Jesus | Revelations From The Road

Look Up!

May 1, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1)

Recently, during my devotion time, I came across the phrase, “look up” and it began a thought process in me that brought to my mind several times where this phrase was mentioned and experienced. In the verse above, Jesus had just shared with His disciples what was going to happen to Him and to them, that He would be leaving them but that their grief would turn to joy. Picture the scene as Jesus prayed to the Father: He looked up toward Heaven and spoke to God. Looking up was important to Jesus.

And remember the story of the Fishes and Loaves? “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.” (Luke 9:16). Again, Jesus looked up. He knew where The Father was and, I suspect, He wanted His disciples and the people to know too.

During The Transfiguration in Matthew 17, Jesus was with Peter, James and John on the mountain where He was transfigured by the glory of God and they heard God speak through the cloud that covered them. The disciples were terrified and fell to the ground…“But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.” (v. 7-8). I’m reminded that when we’re afraid or in a trying situation, we may fall to our knees in fear and desperation . But we need to do as Peter, James and John did. They looked up and saw Jesus.

In my second retirement job, I directed a program that placed senior citizens in classrooms working with special needs children. One of the volunteers was a lady who was the Spiritual Leader of an Indian tribe who did presentations on Indian lore all over the region. One of the things she told me was about prayer. When we pray, we usually bow our heads and close our eyes. She said that when her people prayed, they looked up to Heaven and talked to God. I thought that was very interesting.

Two more things. The people at the store checkout; I don’t know if they’re taught this or not but most of them do not “look you in the eye” after checking you out. It really makes a difference when the person looks up at you, makes eye contact and hands you your receipt and wishes you a good day. Don’t you think it would please Jesus if we look up at him when we pray and “see” His face? Finally, the words of the old hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” are so true: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” Look up! “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” (Psalm 121:1).

Mercy and Grace

April 3, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

When I think about it, I cannot believe the mercy and grace I’ve received from God. There are so many times I’ve messed up in one way or another but every time, when I confess, repent, and ask forgiveness, He is right there to hear me and forgive me. That’s mercy. In Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus a question about forgiveness, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” And Jesus answers, “I say to you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven.” (V. 21-22). The 70×7 expression is symbolic for infinity which is how many times God will forgive us. It’s hard to believe but God loves us that much. He is patient with us, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9).

But realize this, Jesus would never say, “I’ve given you mercy by forgiving you, now get out of here!” No! But He does say, like He told the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11). He will not condemn us for our sin, He will forgive us, show us mercy, but instructs us to not keep on sinning. I’ve heard that mercy could be defined as, “Not getting something we deserve.” And grace is, “Getting something we don’t deserve.”

I got a vision once of how mercy and grace might look in a courtroom, you can read about it HERE.

As we now look forward to Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday, let’s think of mercy and grace at the cross. Did Jesus give us mercy on the cross or did He give us grace? He came to earth as a baby, grew in stature and in the power of God, suffered horrendous pain and suffering at his crucifixion according to the plan of God. But He did it for us, He took on our sin so the charges against us would be dropped. That is MERCY! But He also rose from the dead to give us the chance for life eternal. If we accept His gift of mercy, we will also receive His gift of GRACE. Hallelujah! The thief on the cross next to Jesus repented and was shown mercy AND Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). Now, that is GRACE! Because of the cross, we have the offer of MERCY and GRACE. “Mercy forgave the thief on the cross but grace escorted him into paradise.” – Max Lucado

Are you guilty? Yes, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Have you asked to be forgiven for the umteenth time? If you have then you have received mercy and you didn’t get what you deserved. Now, bow to Jesus, follow Him and you will receive grace in this life and much more in the life to come with Him in Heaven. Happy Resurrection Day!

The Knock at the Door

March 13, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20).

Pastor Wayne preached on “Access” last week and it made me think of the verse above and how we give access to Jesus. I began getting an idea of the many ways we could react when we hear “the knock on the door”. Let’s look at these.

Think of us sitting in our house somewhere and we hear someone knocking on the front door. What do we do? Well for me, I have a doorbell camera and when someone steps up on my porch, my phone notifies me, and I can look and see who it is. But usually, you hear the knock, you go open the door and see who it is. First choice: Do you let them in, or do you go out on the porch to talk to them? What if it’s Jesus? Second choice: Do you invite them in to sit in your living room to talk? Do you want to give them access to your house more than just the living room? What if it’s Jesus?

Third choice: Do you tell them to wait a minute so you can go put away some questionable magazines, turn off the TV program you were watching or go hide some stuff you didn’t want them to see? What if it’s Jesus? Fourth choice: Do you invite them in to other rooms of your house and introduce them to your family? What if it’s Jesus? Fifth choice: You’ve been preparing dinner; would you invite them to stay and eat with you? What if it’s Jesus?

Sixth choice: I remember an older gentleman in our church years ago who told a story of someone who came to visit and had worn out their welcome. You know what I mean? The man said to his wife, “Honey, I think we should go to bed so these people can go home.” Are we going to let this visitor stay as long as they like? What if it’s Jesus? And finally, the seventh choice: Are we going to invite this visitor to stay with us, show them to their room and give them access to everything? What if it’s Jesus?

Study has revealed to me that, contrary to popular belief, Jesus is not knocking on the door of an unbeliever. He does not beg and plead for people to get saved, He gives them the choice and it’s their decision. He’s knocking on the door of a Christian. His statement in Revelation was to the Church of Laodicea who had fallen away from their Spiritual zeal and love for the Word. So back to the knock on the door: What are we going to do when we see its Jesus at our door? #thinkaboutit

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:23).

The Message

December 19, 2020 by Bill Leave a Comment

It’s the Christmas season. We’re hearing and seeing all kinds of news, both good and bad. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Jesus has overcome the world; this is the news we need to keep in mind.

As we read the story of Christmas in the Bible, parts of the story are found in all four gospels and in prophecies from the Old Testament, we see that there were several messages given to different people at different times. But all these messages were pointing us to one amazing event, the birth of Jesus. Let’s look briefly at these messages and the messengers.

Isaiah said, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). Zechariah and Micah also had prophesies about Jesus. These were the first messages.

Then, in Luke 1:17, the priest Zechariah received a message about the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist, “And he will go on before the Lord…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” The angel brought the message to Zechariah that he and his wife would have a baby in their old age, the cousin of Jesus. Message two.

The angelic messenger, Gabriel, appeared to Mary and gave her the message that she was favored, she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and would give birth to the Savior, (Luke 1:26-38). She didn’t quite understand but agreed with God’s plan, “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38). Message three.

When Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy, he was going to quietly break up with her, but he received a message in a dream: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21). Message four.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem and, that night up in the hills above town, a message came to the shepherds about what just happened down below: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem.” (Luke 2:10-11). The shepherds were amazed especially when a host of other angels joined in praising God. Message five.

The shepherds were so overjoyed that they wanted to go see this Savior baby and when they had seen him, just as the angels had said, they wanted to spread the Good News. “After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.” (Luke 2:17). Message six.

Then, sometime later, a star appeared to some Magi, wise men who studied the stars and knew this new star was something amazing. It began to move giving them a Heavenly message to follow it, “For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2). They came to Jerusalem looking for Jesus and the star led them to the house where He, Mary and Joseph were staying. Message seven.

Now, we’ve read these messages in our Bible which are Heavenly messages to us of the Good News that came about those many years ago. We have Message Eight…what are we going to do with it? “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 16:15). Merry Christmas!

Two or Three

June 6, 2020 by Bill Leave a Comment

In one of my morning devotions this week, I was reading Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 where it’s talking about how two people are better than one when on life’s path because they can help each other. But then in verse 12 it says, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” It went from two to three. I thought, “God, what’s up with that?” As usual, I got the answer in my Spirit, “The third person is Jesus.” Jesus is always with us, (Hebrews 13:5), whether we’re by ourselves or we’re walking with a friend, He’s there. He’s saying it’s good to have fellow believers to be there for us and go with us but Jesus is always there too.

Then I started thinking; Jesus sent the apostles out two by two, (Luke 10:1). He also said, “When two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20). Then, I was reminded of Jesus being the vine and we are the branches, (John 15:5), which speaks to the idea of being together with other believers but depending on the vine. And also, the body and its many parts, (1 Corinthians 12), one body with many parts all working together. If two are better than one and three makes an unbreakable cord, what can the body, the Church, do together? Wow!

Now, there’s also another “three”. Can you guess what it is? The Trinity, the Three in One; The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). Now, THAT three strand cord will never be broken!

There’s one more thing I want to mention relating to “three”. John 17:21 says, “Father, I pray they will be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. I want them also to be in us.” (Three). “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:13). Think about this: The Father is in Jesus, Jesus is in the Father and, by the Holy Spirit that we received when we were saved, they are in us, all THREE. So, if we are in Him and He is in us, (all Three), then we are in each other! Can you wrap your brain around that? Another reason to love one another.

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