God’s will

Ways To Be Thankful

November 30, 2024 by Bill 13 Comments

As we have passed the Thanksgiving holiday, let us not stop being thankful. Here are three things to think about and practice every day.

Be Thankful in Actions. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17). This verse encourages us to live out our faith through our actions and reactions. When we wake up in the morning, give thanks to God for the day, be a courteous and safe driver on the roadways and be kind to everyone we meet. Our actions speak loudly.

Be Thankful By Remembering. “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.” (Psalm 77:11). Remember the deeds of the Lord, which can be as simple as thanking God for His comfort, presence, and peace in daily challenges, remembering that He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Make a list of how God has been good to you. I am very thankful to God for my being healed of cancer this year. And it’s good to tell others about the goodness of God. Reminding ourselves of His faithfulness stirs our heart towards thankfulness.

Be Thankful in Everything. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Giving thanks in everything can seem like a hard task to accomplish at times, especially in difficult circumstances. Notice this verse says, “Give thanks IN all things, not FOR all things. God has a plan for us and, sometimes, we have to go through some difficult times. But those times can build us up just like getting in physical shape is hard but it’s for a purpose. Thank You Jesus!

Seasons24

October 27, 2024 by Bill Leave a Comment

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22)

As I was driving this week, I noticed the beautiful colors of the trees and foliage on our mountainsides. It reminded me that, just a few weeks ago, most everything was green. But as I saw the different shades of many colors there now, I thought, “This is the way we are as God’s creation. We are all together, different species of plants, different shades of color but we’re all God’s creation and we live together. Through much of the year, the trees are green but, I thought, maybe the fall season allows them to show their “true colors”. I’ll have to think and pray about that idea some more. Maybe you can get a revelation of this.

However, God has a plan. Personally, I don’t like the winter season much but it’s the way God handles His creation so I’ll continue living the Plan. There is always another season to look forward to. Just as God created seasons for the earth, He has “seasons” for us to go through.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). All these “seasons” are not joyful, some are very difficult, but God has a Plan. We must endure the difficult seasons knowing that they are for a purpose. An athlete doesn’t get to play on the first team without going through some tough training. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Whatever season of life you’re in now, be assured that God has a Plan for you. I heard a preacher say once, “We’re either in a trial, coming out of one or going into one.” That’s life…but God has a Plan. And, just as the trees go through the seasons together, may we, as God’s creation, do the same. I wrote about this topic in my blog in 2020, you can read it here: https://roadrevelations.org/2020/11/seasons.

Scarifices

July 27, 2024 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1)

I pray this verse each day but got an interesting revelation about “sacrifices” recently. In the Old Testament, God’s people were to offer animal sacrifices to atone for their sin, (Leviticus 4:35). In these sacrifices, an animal was killed. However, the above verse mentions a “living sacrifice”. The animal of old didn’t have to “do” anything; just give up their life. A living sacrifice involves action on the part of the one giving themselves. For sure there are many who have sacrificed their lives for others: military, first responders and many who have placed themselves in harm’s way to save others. So, what’s this about being a “living sacrifice”?

As Christians, we’re supposed to offer ourselves as sacrifices by DOING. Here are some examples from scripture: “To do righteousness and justice” (Proverbs 21:3), “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God.”(Hosea 6:6), “And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.” (Mark 12:33), “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Hebrews 13:15-16). As we can see from these verses, to be a living sacrifice, we are required to “do” things, to be active, to show and shine our light to those around us. And as we do these things, God sees it as worship. That pleases Him. But the words, “holy and acceptable” means we should ask forgiveness for our sins first before offering our bodies. The animal sacrifices had to be, “unblemished”, (Deuteronomy 17:1).

But we must never forget the One who offered up the ultimate sacrifice for us: “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2). Jesus gave Himself up for us yet, unlike the animals of old; He was dead but now lives! And we, having the Holy Spirit in us, can sacrifice and live too. Are we willing to offer our bodies a living sacrifice? If yes, we must get to work sharing the love of God.

The Valley

July 11, 2024 by Bill 38 Comments

I posted this vision a few years ago along with two others that I thought God wanted me to share, Here is the link to the previous post that includes the other two visions: https://roadrevelations.org/2020/07/the-valley-the-circle-and-the-cloud. I was reminded of this concept of prayer again recently so, here it is.

I used to work in Big Stone Gap, Virginia and would top the mountain outside Norton and see God’s wonderful creation, Powell Valley. One morning, God gave me a vision of people in the valley praying. In the vision, I saw many prayers going up as a bright shaft of light from the valley to the sky. But these prayers were scattered all over the place as they represented people’s prayers that were personal and not in agreement with each other. Now, God hears our prayers and will answer them according to His will, purpose, timing and our faith. But then I saw several of these light-shaft prayers, coming from all over the valley but they were aimed and met at one point in the Heavens. I realized these were prayers that were prayed according to God’s will for the time and when they met at that one point in the sky, an explosion happened and sparks of blessings showered down on, not just those who had prayed, but all people in the valley. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5: 14-15). We need to be like those in the Upper Room who were, “in one accord” and saw a great outpouring of God.

Remember Me

March 30, 2024 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)

Remember me. The man who said this and was crucified beside Jesus had a different attitude than the man on the other side. He knew his sins and reached out to Jesus at the end of his life. Jesus could have replied, “Hey, I knew you when you were in your mother’s womb.” (Jeremiah 1:5). “I’ve known you all of your life.” But Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (V. 43). As Christians, we have asked Jesus into our hearts and will be with Him in Heaven when we die. If you’re not a Christian, you are like the other man on his cross who was doomed for eternity. You can change that today.

Jesus could also be saying to us, “I always remember you but I’m asking you to Remember Me when you’re in trouble or have a need. I’m always there to help you. Can you remember what I’ve done for you in the past? I’ll do it again and more, just remember Me.”

In John 19:30 Jesus said with His last breath, “It is finished.” He had carried out the plan that God had given Him and paved the way for us to go to Heaven. But take note; He did not say “I am finished.” No, Jesus is still here waiting for us to draw near, (James 4:8) and He will draw near to us. He is not finished with us! Remember Him. He remembers us. I’m reminded of a song from 1986, “When He Was on the Cross (I Was On His Mind). Imagine that; As Jesus hung there in agony, He remembered us. We need to remember Him and what He did for us and do what He told His disciples, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation. (Mark 15:16).

As we remember today what Easter really means, let us all remember Jesus’ sacrifice and what He has called us to do. Be like the man who said, “Remember me.”