Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
About three days ago I received a call from a friend of mine concerning a call she had received from a mutual friend of ours. This friend was in the hospital where she had contracted one of those dreadful infections that people sometimes get when they are in the hospital, one from which few people recover. She was sure that she was about to die and was very unsure that she would be with God when she left this realm. Of course she was very tormented by these thoughts.
I awakened this morning at 6:00 from a very vivid dream wherein I was most apprehensive about a play that I was about to perform in but for which I was not prepared. I didn’t know my lines at all. It was certainly going to be disastrous. Of course I was immensely relieved when I awakened and recognized that it was only a dream and had no reality. I knew inside that what I had just experienced had spiritual significance. So I got out of bed and lay down under an infrared dome to listen. I’ve had many revelations while lying under that dome, including the one contained in the contemplation Ten Righteous Men. Continue reading “The Dream (Part 1)”
In Genesis 18-19 we read the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (the home of Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family) and of Abraham’s plea with God that the cities be spared from what we have believed to be God’s wrath against their many sins, including homosexuality. We even hear preachers today denouncing cities like New Orleans and Las Vegas, saying that hurricane Katrina was God’s wrath against the people of New Orleans. I’ve heard more than one minister make statements like this one: If God doesn’t punish America [or a specific city in America], He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. Continue reading “Ten Righteous Men”
I haven’t written any contemplations for some time now. I felt that it was time for me to walk out in my everyday life what God had already given me. I felt I really did know the truth and couldn’t understand why I was experiencing it to such a limited degree.
Our first response to the word “flesh” is usually negative. We remember Paul’s list of the works of the flesh (which we want no part of) and his conclusion that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God(Galatians 5:19 (KJV):21). He tells us that flesh and blood (which he refers to as corruption) cannot inherit the kingdom of God(1Corinthians 15:50) and goes on to say that if we walk after the flesh rather than after the Spirit(Romans 8:1,4-5) we shall die, but if, through the Spirit, we mortify the deeds of the body we shall live(Romans 8:13). He readily acknowledges that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing(Romans 7:18).
Revelation 21:1-8 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
I am writing this contemplation to encourage myself —since this remains one of my biggest challenges. I am increasingly aware that if I am to experience the righteousness, peace and joy of kingdom living, I can no longer live in either the past or the future. It would startle us to know how much of our time, energy and thought life is spent on regretting the past (what we have done or what someone has done to us) and worrying about the future. Even the scientific world is acknowledging that almost all illnesses (both mental and physical) are stress related. And stress is nothing more than emotional tension caused by concern about the past or future.
In the beginning God(Genesis 1:1), the God who is love (1John 4:8,16) and therefore good. And all that He created was very good(Genesis 1:31). This God is referred to in Scripture as the Almighty at least 57 times and is called the Lord God omnipotent in Revelation 19:6.
