Mysteries of the Kingdom

April 7, 2019 I dreamed that a group of children was on a bus. An adult chaperone lied to one child in order to get him to calm down. The adult appeared to take lying to the child lightly. Another adult who was in a higher position, speaking with the chaperone by phone expressed disapproval after finding out she did not tell the child being disciplined the truth. While rebuking the chaperone, the senior adult spoke about the importance of telling children the truth .

Various passages of scripture teach us to tell the truth. Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6 mention teaching children in the ways of the Lord. This time of the year some people tell children about the “Easter bunny, Easter eggs, etc.” Just as the chaperone in the dream used lying to accomplish her goal, these adults have a goal in mind when they tell lies about “Easter.” Bunnies do not lay eggs but it seems like fun. It is more important that children know the truth than that they have fun. Besides, it is a lie that you have to tell a lie in order to have fun. There can be lots of fun celebrating the truth. We are not commanded in scripture to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, nor are we commanded not to celebrate it. We are free to celebrate anything we want to celebrate about the truth. This Sunday, while many Christians remember that Jesus got up from the grave, some have chosen to label it “Resurrection Sunday” because the truth is the word “Easter” has nothing to do with Jesus. “Easter” comes from the name of a pagan goddess. However, it should not be a contentious point. Many are accustomed to saying “Easter” like we all were before being enlightened. Let those who have chosen to rename the day do so humbly and respect those who use the traditional terminology. The main thing is that we operate in truth as we learn it and pass on the truth to our children.

Beautiful World

Psalm 115:16 NKJV

The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.

After taking a trip recently to the land of Israel to enjoy some of the natural resources, I gained a new appreciation for this verse of Scripture. The therapeutic and healing properties of the Dead Sea and the hot springs were designed by God for mankind. The therapeutic benefits of looking at the waterfalls of En Gedi, the hills of the Golan, the Sea of Galilee and more is amazing. It’s no wonder this was called the Promised Land. Wherever we are, when we see and enjoy the beauty of creation, let us with grateful hearts thank God for giving us this wonderful earth. Imagine! We see all this beauty and it’s not yet as good as it shall be when the earth is prepared for us in the end. Maranatha!

What is Spring?

Genesis 8:22 NKJV

 “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”

The Bible talks of 2 seasons - winter and summer. The word “spring” is used a few times in some translations but those passages refer to the beginning of the year, not the season we call “spring.” Autumn or fall is not mentioned at all. What we call “spring” and “fall” are transition periods between the 2 major seasons, summer and winter. The seasons of “spring” and “fall” were added to our vocabulary to describe “seedtime” and “harvest.” These transitional seasons are times of preparation for what is ahead. One of the things we do in the spring is plant vegetation so we will have food in the summer and later in the year. In the fall we prepare for winter. The apostle John spoke about the church being like Jesus when He is revealed in the end. Then John says that those with that hope purify themselves. In other words, John was saying that those who see themselves as being in the transition period between the ascension of Christ and His return are preparing for that glorious event. We must be mindful that although we live “one day at a time” we must live in a way that prepares us for what is ahead. That is another reason we must be close to and led by the Holy Spirit. He knows more than we do about what is ahead of us.

Mysteries of the Kingdom

In my quiet time recently, while sitting with the Lord, I saw the bottom part of a very tall curtain moving gently because of the wind blowing.

After listening for the meaning, I understood that it meant understanding and revelation were behind the curtain or veil. The wind blowing represented the Holy Spirit. The movement of the curtain indicated that it could be moved and the Holy Spirit is the One who can move it. So, now I must draw closer to the Spirit of God and allow Him to remove the veil and reveal things to me that I need to know. This requires praying with the spirit more, meditating the Word, as well as spending time quiet in His presence. Secrets are not hidden from me. They are hidden for me.

Programming

Romans 12:2 NKJV

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

If you are not aware that there are people who consider themselves powerful making an all out effort to program the minds of human beings to accept an ideology that allows the “powerful” to control the masses, let me inform you. It is real. Most of what the general public, watches, reads and listens to is pure programming. That is why Romans 12:2 is more important than ever. Our brains are going to be washed by someone or some group of people. Paul urges us to renew our minds, or wash our brains to stay in line with God’s will. The only way we can do that is to continuously get the water of the Word in us as we add prayer and fellowship with the Holy Spirit in the mix, while limiting our exposure to the propaganda campaign. There was an old saying: “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.” Someone who came up with that must have been aware of what most people did not know at the time. When it comes to the Word and the Holy Spirit, we need to say, “Believe all of what you hear and see spiritually by the Spirit of God.” Let us allow ONLY the Lord to program us.

Pray or Stay?

1 Thessalonians 2:18

Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.

This verse emphasizes the importance of increasing our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit we will know how to handle obstacles. Acts 16:7 said, “After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.” Here is an example of where Paul and his company could not proceed because the Holy Spirit would not allow them. We do not need to “pray through” doors closed by the Lord. However, we should not quit when it is Satan hindering us . Paul sent Timothy when he was unable to go to Thessalonica and it brought comfort to Paul when Timothy brought back a good report. As we continue to read his letter, we see where Paul indicated that he had not given up on making the trip to visit the Thessalonians. He did not give up because he knew it was the devil who didn’t want him to make it there. So, let us fellowship with the Lord continuously through prayer, worship, meditation and waiting in His presence so we can learn to discern when to pray through a situation because it is the devil, or stay away because it is the Holy Spirit stopping us.