One can deduce a lot from someone's handwriting. Society has specialists that study people's handwriting to inform authorities of that person's personality and possible tendencies to help with investigations. Graphology is the term pertaining to this analysis of the physical characteristics and patterns of handwriting claiming to be able to identify the writer, indicating psychological state at the time of writing, or evaluating personality characteristics.
In a sense, Graphology can be used upon God's Handwriting. God wrote in the sky for Noah, a bow of many colors, to communicate He would never flood the whole earth again.
In front of King Belshazzar and his guests, at a party in the palace of Babylon, a heavenly hand appeared and wrote a prophetic warning on the wall (Daniel 5).
In the time of Christ, Jesus was asked about the judgment for a woman who was caught in the act of adultry. Before He answered, Jesus bent down and wrote or drew in the sand. Then Jesus gave His answer and He returned to drawing or writing in the sand.
In a time yet to come, God's Handwriting will have written our names in The Book of Life, written a new name on a white stone for us that nobody knows but God and us (Rev. 2:17), He will have written the name of God on our foreheads, (Rev. 22:4; 3:12), God's New Name (Rev. 3:12) and the name of New Jerusalem on our bodies.
I look at these instances of God's Handwriting and I acknowledge what they were tended to communicate. For Noah, a communication of a promise to keep. For Belshazzar and company, consistency in the prophesies upheld concerning the rise and fall of world empires. For the woman caught in adultry, the showing of Himself as a persistant advocate. For the time yet to come, a stamp of our belonging is visually applied for all to see.
The common thread in all of God's Handwriting is His Faithfulness. God was faithfull to Noah through the entire Ark and Flood Process. Now, God physically displays His faithfulness to Noah with a promise to continue that Holy characteristic forward by writing a Rainbow in the sky.
God was faithful to His prophetic process. When it was time for King Belshazzar to be dethroned, God dethroned him. Daniel said, "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others." (Dan. 2:20-21) And God remained faithful in continuing the change of empires with the Medes and Persians being raised up to take over Babylon.
God was faithful to His message and mission of Forgiveness. With the woman caught in the act of adultry, Jesus taught the lesson/message of forgiveness to the teachers of The Law and He was faithful to displaying His mission of forgiveness by granting it to the woman.
Finally, one day God's Faithfulness will be physically manifested everywhere we go. We will have Holy Tatoos of His ownership and our citizenship. Plus, His Faithfulness to honor His blood sacrifice will be manifested by our names written in The Lamb's Book of Life with God's Handwriting.
Can you detect the signature of God upon your life? He will be Faithfull to His Word concerning you! The Fruits of the Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5 are the curves, swoops, lines, and dots of God's Handwriting. Faith, Hope and Love are just some of the major colors that God's Handwriting can be found in. I encourage all of us to allow our minds (intellect), our heart (emotions) and our spirit/soul (personality) to be written or better yet engraved upon by God's Handwriting.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
MY VISION OF DARKNESS
Have you ever stood on the edge of a very large and deep body of water at night with perhaps a mist or fog hovering just above the surface? These bodies of water, like one of the lakes in Michigan or at the end of a pier in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, have a certain atmosphere about them. These places at night produce an eerie, haunting, mysterious, sometimes creepy environment. During visits at this time, there seems to be a presence that makes itself known to every sense except our Five Senses. The hairs on the back of our neck stand up and we get the sense we are being watched. The general consensus is we are not alone.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'day,' and the darkness he called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day."
"Hello darkness my old friend
The Scriptures talk about a ridiculously huge and deep expanse in the beginning of it all. I would venture to guess that many read the opening remarks of Genesis 1:1-5 and say, "Oh, the creation of the first day." - while not taking in the marvelous details of The Deep, Dark Expanse.
And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'day,' and the darkness he called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day."
This was the material or physical universe's first day and it was good. At least the light was good. The darkness was not anything, it was just dark. Now-a-days, darkness is associated with evil and/or sin. This is because we are post The Fall of Lucifer, creation and humankind. The Creation was before The Fall because ALL the angels rejoiced over God creating the physical universe, all including Lucifer before he decided to rebel.
- “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7)
To me The Fall of Lucifer comes somewhere between the last thing God called "good" about His creation and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil transaction.
The point here is that Darkness was not always evil. In fact, darkness was JUST on the "surface of the deep" as a Pottery Wheel for the "hovering Holy Spirit of God" to make His creation. The "deep" alludes to the unlimited creativity and imagination of God. That which God would create and use immediately is pictured at the surface and all that would be at God's disposal is found in the deep. Deep, unless you are referring to a bottomless pit, has definite boundaries. However, these "deep" boundaries are far to massive for our minds to fathom.
The first stanza of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" interestingly goes well here -
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence"
A quiet place, a Holy place, a creative starting point - this is now My Vision Of Darkness.
Friday, December 8, 2017
KEEP YOUR EXPECTATIONS WITH CHRIST
When you assume something, you take the risk of making an "butt" of "u" or "me". Expectations are a synonym. You can expect a certain result or outcome and be vocal about it and in the end be anywhere from spot on to just off target (a few details missing) to dead wrong (missed the whole picture).
Through hundreds and hundreds of years, the Jewish people had prophetic inspired writings from God informing them of their coming Messiah or Savior. Many descriptions in the Old Testament depict The Christ as a victorious, militant - Prophet, Priest and King - Savior. Other prophecies pictured the Messiah as a Suffering Servant. What was overlooked, as we peer through our 20/20 hindsight vision, is the order in which Christ would manifest Himself in these depictions. Why would anyone, especially the Savior of Israel and the world, come first as a conquering hero, then proceed to come back and suffer later on for His victory. No, the payment is up front. There is not a Crown, without a Cross first.
After so much bondage as a people and so much suffering along the way, I can see why the Jews were looking for a forceful over-thrower of their oppressor to come along. Many claimed to be Israel's savior over the years, especially during the Roman occupation. However, the physical Sword was not going to win the battle this time. There will come a time when Christ will speak, defeating the nations coming against Him and His Words will be as a double-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth (Rev. 19:15). But we are still waiting for the manifestation of that militant coming/visitation.
Placing myself on that wonderful day and night of Christ's birth - as a citizen of Jerusalem or Bethlehem, I would not have thought that day or night any different from the rest. However, there were a few people that did have some high expectations.
The three wise men were consciously looking for the Christ child. They had evidently studied all sorts of Scripture and other documents, plus they had a Star. This was no ordinary star in the sky. "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was." (Matt. 2:9) Balls of gas do not just up and move, then stop over a given point. This was an angelic being! They followed their leader, found their Treasure, worshiped and gave their offerings.
Meanwhile, shepherds were tending their flock on the night shift. Considered the lowliest occupation of the time, shepherding was not frowned upon by God. In fact, Christ would be called The Great Shepherd. The shepherds keeping watch over their flock that night were blessed enough to receive an angelic summons - first from a single angel, then from an angelic choir (Luke 2:8-15). While the Three Wise Men looked for Christ, the shepherds were invited.
Last, but not least were Simeon and Anna. These two individuals had known about the prophecy of the Messiah and knew that they would behold Him before they died and they did (Luke 2:25-38). For these two, Revelation was the key as to whether or not they would see Christ in their lifetime. Luke specifically states for Simeon - "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah." (Luke 2:26) So, the Three Wise Men looked for Christ, the shepherds were invited to Christ's birth and Simeon/Anna received Revelation that Christ was born.
God did not want Christ's birth to go unnoticed and unidentified as The Birth of The Savior. God's selection for His Bethlehem Cast of Characters was and is interesting. It still speaks about those that wait on The Lord. The Wise Men waited as they studied the prophesies from afar and were rewarded with an angelic guide to the Christ child's side.
The shepherds waited as they diligently performed their duties, no matter what social status or working hours was attached to them. They too were awarded angelic aide, but this time the shepherds got an angelic choir and choir leader delivering the message and invitation.
Simeon and Anna waited on the Revelation they received to be manifested. There is nothing like witnessing a promise of God materializing before your eyes and Simeon and Anna had the ultimate one - glimpsing and holding in their arms The Christ.
The encouragement today and all days forward is for me and everyone else to screen your expectations through God's Word and His Holy Spirit. God led who He wanted Manger-side some 2,000+ years ago and nobody else. In fact, God protected Jesus and the family from Herod's attempt to kill the Christ-child. So, if He wants you somewhere at some time, He will either move you or place that expectation that a change is needed or coming soon from Him. I know it is hard sometimes to walk in - "If God said it, I believe it and that settles it." - type of mentality and attitude. But, as Paul said, I say to you - "now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," (Philippians 2:12) and Keep Your Expectations With Christ.
Through hundreds and hundreds of years, the Jewish people had prophetic inspired writings from God informing them of their coming Messiah or Savior. Many descriptions in the Old Testament depict The Christ as a victorious, militant - Prophet, Priest and King - Savior. Other prophecies pictured the Messiah as a Suffering Servant. What was overlooked, as we peer through our 20/20 hindsight vision, is the order in which Christ would manifest Himself in these depictions. Why would anyone, especially the Savior of Israel and the world, come first as a conquering hero, then proceed to come back and suffer later on for His victory. No, the payment is up front. There is not a Crown, without a Cross first.
After so much bondage as a people and so much suffering along the way, I can see why the Jews were looking for a forceful over-thrower of their oppressor to come along. Many claimed to be Israel's savior over the years, especially during the Roman occupation. However, the physical Sword was not going to win the battle this time. There will come a time when Christ will speak, defeating the nations coming against Him and His Words will be as a double-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth (Rev. 19:15). But we are still waiting for the manifestation of that militant coming/visitation.
Placing myself on that wonderful day and night of Christ's birth - as a citizen of Jerusalem or Bethlehem, I would not have thought that day or night any different from the rest. However, there were a few people that did have some high expectations.
The three wise men were consciously looking for the Christ child. They had evidently studied all sorts of Scripture and other documents, plus they had a Star. This was no ordinary star in the sky. "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was." (Matt. 2:9) Balls of gas do not just up and move, then stop over a given point. This was an angelic being! They followed their leader, found their Treasure, worshiped and gave their offerings.
Meanwhile, shepherds were tending their flock on the night shift. Considered the lowliest occupation of the time, shepherding was not frowned upon by God. In fact, Christ would be called The Great Shepherd. The shepherds keeping watch over their flock that night were blessed enough to receive an angelic summons - first from a single angel, then from an angelic choir (Luke 2:8-15). While the Three Wise Men looked for Christ, the shepherds were invited.
Last, but not least were Simeon and Anna. These two individuals had known about the prophecy of the Messiah and knew that they would behold Him before they died and they did (Luke 2:25-38). For these two, Revelation was the key as to whether or not they would see Christ in their lifetime. Luke specifically states for Simeon - "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah." (Luke 2:26) So, the Three Wise Men looked for Christ, the shepherds were invited to Christ's birth and Simeon/Anna received Revelation that Christ was born.
God did not want Christ's birth to go unnoticed and unidentified as The Birth of The Savior. God's selection for His Bethlehem Cast of Characters was and is interesting. It still speaks about those that wait on The Lord. The Wise Men waited as they studied the prophesies from afar and were rewarded with an angelic guide to the Christ child's side.
The shepherds waited as they diligently performed their duties, no matter what social status or working hours was attached to them. They too were awarded angelic aide, but this time the shepherds got an angelic choir and choir leader delivering the message and invitation.
Simeon and Anna waited on the Revelation they received to be manifested. There is nothing like witnessing a promise of God materializing before your eyes and Simeon and Anna had the ultimate one - glimpsing and holding in their arms The Christ.
The encouragement today and all days forward is for me and everyone else to screen your expectations through God's Word and His Holy Spirit. God led who He wanted Manger-side some 2,000+ years ago and nobody else. In fact, God protected Jesus and the family from Herod's attempt to kill the Christ-child. So, if He wants you somewhere at some time, He will either move you or place that expectation that a change is needed or coming soon from Him. I know it is hard sometimes to walk in - "If God said it, I believe it and that settles it." - type of mentality and attitude. But, as Paul said, I say to you - "now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," (Philippians 2:12) and Keep Your Expectations With Christ.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
GOD ORCHESTRATED
There is a poster on Facebook that reads:
The person in this quote admits his/her parents told them about God ("I believe in God not because my parents told me"). Also, the person admits the church told them about God ("not because my church told me,"). So, they had a verbal exposure at the least about God.
There was a seed planted, and/or a foundation laid. So, for this person NOT to include his parents and church in the equation for his belief in God (but because I have experienced His goodness and mercy myself.) is not reasonable because of his admission. I am not knocking his experience of God's goodness and mercy, but he flat out denied the things that he admitted were in his life as building blocks toward his spiritual awakening.
I believe in God because my parents told me about Christ Jesus and displayed Him in the home. I believe in God because my church cared enough to protect me and grow me in The Scriptures. However, I have especially come to believe in God because of my personal experiences with Him; realizing that no other person could have helped me. But I do not throw away or discount that which got my faith started and sustained thus far. And I too have had some supernatural experiences with God, but I dare not base ALL of my faith in that one basket - experiences.
This is my encouragement: remember and reflect on the key people and events that God perfectly aligned in your life to bring you to belief in His Sacrifice, His Victory and His Kingdom. And Thank and Praise God for these people, places and things that were in the beginning and throughout God Orchestrated.
- "I believe in God not because my parents told me, not because my church told me, but because I have experienced His goodness and mercy myself."
The person in this quote admits his/her parents told them about God ("I believe in God not because my parents told me"). Also, the person admits the church told them about God ("not because my church told me,"). So, they had a verbal exposure at the least about God.
There was a seed planted, and/or a foundation laid. So, for this person NOT to include his parents and church in the equation for his belief in God (but because I have experienced His goodness and mercy myself.) is not reasonable because of his admission. I am not knocking his experience of God's goodness and mercy, but he flat out denied the things that he admitted were in his life as building blocks toward his spiritual awakening.
I believe in God because my parents told me about Christ Jesus and displayed Him in the home. I believe in God because my church cared enough to protect me and grow me in The Scriptures. However, I have especially come to believe in God because of my personal experiences with Him; realizing that no other person could have helped me. But I do not throw away or discount that which got my faith started and sustained thus far. And I too have had some supernatural experiences with God, but I dare not base ALL of my faith in that one basket - experiences.
This is my encouragement: remember and reflect on the key people and events that God perfectly aligned in your life to bring you to belief in His Sacrifice, His Victory and His Kingdom. And Thank and Praise God for these people, places and things that were in the beginning and throughout God Orchestrated.
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
GOD LOVES VARIETY
I wish all of us could peel our skin off and know each other, at least for a while, as the same blood-red, bundle of nerves, organs, muscles and bones we are. Sure we all have personalities to accompany those features, but that is what would make the difference NOT the color of our skin.
After The Flood, I imagine if Noah and his family stayed in the area and their generations after them, the color of their skin would not change due to the climate of their region. However, they did split up. "The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth." (Genesis 9:18-19) Therefore, since they split up and settled in other parts of the world with different environments, their skin pigmentation was different from each other.
How humanity made "The Switch" of associating skin color FROM environmental factors TO inferior human characteristics is a mystery. In some form or fashion we have always had slavery of some kind of people, so we cannot blame slavery as the trigger or switch.
After centuries of living and growing in the settled areas that Shem, Ham and Japeth eventually called home - I believe Pride reared its ugly head. Not the side of Pride that shines with confidence in one's abilities, but the side that stinks of lording over another in order to elevate yourself in a spectacle. I think either a group or individual within each area got the idea of Conquest, Expansion, Domination via force or war. Why? Because Pride says, "I/we am/are better than you and can prove it." Plus, there is the being the ruler of the world thing factoring into the equation.
Society still has not gotten rid of our haughty pride. As we have seen time and time again in history and in our current news there seems to be a prevailing attitude/thought that there must be a low-man on the totem pole if for no other reason than to make all the people above feel/look better. The result is three-fold: (1) division of what once might have been a unit; (2) murder of a possible color-blind relationship; and theft of a hope that the past can be the past and restoration as possible.
Sound familiar? John quotes Jesus as saying, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;". This is the first half of John 10:10. The second half Jesus declares, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.". Yes, a huge chunk of the problem is The Enemy of Our Soul. And there are people out there that don't need any help from the enemy because of the amount of Pride in them. However, under the Lord's Banner, with the Lord's Eyes we can at least begin to see each other as we should.
The Lord is the most creative being. By His creation we can tell He did not desire robots; everything the same. Back at the Tower of Babel, God confused humanity's one language so that many developed. Customs, cultures and traditions all sprang from the different populated regions of Noah's sons. In addition, God knew and allowed for all the different skin color variations. We desperately need to get over ourselves. I do not believe God intended for the differing skin tones to set up a cultural/societal hierarchy of sorts. We have skin color because God Loves Variety.
Monday, December 4, 2017
OUR HOPE
My definition of Hope is as follows - Hope is a feeling and/or expectation that is based on past and present observations which point to a favorable outcome in one's life or current situation.
Among the many instances of Hope in Scripture, one that stands out to me is a hopeful man named Simeon.
"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.'” (Luke 2:25-32)
'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.'” (Luke 2:25-32)
Luke, being a physician, was very detailed. So, it comes as no surprise that his detailed personality spills over into his writing as he describes Simeon.
Luke says Simeon's life was on track with God - "righteous and devout" and he lived in Jerusalem in wait "for the consolation of Israel" with "the Holy Spirit on him". God had this man's life squirreled away, on the right track, in the right city, with His anointing on him as he waited. He tarried more specifically because - "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah." What a cause for Hope; even a lifelong Hope!
Due to his lifestyle and the Holy Spirit on him, the day came when Simeon was "moved by the Spirit" and "he went into the temple courts." Can you imagine Simeon's thoughts and emotions at this point. I bet the suspense was just about to knock him over. Then - "When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.'”
_______________________________________
That same Joy and Excitement will be experienced by Christians everywhere when their Hope - Christ Jesus returns in mid air to Rapture them Home. Paul reminds the believers in Rome - "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved."
I love that last statement - "For in this hope we were saved." Within the Salvation Plan of Christ is the Redemption, not only of our relationship with Father God, but our bodies as well. Our glorification - through and through - will be manifested when Christ comes to get us.
To bring this full circle - I stated my definition of Hope is - a feeling and/or expectation that is based on past and present observations which point to a favorable outcome in one's life or current situation. I say to believers and non-believers alike today - Christ Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about His first visit, so I have no doubt He will fulfill His promises concerning His return first FOR US in mid-air, then later WITH US to begin His earthly Millennial Reign. Christ Jesus is the Hope of every person, every season, every situation and the future (mentally, physically and spiritually) - He is Our Hope.
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