New Year, New Revelation

Happy New Year everyone!   Can you believe 2017 is over?  Where did the time go?  I turned around for just a moment and it was gone.  Such is life!!!!  Things happen in the blink of an eye.

But never fear because 2018 is here, and it’s sure to be eventful.  In fact,  I hope this new year brings you joy, success and revelation! For purposes of today’s post I want to focus on REVELATION.    Don’t go flipping to the back of your Bibles just yet.  Let’s define the word first.

What is a revelation?  The dictionary defines it as a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.  It can also mean a divine or supernatural disclosure to humans about something that relates to their very existence.   In essence, revelation is a “revealing”.     Ta Da!!! Did you catch that?  It’s something that is revealed-  kind of like when a magician suddenly opens a mysterious box, only to reveal a slew of doves that fly out in unison.  It may dazzle your senses, or leave you in awe.  It could even frighten you.

In God’s world, revelation is an everyday matter.  He is the God of Revelation.  He seeks to reveal himself to us through prayer, in his word, and in his creation.  While we can’t fathom the intricacies of God, or understand him fully, he gives us glimpses of his true nature, and he provides us with keys to revelation when we ask.

I’m going to share an awesome revelation I received recently, right before the New Year.  I almost overlooked it, pushing it aside for other thoughts and ideas that were at the back of my mind.

It started as a dream.  Just so you know, I don’t pay attention to every dream I have.  Most of my dreams are weird, confusing and out of sequence.  But, every now and then I have a very vivid one that is very orderly and stands out.  This is what happened recently.

The dream began in a hospital room.  I was lying on a stretcher and the doctor was examining my heart.  In the dream I could feel myself slipping away, going in and out of consciousness.  At some point, I looked over at the doctor and I saw her eyes get really wide.  She looked awestruck and amazed.  At this point in the dream, I suddenly felt a surge of energy rush through my body.  That’s when I noticed my heart.  It was bright red, and large bolts of energy were shooting in and out of it.  It reminded me of an electrical circuit, but in this circuit, electricity was streaming in and out from all directions.  As I stared at my heart, I knew something had changed.  The doctor and I started laughing.  We were full of joy.  Before the “surge” of electricity, I felt drained and sick.  But with the electrical surge I felt “alive”, vibrant and happy.  In the dream as I laughed I couldn’t help but feel joy- and then I woke up.

It wasn’t a long dream, but it had an impact on me.  My first thought when I woke up was my heart.  I put my hand over it, making sure it was still beating.   It was of course!  Then I got up and went about the business of getting dressed, making coffee- you know the drill.

As I continued through my morning routine, something kept nagging at me to pause.  The holy spirit was saying, “Stop for a second.  There’s something you need to pray about.” So I stopped, and then I prayed.  And what I got is what I’d call a revelation.

As I prayed I walked back through the dream in my mind.  I asked Jesus if there was something he was trying to show me.  I got one word-   SWORD.   I thought that was strange.  A sword?  What did that have to do with a dream about my heart?  So I prayed again……………”Lord, what does a sword have to do with my heart?”   There was quite a long pause.  And another long pause……………and then I got two words- MY WORD.

Now something began to click.  I realized the Lord was saying his WORD is like a SWORD to my heart.  That idea wasn’t strange to me.  I knew the Bible said the word of the Lord is like a sharp edged sword.  I also knew about the sword of the spirit.  We are to use the word of God like a weapon against the enemy- it is like a dagger to the enemy’s heart.   This is so fascinating because when we think of the natural world, a SWORD in the heart is a death sentence!  You can’t survive a sword piercing your heart.  But, with God it’s different.  Once you know Jesus, and his word, you have a powerful weapon.  You have the sword of the spirit.  When this sword pierces your heart, you are now ALIVE – not dead-   ALIVE.  Was this what the Lord was trying to say?

Perhaps it was, but I knew there was more.  After all, what about the surges of electricity I saw penetrating my heart?  It looked like little bolts of lightning within my heart.  What was that all about?  So, I prayed again.

I got, “Mt. Sinai.”  Well, now the plot thickens.  Why Mt. Sinai?  I decided to look up what happened on Mt. Sinai and something really big stood out to me.   It was this verse from Exodus 19:16- “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning.”  God revealed himself to the Israelites for the first time at Mt. Sinai.  This is where the Ten Commandments were given and revealed.  Verse 18 says, “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled in fear.”

When I read about the lightning at Mt. Sinai, I realized this was a manifestation of God’s power.  Lightning strikes at a speed of over 750 mph, and a temperature of around 50,000 degrees.  I’d say that’s power!  Better yet, this lightning manifested at the giving of GOD’S WORD- the Ten Commandments.   His word was given with power.   This same word- this same power is in my heart if I make God’s word a part of my  life.  If I make it the most important piece of my life, it will be within constant reach in my heart.  Certain verses came to mind as I thought of these things such as:

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11

“Love the lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your strength and your mind.” Luke 10:27

“Man looks at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

The hebrew word for heart is lebab.  This word means the inner man, mind and will.  Basically, it is what we REALLY believe and feel.  It’s what we truly want.  On the exterior we can act, sing and dance, but God knows our heart- our inner most wishes and desires.  When God is who we love with all our heart, we are full of life or electricity.  Just like the lightning (electricity) on Mt. Sinai, we possess the power of the Almighty in our inner being.  This surges through out hearts, being guided by the holy spirit. Imagine what life on earth would be like without electricity!  We would be back in the stone age.  Electricity fuels our modern life and it certainly fuels our hearts, but God’s word is pure lightning.

As I pondered this information I suddenly realized something else! The human heart runs on an electrical impulse.  In fact, the human heart would not pump without electricity!  The electrical circuitry God designed within the heart is what allows it to contract and pump blood.  Without these electrical impulses, blood would stop flowing and a person would become unconscious.  Death would soon follow.

I thought about my dream.  In the dream I was faint and almost unconscious…………..that is until the surge of electricity permeated my heart!  These little lightning bolts of energy woke me up and brought life back to my body!  In the natural body, there is a spark plug that regulates the rhythm of the heart.  It’s located in the right atrium.   The atrium sends the electrical impulse like a wire through the rest of the heart, allowing it to beat.  The human body relies on this mechanism for LIFE.    Likewise, the word of God is the electrical impulse that keeps our heart going.  It sustains life.  The power source is Jesus himself.  The Holy Spirit is the constant power supply, feeding the heart with God’s amazing revelation.   Before the Holy Spirit and Jesus was revealed, God’s power was too dangerous to behold.   It terrified the Israelites at Mt. Sinai.   The word had not been written on their hearts yet.  The lightning hadn’t struck their heart!   But, now we are given access to a power that lives within our own hearts.  The new covenant has come:   Jeremiah 31:33 says, “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.  ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.’”  After Jesus came and died on the cross, they no longer had to be afraid of this “electricity”- this “lightning”.   The sword would no longer kill them when it pierced their hearts.  It would be LIFE from the dead.  The terror has turned to gladness and joy.

After understanding these things, I suddenly thought of ISRAEL.  I prayed and asked the Lord, “What about Israel?  What about your covenant people?”   The first verse that popped into my head is from Ezekiel 36:26.  “And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”  I realized God was saying he is going to give the nation of Israel (his covenant people- the Jewish people) a NEW HEART.    The old heart they have is one of stone.  Scientifically, electricity does not flow well through stone!  It flows well through metallic wires.  We know the heart itself contains electrical charges that allow it to pump blood and sustain life- through a heart of flesh.  After all, our hearts are made of flesh!  But, if they were stone, we would be dead ducks!  The same is with Israel.  She will need a brand new heart of flesh- one that flows with electricity.  This electrical current can only be supplied by Jesus!  The nation of Israel must know him as Messiah and accept him into their hearts!  That will start the current flowing.  It will be like getting struck by lightning at Mt. Sinai, but they will be ALIVE!

For most of Israel, they have only received the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant.  They haven’t received the word engraved upon their hearts.  The word is JESUS.  Jesus says he is the living, breathing word.  He is the sword that pierces our hearts.  He’s the electricity that makes the heart of flesh beat.  His blood saves us.  In the natural, our blood flows because our heart pumps it through our body.  But, that’s only temporary.  Jesus’ blood saves us eternally.  He has sealed us with his blood.  Our hearts bare witness to this amazing fact.

When Jesus returns it is described this way, “As lightning cometh from the east and even shineth unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be.”

 

Believe it or not, I was  almost struck by lightning in 2016.  I will never forget it.  I was standing outside, near our STONE neighborhood entrance marker.  The day before I had seen a large hawk (a raptor) eating a squirrel on top of the stone marker.  The next day I wanted to see if the hawk had left any bones behind from the squirrel carcass.  A storm had just passed, but it was no longer raining, so I wasn’t concerned about the weather.  I walked over to the stone marker and looked on top, hoping to find bones or fur.  I could find no trace of the squirrel carcass.  I turned around, only to hear a shocking cracking sound.  Actually, it sounded like a BOOM, mingled in with a series of terrifying crackles!  Then, I saw  a flash and sparks near the stone entrance marker, as well as the street sign nearby.  In that moment, I really thought I was going to be hit.  But, the moment passed, and I was alive.  It is an experience I will never forget.  The one word I could use to describe the sound and “the flash” is POWERFUL.  It was so beautiful, but also dangerous.  The power in that lightning bolt is forever etched in my mind.  That event inspired me to write the book, “BLINK:  A Story about the Rapture.”   The lightning was a word to my heart that day. God’s power  was manifesting itself in nature, but it was also revelation being written on my heart.

 

My mind goes back to Israel when I remember the stone marker where the lightning almost hit me.  One day, the stone heart of Israel will turn into a heart of flesh.  Zechariah 12:10 says, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.  they will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly  for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”   This means that one day Israel WILL SEE.  They will know who their Messiah is.  Their hearts will be struck by the electricity that is JESUS CHRIST- who will literally come like lightning!  He will be riding on the clouds!!!   And the law will no longer be a scroll that they have to touch with a pointer (as they do by tradition in the synagogues).  The law will no longer be an external list of rules to follow.  They will realize that all this time Jesus has been the Law, the Word and the Truth.  But this is now written on their hearts with eternal grace and love.  And their hearts will truly beat for the very first time.

After learning all this I was happy to find confirmation.  I went into my room and noticed the devotion for the day.  It said: “Your heart has a home- and it’s not a place, but a Person who will never let you go.”

 

 

The funny thing is this wasn’t the devotion for that particular day.  It was from December 23.  The day I saw it was December 31.  I had been on vacation and returned home.  But the timing was just right.  And do you notice the stone placed near the devotion?  I placed the stone there before I went on my trip.  I collect rocks from my travels and I usually put them on a shelf in our bonus room.  But here was a single stone in my bedroom!  I just happened to place it in that spot!  What are the chances?  (Remember the heart of stone????)  I thought about what the devotion said- your heart’s home is a PERSON-  it is Jesus.  He is the cornerstone.  He changes our hearts of stone into flesh.

So now I understand my dream.  Jesus is the electricity in my heart.  He is what keeps me alive for the day of redemption.  I was like the “walking dead” before I found him.  I had a heart of stone!  But, then his word pierced my heart and I’ll never be the same again.  My heart of stone became a heart of flesh.  My prayer now is for all the world, especially Israel, to have their hearts pierced as well.  May the one who has been pierced, Jesus Christ, pierce your heart…………………………

 

We also know that “in the last days, Jerusalem will become a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut to pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered against it.”  Zechariah 12:3    Only one person will be able to save the heart of this world, both Jew and Gentile- JESUS-    Daniel 2:34- “While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.  It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.”  Jesus will smash the kingdoms of the earth and rule the earth with justice, peace and love.   My heart longs for that day…………………….

 

Be on the lookout for my next blog-  it’s about the total lunar eclipses of 2018 and 2019- you will be blown away by the way these eclipses tie into God’s word, Israel and the United States!!!!  If you haven’t read my blog TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE, scroll down to my August blog and read it first.  This will give you a bigger picture of how God uses his creation to speak to us !!!!