His money ran out, his ‘friends’ disappeared and he came upon some very hard times. He finally came to his senses realizing the error of his ways and decided to go back home and tell his father how sorry he was for having left hoping that his father would receive him back into the homestead, not as a son but at least as a servant. His father did more than that. Even though his son had squandered his inheritance dad threw a big party to welcome his son back home where he belonged. Once he was lost but now he's saved.

If we knew Jesus and walked away (for whatever the reason) Homecoming is about coming back into fellowship with the Creator of the universe and re-establishing a relationship with Him. Even if we never truly ever knew Jesus, Homecoming is learning how to fellowship with the everlasting God and securing our eternity by establishing that relationship with Him.

If we never truly ever knew Jesus, our first step is to do just that by giving Him our hearts and lives.

We have to recognize that we have not been not operating in God’s will and done things contrary to the operation of His love. God is love and everything He does or stands for is based in His true love.

When Adam & Eve disobeyed God and fell out of His fellowship by eating the ‘fruit of the knowledge of good and evil', God promised them that He would provide a way that man could come back into His (God’s) fellowship.

He re-enforced this with Abraham by using his son Isaac as an example and then reminding Israel through all the prophets of the coming Messiah.

Finally, the time was right and God found a righteous woman whom he would bless with the bringing of His Son into this world. Everything was just one big void so God had nothing to work with except His Word. So, in the beginning God spoke everything into existence. God spoke and the Holy Ghost put God’s Word into action creating everything that is. God then put His Word into Mary’s womb and as the bible says ‘she was with child of the Holy Ghost (Matt. chapter 2). The Greek word used for 'of' carries the connotation ‘about’ or ‘spontaneously happening’, like she wasn’t pregnant, now she is – boom! Jesus had to be born of this world (via Mary) so He could legitimately deliver us from the world but Jesus’ Father is God so even though He is born into this world, He is not bound by the ways of this world. We believe, as the bible says ‘Jesus is born of a virgin’ but He is the Son of God.

We believe that Jesus pleased the Father as He lived in this world for 30 years as He found favor with God and man.

The last 3 ½ years of His life (here on earth), Jesus spent teaching His disciples and those who would listen, the ways of God, the Father.

Then at the end of that 3 ½ year ministry, He was arrested by the Jewish leadership (yielded Himself to them), turned over to Pontius Pilate for crucifixion which Pilate, though reservedly, obliged the Jewish leaders and did so. Jesus (willingly) was crucified and died on the cross. My understanding is that at death, if the body is punctured, water mixed with blood will come out, confirming death. Spiritually, for us the shed blood is for the atonement of our sins and our sin nature and the water represents our cleansing. Jesus died on the cross taking my sins away (and yours) and was buried.

We believe that on the third day Jesus arose from the grave, alive and well and ministered to His disciples for another 40 days.

After which He ascended back into Heaven (from whence He came) and is preparing a place in eternity for all those who believe and He is coming back for us so we can be with Him throughout all eternity.

We believe this with all our hearts, confess our sins (by speaking them out), repenting our part in doing those things against God’s will, with our voices speak out thanks for what Jesus has done for us and invite Him into our hearts and lives determining to live our lives for Him from now on.

When we pray the ‘sinner’s prayer, don’t mince with a formula of words but rather cover the points and mean it:

Jesus is God, Messiah, Savior

He shed His blood cleansing us of our sin nature and all those individual sins we have ever committed

We need to confess those sins (speak them out loud to God) and repent of those sins (be truly sorry we committed them)

He died on the cross then rose from the dead on the third day giving us access to the Father through His actions

Determine (dedicate our lives) to live for Him by keeping His commandment which is learning about and living in His love.

He will come back for us so we can be with Him throughout all eternity.

If we have known Jesus but have ‘slid away’

Repent of and confess our sins (as with the prodigal son)

Receive God’s forgiveness. Isaiah tells us once we’ve repented God puts those sins behind His back. Should we do any less?

Determine (make the decision) to live for Him by keeping His commandment which is learning about and living in His love.

Once we've taken this first step, that is to connect or reconnect with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then hold on because everything we experience from that point on is an experience in growth in our life. Everything becomes a stepping stone in our life to help us to grow closer to and and stronger in our relationship with God that we may magnify and glorify His Holy Name in all that we say and do and impact the lives of those around us.

A long time ago Father shared with me that I (we) can walk as close to Him as we dare. It is our choice. How close do we dare?

When the time is come, may we all re-unite in God’s wondrous kingdom.