Re-revelations

The Knock

June 14, 2024 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

This is another take on this topic I’ve written about previously. God keeps bringing this up to me. It must be important for us all. What do we do when we hear a knock at our door? We have choices. Do we immediately open the door not knowing who it is? Do we see who it is through the screen door? Do we look at our door cam to see who it is? Is it the Amazon delivery man? If someone knocks on our door, we’re usually going to check it out. In our house, there are a few who do not need to knock, they’re family and they know they’re always welcome. And I and my wife don’t ever knock…unless the door’s locked. Then we have to “knock” for assistance from the one who is inside.

But do we hear the knock? Is the TV on too loud, do we have headphones on, are we asleep? What if Jesus is knocking on our door and we don’t hear Him? Will He just go away and not come back? No! Jesus will never leave us. (Hebrews 13:5). He may keep on knocking or come back a little later. He may also leave a note on the door, (a reminder from His Word or in a message in our minds). He will never give up on us. He wants to come in a hang out with us and maybe have a meal. What a wonderful picture!

And what about this? When we see its Jesus, would we need to change our TV channel, hide a questionable magazine, stop arguing…would we need to change anything in our house before letting Jesus in? Friends, He is always knocking on our door. He may have been with you many times before but He always wants more time with you.

Today, you may be hearing that knock. If you’re not saved, go open the door and let Him in. If you’re having some trouble, Jesus wants to come in and help you. Whatever your need, answer the knock! Jesus says, “Here I am.” Now it’s our turn to answer.

Conversations With Jesus

November 4, 2023 by Bill 30 Comments

God speaks to us in many ways; through His word, a preacher, a song, or by inspiration during prayer. Prayer, by the way, is just talking with God and here are some examples of conversations we might have with God. I posted this several years ago but thought it would be good for those who may be struggling with some issues.

When God gives you a task to accomplish, you might say: “God, I’m not good enough, I can’t handle it.” And God says, “Great, I’m glad to hear you say that.” “No, you’re not and you can’t, that’s why I’m here.” “Now, let me help and we’ll get ‘er done!”

“Lord, I’m feeling sort of messed up today, why is that?” “Well, child, it’s because you’ve cluttered your mind with all these other things in your life except Me.” “I keep reminding you, ‘Seek Me and my Kingdom first and all these other things will be OK.’” “Oh yeah, I remember.” “I’m sorry Lord; I don’t know why you keep putting up with me.” “Child, it’s because I love you and I’ve got some great things I want you to accomplish.” “Now let’s go.”

“Lord, don’t let our country, founded on your principles, go down.” “Show yourself mighty, strong, loving, compassionate and merciful.” “Yes, I can do that but I have millions of people who claim to be my followers who are just sitting by and doing nothing with those things you mentioned, which I’ve placed in them.” “If my people will get up and do something, then you will see My power displayed and change will happen.”

“Yes, I’m a follower of yours Jesus.” “Well, get up and follow me!” “It takes more than just saying you’re a follower to be my follower.” “Get up and come on, we’ve got work to do.”

“That’s just the way I am, I can’t help it!” “Well child, that’s true to a point.” “You were born with a sin nature because of Adam and Eve’s sin but I sent Jesus to save you out of that and now, you’re a new creation, you’re different.” “You have power and a free will to say no to sin and the devil.” “Now, THAT’S just the way you are and you CAN help it!” Spend some time every day just talking with God.

Five Steps to a Better 2021

January 3, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given January 1, 2011

I found this post that I wrote ten years ago and thought it would be appropriate to re-post for this year. Take heed as we enter into 2021.

Now that we are in the second week of 2011, many of us have had a chance to forget our New Year’s resolutions or are not doing very well with them. May I suggest some things that just came to me one morning as I was in my devotional time. There are many more things that can contribute to our success in the coming year but these five are the first that came to me.

1. Prioritize the things in your life. Most of us have way too many “things” in our lives that demand our time and energy and many of them are a waste. Seriously look at these “things” and prayerfully place them in order of their eternal importance. You might list them on paper.
2. Ask God to heal you of your “I problem”. Many of us think too highly of ourselves and much of our conversations and prayers include the word “I”. “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3). It’s not about us but about God.
3. Get out of debt! We can’t be of much use to the Kingdom of God if we are obligated to the world’s financial system. The Bible says, “Owe no man anything but to love one another.” (Romans 13:8). Especially in these economic hard times, if we are indebted to the system, we are controlled by it. You might not be able to be debt free in a year but you can begin and you will see that when God sees your faithful intentions, He will help you.
4. Read your Bible, learn what it says, and do it. All the answers to life are contained in God’s Word. We have to read and study it with prayer and the revelation of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be successful without it.
5. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you as well.” (Matthew 6:33). This says it all. If we seek God and His holiness, putting all other things in a lower priority, He will be pleased and actually give us all those other things we need. We will also find out that needs and wants are different and should be prioritized accordingly. However, if God is first, He will give us many things to enjoy as well, (1 Timothy 6:17).
* And, I will add one more. Pay attention to your health. God has a plan for each of us based on the giftings He’s given us but we will be limited in what we can do if we’re in poor health. It’s hard but, as with anything God assigns us to do, He will help us. Get in shape and be strong!

As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous other things that will help us be successful in the year 2021. I’d like to hear from you readers; what things do you think we can do as Christians to insure success this year?

Re-revelation, What’s Your Dream?

January 4, 2014 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 2008

I was on the Board of Deacons at my church and we had a deacon’s meeting on this evening. After the normal “business” of church administration, our pastor directed us to think about what our dreams were for our church. Our AG church, I think, is a progressive congregation focusing on Jesus and leaning toward the contemporary style of worship. Our pastor is a gifted leader and is not satisfied with, “church as usual” and, thus, our church is different than most in our area of Southwest Virginia. The early church was different too, wasn’t it?

As we talked about what we, as deacons, dreamed for our church, some things mentioned were, “500 for Saturday night prayer.”, “A place where miracles happen regularly.”, and “Hosting a youth conference with thousands in attendance.”. All these things sounded great and I know they can all come to pass. “All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23). So, what would God say about our dreams?

I got this vision, or revelation, as I frequently do, of me telling God my dreams for our church. As I told God one dream, He’d say, “OK, no problem.”. I’d tell Him another and He’d say, “I can do that.” With another, He’s say, “All these things are easy for me and I want to make your dreams realities but you’re not dreaming big enough! And, you know, your dreams depend on you too. Do you really believe I can and will do these things? Are you reading My Word and following My commands? Are you willing to sacrifice and pray to help make these dreams come to pass?”. I realized many of the things we ask God for, things we pray for, He is ready and willing to speak them into existance but is waiting for us to do our part.

“Be ye doers of the Word and not hears only“. (James 1: 22). This is so important. What’s your dream for your church, your family, your job, or your life. God is able, God is willing, and He could very well be waiting on you. Ask Him what you are to do. You probably already know.

What Are You Full Of?

April 20, 2013 by Bill Leave a Comment

Repost from 2006

”A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45). This verse is pretty clear. What is in your heart is usually what you’re going to be talking about and thinking about. But, some people are good at saying the right things according to who they’re around. You know anybody like that? They cover up what’s in their heart pretty well. But sometimes it comes out.

I heard this analogy the other day that made it clearer to me. A preacher said, “Whatever you’re full of is going to spill over when you get bumped.” Now I can see that! If a glass is full of water and you bump it or shake it, it’s going to spill over the side and everyone around will know it and may even get wet. When we, as Christians, are bumped, jostled, hit, jolted or in some way tested, whatever we’re full of is going to dictate the reaction we’ll display. If we’re full of God, we’ll react correctly, we’ll be a good witness to those around us and God will be pleased. If we’re full of something else, we’ll probably embarrass ourselves, be a bad witness and have to repent.

Think about it; how do you react when someone doesn’t move right away when the light turns green? Or when you hit your toe on the couch leg? Or when someone falsely accuses you or wrongly mistreats you? What about when if the ref or umpire makes a bad call? If we’re sloshing junk over on those around us, we need to repent and ask God to empty our dirty vessel, clean it up and refill it to overflowing with Himself. And we may even have to apologize to someone. If you can identify with any of this, you need to repent today and get your vessel updated. Then start filling it every day with God’s Word, prayer, and the practice of speaking good things from your heart. What’s in your heart?