Revelations

Revelations… Not the book in the Bible…that would be Revelation, no S, not a plural. However, I have had several revelations over the past few days…

Revelation is the act of disclosing or discovering to others what was before unknown to them. It is the disclosure or communication of truth to men by God Himself, or by His authorized agent.

We have a book in the Bible that contains the Revelation given to John. Yet really, every book of the Bible is revelation. There will always be yet another truth that we have not seen, understood, or applied. It is alive, The Living Word…always fresh and relevant.

There is a Divine Agent who brings the words on the pages to life, giving revelation of the truth there. Jesus said that The Father would send this unseen tutor to teach and instruct us, to be our Holy Reminder… Who will empower us to recall and to apply the truth we are given.

But He’ll not force-feed us. He’ll not impose His will over ours. “..how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)

When I can’t get it…when I don’t understand what God wants, what scripture says, how to make decisions, where to go from here…I can ask for Help. And He will send Help.

But The Holy Spirit of God is not like a pigeon. Pigeons will light on your head, crowd in around you, expecting…searching…

God’s Holy Spirit “descended on Jesus in bodily form like a dove…” (Luke 3:22) We know that God does not change. (Num. 23:19, James 1:17, 1 Sam.15:29,Heb. 13:8) His nature and character have never changed and will never change. He is still today, like a dove.

So if you’re waiting for Him to crowd in on you like a pigeon, forget it.
But if you want His help, ask Him for it. Luke 11:13 tells us to ask. And when you ask…don’t put conditions on it. He is trustworthy. There is no need for fear.

Father how grateful I am for Your Holy Spirit.

Alone

Alone… I’ll be alone this week-end. In a crowd…

I often feel alone. The weight of responsibility, struggles against personal issues, business decisions, financial needs and responsibilities, concerns about family, ….it gets heavy sometimes. Often, the enemy accuses and tries to deceive me…trying to convince me that I am alone…the only one. He is a liar. I am never alone. He tried that on Elijah…had him thinking he was the only one.

Then the Lord answered.

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” ( 1 Kings 19:11)

Elijah had been God’s mouthpiece. It got him a lot of problems to deal with, especially from Jezebel. She didn’t like the message and she was intent on shutting him up. Elijah just got overwhelmed, and did what I often want to do…and have done. Run. Hide.

At least he had run to a place that was connected with God…a place where Moses had met with God. Now that he was there, there was “a great and powerful wind……but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.”(vs.11)

Ok…He’s supposed to be passing by, you’d think it would be a really big thing…but the powerful displays were just shaking ground and blowing wind. No comfort there !

“After the earthquake came a fire..” Surely God will communicate thru these appearances of flames…right? “But the Lord was not in the fire.” (vs.12)

Sigh… I’ve looked for God and EXPECTED God to come to my aid in ways like that. Make a grand entrance Lord…come in and rock the house. And He certainly can and has done that. He’s there in the powerful miraculous things He does. He’s there in the mega-church gatherings, He’s there in the big conferences with thousands gathered…He’s there in the praise rallies. But it’s just hard for me to hear Him in all that noise and activity.

So like Elijah, I’m going off to be alone, and I expect to hear The Whisper…in fact, He’s already started this morning, with this reflecting time.

“After the fire came a gentle whisper…When Elijah heard it….he pulled his cloak over his face and went out….” (vs. 13)

God shows up. Every single time I seek His Face…He shows up.


He is so very good.

Taxes..

Taxes.. This is the day. I have to mail that check today.

Taxes aren’t a new thing. There are stories of taxation all thru scripture. See if you relate to any of these..

“…We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.”(Neh. 5:4)
“..his successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor..” (Daniel 11:20)

I sure relate. The stories that go along with those passages are very interesting, too long and complicated for these short writings. You might check them out…the ruler of the Daniel passage was eliminated…poisoned by one of his employees. I won’t say anything else about that !

Joking aside, I confess that I resent writing those checks. I do NOT resent helping those who can not help themselves. I do NOT resent contributing to legitimate needs or to supporting efforts to improve our culture.

“..look after orphans and widows in their distress..” (James 1:27)

“…we should continue to remember the poor..” (Gal. 2:10)

( In my humble opinion, more is spent on tearing down our culture than improving it.)

Scripture teaches that we should work together for the common good. Nothing is just about ‘Me’. At least it shouldn’t be…

“..these…were helping to support them out of their own means.” (Luke 8:3)

I don’t really like this next verse….but I want to be obedient…..

“Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes…(Rom. 13:7)

I argue with God that I owe them. He reminds me, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s…” (Matt. 22:21)

Then I complain to Him that it is NOT theirs, why should I be required to give it to them?! That check represents a lot of MY hard work. And again, He reminds me…“Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds.” (Matt. 6:26 The Message)

He reminds me that I have no need unmet…I have MORE than enough.

I wonder that our problems might be far less if everyone adhered to this standard of behavior…

“ If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2Th. 3:10)

So…off to work I go.

Looked

Looked…. I remember as a child how my daddy could just look at me and I was disciplined…

There was no need for words, I knew what he would be saying had he spoken. And rather than push him into speaking…I’d comply ! It is said that the eyes are the windows of the soul. It is true that the eyes tell so very much.

“ The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” (Luke 22:61)

Peter was a brave man. He’d lashed out with his sword against armed soldiers, way out numbered.. But he’d go down fighting.. Except that Jesus called him off and even healed the damage he’d managed to do. (I would like to hear that story from Malchus, the guy whose ear Peter cut off and Jesus healed!)

I can only imagine how confused Peter must have been. Jesus had instructed them to take swords. (vs.36) Now he was telling them not to use them.

So often, Peter gets remembered for his failures, and I’m glad they are recorded because I identify with him so much. But let’s not forget how committed and brave he was. He did use the sword he’d been told to take, however misguided he was. He did get out of the boat and walk on the water, even if he did sink moments later. The rest of the crew sat inside the boat and watched.

Peter ran away with the rest of the disciples when Jesus was arrested, but he followed. He saw what was happening. He witnessed it. I’m thankful for that, for I was reading it last night and again moments ago. He followed, still in the confused mindset of all the events that were happening so fast. How terrifying it must have been, and he was ‘sifted like wheat’ as he fell into denying that he even knew Jesus much less was he a follower.

Then Jesus looked at him.

It makes me want to cry to think how Peter felt then. He’d heard the third call of the night moments before. Then the look….

But how precious our Lord is that he made sure Peter knew that this wasn’t a surprise to Him. Jesus made sure that Peter would remember His warning…Jesus had prayed for Peter. “…Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you…that your faith may not fail. And WHEN you have turned back…strengthen your brothers.” (vs.32)

How many times Peter must have gone over those last hours and the last conversations. I hope he never missed the fact that Jesus knew about his failures before he failed…and He knew that Peter would turn back even stronger than ever, to strengthen his brothers…

and his sisters…. Thank You Lord for Peter.

Perjury

Perjury.. Willfully making a false oath. Swearing to something that is false…

There was a time when truth was expected and assumed. People could be taken at their word, to do what they said they would do…whatever they told you was so. Not so much anymore it seems…

Perjury could cost you dearly under Jewish law.

“If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the Presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony ….then do to him as he intended to do to the other…. You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deut. 19: 16-19)

Wow ! You lie to get the other guy…you get what you were setting him up for !

Fast forward…Mark 14

“The chief priests…were looking for evidence against Jesus, to put Him to death..”

“..some stood up and gave…false testimony against Him…yet their testimony did not agree…”

The very ones who held the positions to enforce the laws they lived by, ignored that law. They LOOKED for evidence…didn’t matter how accurate it was. Not only did they not enforce their law, they did not punish the perjurers, they became involved IN the act.

“Are you not going to answer?” they asked Jesus.

Today, as then, a person on trial is not required to answer questions that would show himself to be guilty.

“Jesus remained silent.” and by His very silence, He convicted them of their wrongdoing, convicted them of breaking the law they claimed to uphold.

Until…

“ the high priest asked Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of The Blessed One?”

“I Am”.

Jesus never denied His Father. And they crucified Him for it.

Braced

Braced.. My wrists have braces on them. I’ve done such repetitive motion for so many years, there’s some wear and tear going on in there, they get tired, weak, and ache…and they need support and rest…thus, the braces.

I’ve talked to God about them, thought He might be willing to just zap them. And He has the power…but for now, I believe He just wants me to rest them when I can. So, I got two braces to wear when I’m sleeping or not working at something. The braces keep them from moving much, forcing me to allow those muscles etc. to be still and rest.

I thought about Moses and his tired old arms. Moses had these thousands of people who looked to him for leadership in every matter. Moses was the standard bearer. He held the rod that had turned into a snake before Pharoah, the rod that had been held out over the water as it parted for their escape from Pharoah’s army. The rod that brought the life saving water out of the rock in the waterless desert.

Then they got to Rephidim, and the descendants of Esau, the Amalekites attacked them. Once again, all eyes were on Moses. What now?

“Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow, I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” (Ex. 27:9) So, it was done, the soldiers were chosen and sent, and “Moses , Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.” (vs. 10,11)

Talk about pressure… talk about tired arms…. Imagine the heaviness of everything being affected by your behavior, your holding up the standard….. I might have thrown it down and hoped for the best.

“When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on one side, one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” (vs.12)

Moses had the desire, his heart was right, but he needed help in shouldering the responsibility. He needed propping up….a way to rest even in the midst of doing the work of God.

How might we do that for each other? How might we wrap around each other like this brace on my wrist?…supporting and enabling… even encouraging rest, but without being removed from our own battle station?

Lord, help us to answer in obedience to Your call, and report to our post, ready for battle. Even the strongest of us tires, and we need the Aarons and Hurs to come alongside us, to enable us to rest, even as we continue to fight and hold our position. And we need Your Holy Spirit, Who is our Strength in every situation. Thank you…You are so good.

Row

Row… Did you ever hear someone say ‘That’s a hard row to hoe.”? I remember as a kid hearing older people saying that and I remember thinking they were saying ‘road’….It didn’t make a bit of sense to me then….

Hoeing is hard period. I avoid it. I bought a garden tiller to do most of that for me. I am thankful for machinery! But the principle behind that old saying is the same even with a garden tiller.

When you start down a row, if it’s not straight, it is very difficult. You can’t turn around in the middle of a row, you have to go on thru it, even if for some reason you decide you don’t want to. Once you undertake a row, you’re committed to finishing it, or destroying it trying to get out of it.

I don’t like that truth. I’ve started down some rows that got very hard to hoe…and really wanted out.

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (spoken by Jesus in Luke 9:62)


“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised… my righteous one will live by faith…” (Hebrews 10:35-36, 38)


That settles it. This row is hard. But He asks me to be completely committed, not half-hearted….and to finish it.