Heaven | Revelations From The Road

The Path to Comfort

August 2, 2016 by Bill 2 Comments

Given August 1, 2016

I recently had a niece lose her young husband in a drowning accident while attempting to save his three young daughters from a rip current at a North Carolina beach. The morning of the funeral during my devotion, I asked the Lord what I could say to her for comfort and I immediately heard in my spirit, “The 23^rd Psalm”. I had written about portions of this famous passage in my blog a few years ago and I was directed to begin with verse four. The following is the picture I received as I recited these verses. It is my prayer that these verses and the images painted through them will be a comfort to anyone going through a difficult time.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:” During these trying times when someone we love has died, we are surely walking through a dark valley. The main point here is to keep walking through; do not stop and camp there! That’s what the enemy would want you to do. But this verse says, “the valley of the shadow of death”, a shadow will not hurt you and you don’t have to be afraid of it. When we were kids, a shadow in a darkened bedroom would scare us and Mommy or Daddy would come in and assure us that everything was OK. But in order for there to be a shadow, there must be some light; Jesus is the light. So we need not fear any evil that may be lurking in the shadows as we are moving and looking forward.

“for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” As you’re walking, the devil may jump out of the shadows and threaten you. I can see the Great Shepherd who is with you extending His rod and saying, “Devil, stop right there or I’ll knock you out!” And the devil knows those words are true and he runs away. Then sometimes you may take a wrong step and fall off the path or into a ditch and that’s when God will reach out His staff and pull you back to safety. And you continue on. It’s a comfort knowing God is there.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:” Soon, you see the light at the end of your dark valley and there is a large banquet hall before you. God opens the door and directs you inside. As you step into the large room, you’re greeted by thunderous applause from the many people who are in attendance! You turn to God and ask, “What is this?” God says, “It’s for you; you are the honored guest.” The room is filled with tables, food, drinks and all the trimmings of a banquet and servants standing ready to serve. But you notice, standing around the outside wall, several people, some of which you recognize, with aggravated looks on their faces and some demons who have been harassing you as well. You ask God who they are. He replies, “Those are your enemies and they must stand there and watch as you are honored and there’s nothing they can do about it.” (This banquet is here on earth and not in Heaven because your enemies won’t be in Heaven.)

“thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Anointing the head with oil was a practice among Jews which showed respect paid by a host to his guest. So the fact that God, as the host, is anointing your head is a great honor and everyone there knows it. As the oil runs down your face, you turn to look at God and He smiles down at you and nods His head. Then the banquet begins and a servant brings your food and pours your drink into your vessel. But he keeps on pouring after the vessel is full and it runs over on the table cloth. You look at the servant with a puzzled look and God interjects with, “I told him to do that as an indication of the blessings you are to receive after coming through your dark valley will be more than your cup will hold.”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” After the banquet is over and all the people have come by to hug you and wish you the best, God says, “Now, it’s time to continue your journey.” “It’s going to be different than it was before the dark valley but remember, I will always be right there with you.” “And to assist you on your way, I’m going to send a couple of my people with you.” “Goodness and Mercy, come over here.” “I want you to follow my child the rest of her life and bless her with your namesakes.” Then God gives you a big hug and says, “Child, be strong, be courageous, be loving, be generous and thankful as you go.” And take care of those babies; I’ve got great plans for them and for you.” “And remember, I’ve already got your room ready in My house where you’ll live forever.” “And, there are some people there who are looking forward to your arrival.” “Have a blessed trip, I love you.”

The Lord’s Prayer, Personalized

January 16, 2016 by Bill 1 Comment

Given January 14, 2016

I use the Lord’s Prayer as my pattern for prayer each morning and have personalized it to pray for several needs in my life and the lives of others. I was listening to a podcast from Jentzen Franklin recently and he had a guest who had written a book about the 21 seconds it takes to pray the Lord’s Prayer. He talked about the meaning of the different sections of the prayer and how they relate to the individual who is praying. Then, in my study Bible this morning, Max Lucado mentioned personalizing the prayer to pray for specific needs. That’s what I do and I think God wants me to share how I personalize His prayer.

My Father – God is my Father, my daddy, and I am His child. He has adopted me into His family and I can talk to Him anytime I need to or want to because He is always right there. He’s a good father.

Which art in Heaven – Yes, God is in Heaven, He rules there, but He is omnipresent which means He is everywhere all the time. I acknowledge that He lives in Heaven but, by His Spirit, He is with me and in me. I sometimes look around my TV room where I meet with Him each morning and glance over at the big chair and say, “Good morning Father.” I then look over at the couch next to me and say, “Good morning Jesus.” And finally, in my own chair I say, “Good morning Holy Spirit.”, because He is with me and in me. Then I say, “Thank you all for another day.”

Hallowed be thy name – What does “hallowed” mean anyway? We don’t use that word so I say, “Your name is great and above all names.” “I glorify, magnify, praise, worship and lift up your name here in this room.” “I love you Father, you are great!”

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done Revelation 5:10 says, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” I pray for God’s kingdom to come on the earth and that I will do my part to help bring that about. I want God’s will to be done in me as He planned even before I was born. As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42), I pray that God’s will, not mine, be done on the earth. I want to be a part of that large crowd who will witness the return of Jesus as His children, His people, and take over and establish His kingdom right here.

On earth as it is in Heaven – I add, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done…in me, in my home, my family, my neighborhood, my town, my church, my county, my region, my state, in Washington DC and in the earth as it is in Heaven.” Notice that some versions say “in the earth” instead of “on the earth”. I heard someone say this could be because we were made from the dust of the earth so we are the earth; we were made from earth so we are the earth. This is another way to pray for God’s will to be done in the earth, us, as it is in Heaven.

Give us, this day, our daily bread – “Us” refers to God’s people but I add to that; I pray for God to give to “us”, which includes me, my family, and those in my “circle of influence”, which are those people I know or have an influence on. “Us” also would include those outside my circle of influence, those I don’t know, but who are looking in and notice God’s influence on my life and will be affected by that. “Our daily bread” refers to the things we need each day. In the desert, the Israelites were provided with food from Heaven, manna, which the people were only to gather enough for one day. Any extra they hoarded would rot. (Exodus 16). God knows what we need for each day and He wants us to trust Him for it. He will not give us a week’s or month’s supply because He wants us to depend on Him and not our stored up supply.

I also pray for specific things to be included in “our daily bread”. First, I pray for those who need salvation, the most important thing people need. I pray that they will be convicted of their sin, troubled and bothered in their lifestyle and that they may receive a revelation of the truth of how they have been scammed by Satan’s tricks. I also rebuke and bind the work of the devil in their lives, in the name of Jesus. Next I pray for healing for those who are sick or injured. I ask for God’s healing touch to be on them and that they will be healed and restored, to the glory of God. I mention several people specifically who are on my heart who need healing. And finally, I pray for all the other needs people may have; financial, relational, for strongholds to be broken and for wisdom in decisions, “according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). “Lord, give me what I need today to do what you want me to do today.” “How can I serve you today?”

And forgive us our sins, debts, trespasses – We cannot be effective as God’s people, we cannot do His work if we are “dirty” with the filth of the world. God wants to and will forgive us if we ask Him, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). And Jesus told his disciples when they asked him how many times we’re supposed to forgive someone, “seventy times seven”, (Matthew 18:22), which means time after time after time. So God will forgive us if we ask, confess, and repent of our sins. Debts are when someone has done something to us and owe us and trespasses are when we knowingly sin. Jesus died for our sins, paid the debt for us and loves us even in our trespasses.

As we forgive those who have sinned against us – It’s very important to God for us to forgive others. “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions”. (Mark 11:26). Jesus said if we come to the altar with our offering and remember that someone has something against us, we should lay our offering down and go make it right, forgive, the other person, (Matthew 5:23-24). Even after Jesus gave this pattern of prayer, He went back and repeated the importance of forgiveness. So, it’s important.

And lead us not into temptation – We ask God to not lead us to a place where we’ll be tempted. Now, I wondered about this because I know, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1). Jesus was led into temptation but it was so He would be tested and have the chance to show the devil who was boss. So I pray, “Lord, lead me not into temptation unless it part of my training.” And if that’s the case…

But deliver us from evil – If God allows me to be tempted to see if I’m ready to be promoted to the next level of service, and I want that, then I pray for wisdom and strength to be successful then to deliver me victorious from the situation, the evil. I was going through a hard time a few years ago and was praying as I drove to work, “God this is too hard!” And, immediately, His voice in my spirit said, “Oh, you want out of the advanced class?” I replied, “No, no Lord, I want to be the best I can be for you, take me through this.” We can remain in Kindergarten and get by but God wants us to progress in His kingdom from “glory to glory”, (2 Corinthians 2:18).

For thine is kingdom and the power and the glory – The end of this prayer, like the beginning, is the acknowledgement that all this if for God’s kingdom, it’s His power that we use and it’s all for His glory and not mine. I heard a preacher use the acronym, Nby4: In God’s kingdom, by His power and for His glory, N by 4. So I pray, “God, today may I be in Your kingdom, operate by Your power and always for Your glory.”

Forever – Just like the end of the 23^rd Psalm, “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER.” If we are God’s children and He is our God, we will be with Him forever!

AMEN. So be it! And Amen.

Make it a point to memorize and pray the Lord’s Prayer every day. It only takes 21 seconds so you could pray this several times a day. It will change your life.

Why Do We Have Christmas?

December 13, 2015 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 2014

(This is written in simple language which might be good to share with your kids or grandkids.)

God created the earth, created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden to live. He told them to be the overseers of the Garden and take care of it. The Garden, and the earth, was perfect; nothing bad was there. Then that old snake, the devil came in and tricked them into disobeying God. God had told them they could use anything in the Garden except the tree in the center. (It’s like a kid’s mom saying you can have any food or snacks in the kitchen but don’t touch that plate of candy on the table.) Well, Eve and Adam fell for the trick of the devil and ate from the tree. Evil and bad things then came into the Garden; it wasn’t perfect anymore. (Genesis 1-3)

Things got worse and worse until God had to do something. He brought a great flood over the earth to drown all the bad people. But one man, Noah, who found favor in the eyes of the Lord, and his family, eight people, were going to be spared. God gave him plans to build a big boat, the Ark, so Noah’s family and many animals were saved and the earth was good again. (Genesis 6-9)

Now, Noah had three boys one of which was good and the other two were bad. The bad boys and their wives started having kids and after many years, the earth was filled with evil again. So God had to try another plan to save the people on the earth. He said to Jesus, “Son, I want you to go down there as a baby, I’ll take care of all of the details, grow up and live a perfect life, like it was in the original Garden and right after the flood. Tell the people about Me, do lots of miracles for the people and show them how to get to Heaven. It’ll be hard on you but this is what we need to do.

Jesus agreed and God’s plan was initiated. Next time, we’ll see how that plan worked out.

The Final Countdown

October 10, 2015 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given October 9, 2015

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only….Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:36, 44)

I saw a commercial recently where the 80s rock band Europe was singing the song, “The Final Countdown”. It made me think of our day and time. Many Bible scholars are saying we are in the last days and the signs of the times seem to back up that assessment. So, I envisioned this scene in my mind:

God has set the final countdown, the clock is ticking, and Satan and his cohorts see it and Satan says, “Oh no!” “It’s about to be over and we’re doomed!” “Go out and drag as many as you can down with us before our time runs out.” “Look for those who are weak, lukewarm, and afraid.” “Remind them of their past and convince them there’s no hope.” “Don’t bother with those sinners though, they’re already with us.” “But now be careful, don’t waste your time with those who have on this Armour of God stuff, they’re strong and are aware of their power and we can’t mess with them.” “Ok, guys, go out and get ‘em!”

The final countdown. It may be ticking away for you, we don’t really know. But we do know how to be ready when it hits zero. If you’re a sinner or one of those weak, lukewarm people, you can decide to put on the Armour today. The devil is out to get you and take you down to Hell with him. Don’t let him! Stand up, come forward and get your armour.

One Day

October 3, 2015 by Bill Leave a Comment

One day soon, people will be going about their business as usual; work, school, sports, home, shopping, gardening, whatever is on their schedule at the time. Then suddenly, no matter where anyone is, they will hear a loud shout from above and while they are looking up to the sky, they will hear a loud trumpet sound. And as they cast their gaze skyward, they will all see the appearance of a figure in the clouds. It will be Jesus.

Then a strange thing begins to happen. People, Christians, who had previously died, suddenly begin coming up out of the cemeteries and float up toward Jesus. As the last of those who had died in Christ rises to meet Jesus in the air, those Christians who were standing there watching this scene began to rise up as well! They all rise up to join this victorious gathering in the clouds. There are smiles on all their faces. (1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17).

Back on the ground among those who remained, there materializes a strange, cold numbness which sweeps over them. Those atheists, skeptics, know-it-alls, those who had been deceived by Satan begin to realize what had just happened and are saying, “Oh no, it was true!” And in their minds they will hear, “Yes, you had your chance and you rejected it.” They are left behind! They look up and see their Christian friends, family and others there with Jesus and an overwhelming fear captivates them as they realize it’s too late! And…what about their little children?

If you’re not sure where you will be on that day, don’t listen to Satan, don’t blow it. Say YES to Jesus today!