witness | Revelations From The Road

All Aboard!

June 21, 2016 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given January 2011

“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19).

You don’t have to look very far to see that the world is heading in the wrong direction and the current is strong. If we as Christians don’t do anything, we will just float downstream with the negative flow going right along with the ways of the world. Many are doing that right now; not resisting the flow and going along with whatever the world floats their way.

But…if we resist and begin to paddle our boat upstream we will find that the going is tough at first. But as we persist and keep paddling against the current, our God will give us strength we didn’t know we had. First thing you know, you’ll have a motor and can then put away the oars. You’ll begin to build up speed and God will be pleased and give you a bigger motor. Then you will have people who are going the other way notice you and you’ll start taking on passengers which will soon get you a bigger boat. And eventually you will notice your Yahweh Yacht sprouting wings which will lift you off the stream and into the air!

This may seem a little silly but who knows what God will do for us if we will just resist the world and go against the flow. “Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17). That boat is there; are you floating the wrong way or are you paddling? All aboard!

Song Lyrics – My Prayer

May 20, 2016 by Bill Leave a Comment

My Prayer

I come to you this morning, Lord, with thankfulness and praise.
For all the things you’ve done for me, this prayer to you I raise.
You brought me through the cold, dark night. I’m always in your care.
And now, amidst the morning light, I offer you my prayer.

Forgive me when I fail you, Lord, and when I fall to sin.
You promised your forgiveness when, my heart, you entered in.
And, thank you for the blessings that, with me, you freely share.
And now, as I begin my day, I offer you my prayer.

My prayer to you is humble. My worth, indeed, is small.
But, still you offer freely, your love to one and all.

The needs of your creation, Lord, I speak to you today.
Wisdom, healing, guidance, hope, for all these things I pray.
And help me, Lord, Thy will to do, my testimony share.
That some lost soul may come to know salvation is my prayer.

My prayer is one of faith. I know your word is true.
And now I wait expecting your answers to come through.

Go with me now, protect me, by your Spirit, Lord, I pray.
And may your love be seen in me by those I meet today.
And any praise and glory shall be Thine unto the end.
For it is in your name I pray. Thank you, Lord, AMEN

Bill Dotson ©

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.

Does It Show?

October 25, 2015 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given October 16, 2015

As we go about our daily lives, people “see” us. They observe our actions, our speech and our demeanor and sometimes form opinions based on what they have seen. So, what do you want people to see?

Your relationship with Jesus, does it show? Can people tell by watching you that you’ve been with Jesus that morning? Do you spend quiet time with Him? Does it show? Your Christianity, your love for others, your knowledge of the Bible, your servant attitude; does it show? Think of your day, what shows? When you’re tempted, when something goes wrong…what shows? When you think no one is looking, when you see someone in need, when you see something that needs to be done…what shows? When you’re criticized, someone does you wrong, when something’s not fair…what shows? At work, school, while driving, at the store, at home, AT THE BALLGAME…what do you show?

While you’re at church or around “church people”, do you show a different you? Think about it. “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) People are watching, and even when you think you‘re alone…God is watching!

The Lord Has Need Of It

December 31, 2014 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given December 30, 2014

While reading my daily Bible passage about the last days of Jesus, the part about preparing the upper room for the last supper brought a thought to my mind. Luke 22:10-12 tells us, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” Jesus had a need and He had apparently prepared people ahead of time to meet that need. The man with the jar of water, the owner of the house, and his disciples were all a part of the plan. The Lord’s need was fulfilled by others. Almost immediately, other Bible passages came to my mind about similar circumstances where the Lord had a need.

Jesus was planning His final trip to Jerusalem which we know as, “The Triumphal Entry” and He needed a donkey to ride in on. “Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” (Matthew 21:1-3). The Lord needs them. The owner of the animals readily gave them to the Lord because He needed them.

Another time, Jesus was ministering to a large crowd on a hillside and His disciples were concerned that the people were getting hungry and needed to go get something to eat. Jesus told them to give the people something to eat and they complained that it would take half a year’s wages to feed so many. I can imagine Jesus saying something like, “OK then what do we have?” “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:8-9). Jesus had a need and a boy in the crowd offered his lunch. In Jesus’ hands, that small lunch fed around 15,000 people that day.

A home owner, a donkey owner and a boy with a lunch, they all had something the Lord needed and were willing to give it up for His use. Great things were accomplished as a result. Yes, Jesus could have miraculously created an upper room, a donkey or food for thousands but He wanted to use what was already there; to involve people in His plans. The Bible doesn’t say but I can imagine that those who gave were truly blessed. My question is this: What do we have that the Lord has need of? If the Lord directly asked you for something you had, would you give it? Of course you would. But what if someone else came and asked for something saying, “The Lord has need of it.” What would your response be? Do we hear His request when the offering plate comes by or when we hear of a benevolent need in our community? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.‘”(Matthew 25:40).

In the coming year, let’s be more aware of the needs around us and be willing to offer our time, expertise, or money to help meet those needs. The Lord needs it and we have it. Offer it for His use and see what happens.