Beloved, You were not made for the world. You were made for the King. Not for mixture, but for fire. Not for compromise, but for communion. Not to be used, but to belong—fully, joyfully, eternally—to Yeshua, your Bridegroom and King.
You are His Bride. And this is the season of engagement.
He is calling you to be set apart, adorned in holiness, washed in purity, and ready for the wedding supper of the Lamb.
Holiness: Set Apart for El Kadosh
“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” — Leviticus 19:2, NASB
“But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.” — 1 Peter 1:15, NASB
Holiness means to be set apart for God alone.
It is not merely moral excellence—it is belonging. It is the divine seal of consecration, marking you for sacred service and intimate worship before El Kadosh, the Holy God.
For men, holiness confronts the sin of self-exaltation—the drive to be independent, powerful, and admired apart from God.
Lay down your ambition. The throne is already taken.
For women, holiness confronts the sin of idolatrous dependency—the pull to find identity, security, or approval in people or roles rather than in God.
Lay down your fears. The Bridegroom is your covering.
Holiness calls both to surrender.
Both: Belong wholly to the Lord.
Come out from what is common. Come into what is holy.
This is the first step of love: to leave all lesser things for the One who is worthy.
Purity: The Heart That Sees God
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” — Matthew 5:8, NASB
“Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” — 2 Corinthians 7:1, NASB
Talking with God face to face
Purity is the inward condition—a heart free from contamination, deception, and mixture. It is not naïve—it is clean. It is not weak—it is ready to see clearly, to worship without distortion, and to walk without stumbling.
Sin stains men most often through lust, anger, and unchecked appetite—the war of the flesh.
For women, impurity often enters through envy, insecurity, comparison, and emotional idolatry—the war of the soul.
But purity restores clarity and communion.
It is the fragrance of the Bride who keeps her lamp burning.
It is the scent of oil on the hair of the one who has sat at the Bridegroom’s feet.
Engaged to the Holy One
“I betrothed you to one Husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 11:2, NASB
Church, you are not your own. You are not free to blend with the world, to flirt with Babylon, to taste both the cup of demons and the cup of the Lord. You are engaged—and engagement demands faithfulness.
You are not just waiting—you are preparing.
You are not watching the clock—you are watching the skies.
You are not making yourself relevant—you are making yourself ready.
This is the hour to return to your First Love.
To shed every garment stained with self, and be clothed in fine linen—bright, clean, and holy.
Cleave to the One Who Cleaves to You
“The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” — 1 Corinthians 6:17, NASB
This is not the time for divided loyalty or distracted hearts.
The world will demand your opinions. The enemy will provoke your flesh. But the Bridegroom calls you to cleave.
Cleave to Yeshua:
In worship, where no one sees.
In obedience, when no one agrees.
In love, when the fire costs you everything.
You were not saved for status. You were saved for union.
Abide Until the Wedding Comes
“And so we shall always be with the Lord.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:17, NASB
Do not drift. Do not slumber. Abide. Abide in the Vine.
The banqueting house is prepared. The banner overhead is love. And the Bridegroom is nearer now than when you first believed.
This is the call:
Come out—into holiness.
Stay pure—guard your devotion.
Cleave—into covenant.
Abide—into eternal union.
Final Plea to the Bride
Holiness is your robe.
Purity is your fragrance.
Love is your oil.
You are not a slave. You are not a servant. You are not a platform. You are the Bride of Christ.
Return to your place. Return to your purpose. Come out, and cleave.
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And the one who hears, say, ‘Come.’” — Revelation 22:17, NASB
When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, Scripture says, “he was not aware that the skin of his face was shining [with a unique radiance] because he had been speaking with God”(Exodus 34:29, AMP). His glow was not cosmetic, nor was it a symbol of status. It was the natural consequence of prolonged communion with the Almighty, making him radiant with God’s presence. And though his lips were silent in that moment, his face preached holiness with unmistakable power.
So it is with all who dwell in the secret place of the Most High. They become radiant—not with ego or charisma—but with the nearness of God. They do not strive to be seen, yet the atmosphere around them burns with conviction, and they shine radiant with God’s presence. The prophets had it. The apostles carried it. That sacred aura that silences the room and draws the soul to repentance.
When Peter stood before the Sanhedrin, they perceived something unusual. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John… they were amazed, and began to recognize them [as] having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NASB). Do you see it? Their authority did not come from education, but from proximity to the Savior. They had been with Him, radiant with God’s presence. That was the difference.
Even Paul, who had training under Gamaliel, counted it all as loss. He longed to “know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person]” (Philippians 3:10, AMP). For it is not head knowledge that changes the world, but the fire of God resting upon a surrendered vessel.
Have you ever met someone like that—someone whose life testified louder than their lips? They don’t parade their spirituality. They don’t declare themselves prophets. But when you sit in their presence, your heart begins to tremble. Sin rises to the surface. Holiness pierces your conscience. Why? Because they are radiant with God’s presence.
This is more than charisma. It is conviction wrapped in humility. This is what made Elijah feared by kings. It is why Elisha’s bones raised the dead. It is why John, even in exile on Patmos, heard the voice like a trumpet and saw the risen Christ with eyes like blazing fire (Revelation 1:10–14). These men carried the presence. They bore the weight of glory, and it showed.
God in the Fire
And now the question must come to you, dear reader: Do you shine with the light of His presence, or merely reflect the ideas of religion? Do people leave your company entertained or changed? Are your prayers heavy with heaven or empty with habit?
God is calling us higher. Not to perform, but to behold. Not to be impressive, but to be possessed—by His Spirit. As Paul wrote, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed… from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB).
If you want the radiance of Moses, you must climb the mountain, just as he became radiant with God’s presence. If you want the power of Peter, you must wait in the upper room. If you want the conviction of Elijah, you must kneel with your face between your knees and pray until heaven answers.
The world does not need louder preachers. It needs holier ones. It needs burning ones. Ones who carry the fragrance of Yeshua and walk with the weight of His presence. This is the hour. Will you come away? Will you ascend the hill of the LORD with clean hands and a pure heart? Will you shine—not for applause—but because you have been with Him?
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Let us pray:
Abba, we do not seek to be seen. We seek to be changed. Let us dwell so near Your throne that Your radiance marks us. Make us holy vessels that carry the awe of heaven and the light of Christ. May our countenance testify of our secret place. May conviction flow from our presence because we have been with You. Give us clean hands, a pure heart, and the courage to ascend. Let us be radiant with Your presence, for Your glory alone. In the name of Yeshua, the Lamb and the Light, Amen.
In His mercy, God allows us to live with free will, even when our choices grieve Him. For many of us, this free will leads to “playing church”—going through the motions of faith without truly seeking God’s presence. We attend services, recite prayers, and check religious boxes, but our hearts remain far from Him. This shallow faith breaks God’s heart, yet He waits patiently, calling us to return to Him wholeheartedly. Let us finally stop playing church and seek His presence anew.
The Bible warns us about hollow worship: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (Matthew 15:8, AMP). Playing church might make us feel comfortable, but it keeps us from the fullness of God’s power and purpose in our lives. The Enemy is perfectly content to see us busy with religious activity, so long as we remain spiritually ineffective.
But the moment we stop playing church and truly seek God, everything changes. When we move beyond rituals and engage in intimate, heartfelt prayer, when we genuinely repent and surrender our distractions and sins, we become vessels for God’s power. It is in this surrender that the Enemy takes notice—because a church that prays, seeks God’s face, and loves others as Christ does becomes a threat to his kingdom.
The Danger of a Shallow Faith
Playing church keeps us stuck in a cycle of empty actions. We feel busy and religious but lack the intimacy with God that transforms our hearts. Jesus reminds us, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, AMP). Faith is not about appearances; it’s about obedience, love, and surrender. To stop playing church, we must align our hearts with God’s will and seek true intimacy with Him.
This shallow faith is often sustained by distractions and comfortable sins—the things we turn to instead of God. Whether it’s entertainment, pride, or apathy, these idols dull our spiritual hunger. God calls us to strip away these barriers and return to Him fully.
True Faith Requires Wholehearted Devotion
The Lord does not want us to settle for religious routine. He desires relationship. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, AMP). True faith is an all-consuming pursuit of God. It means surrendering our favorite distractions, abandoning our comfortable sins, and seeking Him with an undivided heart. When we stop simply playing church, we embark on a true journey of faith.
This is not easy. It requires sacrifice and humility. But when we set aside our excuses and truly press into God, we experience His presence in ways we never imagined. Revival begins when the people of God stop playing church and start living as the body of Christ—praying fervently, loving sacrificially, and sharing His gospel boldly.
A Call to Stop Playing Church
Beloved, now is the time to stop playing church, and start living out our faith genuinely. God is calling us to lay down our idols, distractions, and sins and return to Him. Imagine a church where believers gather, not out of obligation, but out of a deep hunger for God’s presence. Imagine spontaneous prayer meetings, where hearts cry out to the Lord without concern for schedules or distractions. Imagine a church so on fire for God that the lost are drawn to Him through our love and witness.
This is what God desires for His people. This is what He calls us to.
Prayer:
Father, we confess that we have often gone through the motions of faith without truly seeking You. Forgive us for playing church, for being distracted by our comforts, and for clinging to sins that hinder our walk with You. We lay these things at the cross and ask You to cleanse us. Ignite in us a hunger for Your presence and a desire to live in obedience to Your will. Teach us to seek You with all our hearts and to bring Your love to the world around us. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
