provision | Revelations From The Road

Light

December 1, 2018 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 2018

In the past few weeks, God has been bringing the topic of light to my mind. As usual, He gives me visions, pictures or videos in my mind, that reveal to me what He is showing me and what He wants me to pass on to you. This blog post is for those who are in darkness or who sometimes wander or find themselves in a dark place.

First, the prophet Isaiah foretold about the coming Savior, “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.” (Isaiah 9:2). Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,” (John 8:12), so we know where the source of our needed light comes from. If we’re in darkness, we need to find Jesus. The first vision I received was of a person walking on a path. It was getting dark and, being in an unfamiliar place, they were beginning to be afraid. But I could see Jesus there behind them although they didn’t seem to know He was there, (Jesus is ALWAYS near, (Deuteronomy 31:8). There was an aura of light surrounding Jesus which stretched out about two or three feet around Him. The person cried out, “Jesus!”, and He replied, “Hey, I’m right here, come on back.” The person hears Jesus’ voice, turns and runs back to Him and enters that aura of light and safety. “Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.” (Psalm 89:15). What a beautiful picture! Maybe you’re on that dark path now. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9). He’s calling.

Another image I had gotten years ago but was reminded of again this time was the verse Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;” Again, I can see a person entering into a dark valley, maybe something going on in their lives, but they’re not afraid because Jesus is with them. This verse mentions, “the SHADOW of death”. A shadow won’t hurt you and you don’t need to be afraid of it. And, what has to be present to create a shadow? A light, of course and Jesus is that light! Not to mention His rod and staff. You’ll be OK.

The last image I got was of a person in a large auditorium with a massive floor space and they were out sitting in the middle of the floor. And, it was pitch dark! They were again afraid not knowing how to get out, where to go or what to do. Can anyone identify with those feelings? Again, the person was praying, “Lord, please help!” And, in the dark, a small. still voice said, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1). The person turns toward the voice saying, “What?”, when suddenly they hear a loud click and all the lights in the auditorium come on and flood the place with God’s glory! Wow, can you see it? The person runs to Jesus who directs them to the exit.

So we see that Jesus is always with us no matter how dark it seems and He will provide us light and show us the way. But there’s another lesson here. Yes, Jesus is the light but, “Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). So, if Jesus is the light and He dwells in us, don’t we have that same light to share with others? yes we do! And aren’t we supposed to be shining examples of what a Christian is supposed to be? Yes we are! “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16). When we do that, it helps our fellow man and will give glory to God. Let’s ask God to “turn up the light” of His Spirit in us as we go about our day. Be blessed!

Visions of Resistance

October 11, 2018 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given October 2018

God speaks to His people in many ways. For me, I see something in nature, I receive an image from something I read, or God will show me something as I pray. But many times, I get a vision which is like a video that plays in my mind as a result of something I have read, seen or heard. This happened recently in church during our praise and worship time. The first vision was during the song, “Stand in Your Love” by Josh Baldwin and the vision came from the line, “My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in Your love.” This is what I “saw”: A person was on a path in the country with grass on either side, (I live in the country), and standing there before him was a little demon in a grey/brown cloud which I knew to be fear. The cloud of fear was enlarging and coming closer to the person and, understandably, they were afraid. But it was their fear that was harassing them. Then, they heard a voice behind them, (Isaiah 30:21), and they turned and saw Jesus standing there with His arms open wide in a position of invitation. But most noticeable about Jesus was a bright aura of light surrounding Him and He was motioning the person to come stand in His light of love. Well, the person glanced back at the demon in the dark cloud of fear then turned and hurried back into God’s love and stood there with Him. The demon in his dirty cloud of fear realized he had no chance and departed. The person’s fear didn’t stand a chance when they went to stand in the love of God. What a great picture! If you’re being

harassed by your fear, turn and go stand in God’s love. He’s right there. Draw near to God and He’ll draw near to you, (James 4:8).

Then another praise song by UpperRoom, “Surrounded, Fight my Battles” had this lyric which brought on another vision: “It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You.” Again, I saw a person on a path in the country who was surrounded, a little more than an arm’s length away, by little demons. The person looked right, left and behind them and saw that they were surrounded by these evil creatures. But then, they raised up and looked over the heads of these small creatures and, behind them to the right, left and all around, were big, strong, armed angelic beings just standing there with intimidating looks on their faces. The frightful look on the person’s face transformed into a big smile as they nodded and motioned to the demons to look behind them. As they did, they realized THEY were surrounded and scattered in fear without a fight. Sometimes we may feel like we’re surrounded by the enemy but God is always nearby and will say, “Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and might things which you don’t know about.” (Jeremiah 3:33).

This last vision also reminded me of the story in 2 Kings chapter 6 where Elisha and his servant Gehazi were surrounded at Dothan during the night by the King of Aram’s army. The servant went outside in the morning and was terrified at seeing this great army of the enemy surrounding them. He ran back inside and asked Elisha, “Oh no, what are we going to do?” To which Elisha calmly replied, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (Verse 16). Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.” And when Gehazi went back outside, he then saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding the enemy! It can be the same with us when it may look like we’re surrounded by the enemy but actually we are surrounded by God and His mighty army.

“God, I pray that you continue to show us these wonderful, enlightening visions that can be shared with others for our comfort, peace and assurance. In Jesus’ name I pray AMEN!”

Obstacles

September 10, 2018 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given August 2018

“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)

This should be an encouraging word from Jesus but, many times, we forget it. He’s saying, “Don’t worry, chill out, fear not, calm down…I’ve got this!” This would be a good declaration to pray every time you face an obstacle or a temptation.

In church in May, God showed me something that I made note of to share and today is the day. It was about a wall and darkness. I want you to picture in your mind these two scenes especially if you’re facing an obstacle right now. Picture this:

You’re on a path, the path of life I guess, and you’re moving on pretty well. Then, as you round a steep curve, there in your path is a giant wall. Now, you can have three reactions: 1. Turn around and go back. 2. Try to get over or around the wall yourself. 3. Ask jesus for help. Now whether you know it or not, if you’re a Christian, God is there with you and He’ll let you quit or try it on your own; He’s not going to force you to do anything. But He will suggest, direct, or guide you by the Holy Spirit in you to let Him help. Remember the Israelites at the Red Sea? They faced a great obstacle and God told Moses to tell the people, “Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.” (1 Samuel 12:16). So in this scene, see yourself saying, “OK God, you take it from here.” Then either the wall will topple, disappear, or you’ll suddenly be on the other side, God’s choice. Or, He might make you climb over it, with His help.

The other vision I got that day was of someone in a small pitch-black room, total darkness. They were afraid to move because they might trip or bump into something. They didn’t know which way was out. Instead of just sitting there, they called out to God. He flipped the switch and they weren’t in a small room, but a giant auditorium and His light dispelled the darkness! Our vision and thinking are so small, so limited…God’s is so big! Your obstacle???

What Sins?

April 30, 2018 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given April 28, 2018

We all have sinned, (Romans 3:23), it’s our nature because of the sin of Adam and Eve. Inside us rages a daily battle between our sin nature and, if we’re saved, our Spirit nature which entered us at salvation. Maybe we don’t sin every day but maybe we do depending on how aware we are of the battle in us, God’s desire to help us and our willingness to fight. But when we sin, we must immediately repent and ask God to forgive us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). Jesus took our sin on himself at the cross, buried it in the tomb and left it there when He arose. So that’s the end of it, right?

Then why do we keep bringing up our sins from the past? You know the devil will keep reminding you of them but Micah 7:19 reminds us, “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” And, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17). When we feel bad about a sin from the past that we’ve asked and been forgiven for, God will say, “What are you talking about, what sin?” If you’ve asked and been forgiven, thank God and forget about it!

But what about a sin you commit over and over; an addiction or habit you’re having trouble overcoming? When you come to God will He say, “Well, you’ve exceeded your limit of forgiven sins, not this time.” Of course not! “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18: 21-22). It works the same for your sins. “If My people will… humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, (2 Chronicles 7:14). God loves us, we are His precious children, and He will not abandon us.

If you’re somewhere on this revolving door of sin, you’re not the only one. Take heed to these reminders and be humble admitting your sin, pray, seek Gods face and turn from your sin. He’s waiting.

God Is In Control

April 27, 2018 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given September 2017

God taught me a lesson recently about giving Him control. My mother was in a nursing home and I would visit her regularly. Some days, she would be doing very well and, as I walked to the parking lot after the visit, I would thank God that she was doing well. But one time when she was having a bad day, as I walked to my car, I prayed, “God, what’s wrong?” “She’s not doing well today, please help her.” I immediately got the response in my spirit: “Son, you’ve given me control of her situation, right?” “If that’s so, your prayer should be the same on the bad days as it is on the good days.” “If I have control, thank Me every day no matter what.” Oh, it was a revelation to me about giving God full control. Since then, I have remembered this and, even if things aren’t going well in any situation, I say, “God, I give it all to you and I thank you for the outcome.” I’ve even started using the hashtag, #Godisincontrol.

But here is the revelation God gave me on this morning during my devotion time. Yes, we give God control to handle our situation and let us know what to do. But, I think what we would really like is for God to take control of everything so we don’t have to make any decisions or do anything. God would decide and do it all. But it doesn’t work that way. Now, that may be OK for a baby. Babies can’t do or decide anything for themselves and Mom and Dad have to do it all for them. But soon, they grow and good parents begin allowing them to make some decisions and do some things on their own. It’s part of growing up. And I believe God wants it that way as well. “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” (Hebrews 5:14 NLT) We’re not babies but God is training us to step out in faith and do some things on our own. But, we’re never really all on our own, God is with us. “For He hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5). Remember this the next time you’re in a difficult situation and you don’t know what to do. Give God control and thank Him,thank Him, thank Him. #Godisincontrol