O LORD, open His eyes So He May See

Reference Text = Elisha 6:17 -  And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Remember this story in the bible? The story where Elisha was basically being ambushed by an army. His servant was extremely afraid because he thought it was the end for him and Elisha. However, Elisha prayed that God would open the servant's eyes so that he would know that there was more that were for them than those that were against them.

Although, their enemies were all the servant could see, the reality was that God had sent hills full of horse and chariots of fire; an army of God sent as protection, to come against Elisha's enemies.

The ability to recognize the things we have working in our favor (especially in the midst of bad situations) is something that can be so helpful to us. To be so consumed in fear and worry sometimes makes it EASY for us to overlook the opportunities, blessings and provision that has already been provided for us!

I recently heard a preacher preach from the story of Hagar. In this story, Abraham sends bondservant, Hagar and their young son away from their home and Hagar eventually runs out of water and thinks the son is going to die of dehydration! The bible says she put her son under a bush because she didn't want to witness his death. But then God came and made a promise to her then opened her eyes and she was able to see there was water near her all along!

The Bible says in Gen 21:15-19:

¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.
¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ...”
¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

The bible doesn't say a well of water appeared or that an angel came and created a well of water for Hagar. It says God opened her eyes and she was able to see the well of water that was there all along! Previous to the encounter, she couldn't see the well because she was so sad and depressed by her current situation. But God opened her eyes, just as he opened Elisha's servant's eyes, so they could see that in the midst of their worrying their was provision for them all along!

An optimistic attitude is not a cliche thing created to make you lie to yourself or trick yourself into believing everything is ok when its really not. On the contrary it is a way for us to take the scales of fear and worry off our eyes enabling us to see that the One who is for us is greater than the problems that are against us. He has already provided springs of water and chariots of fire for us in order to deliver us from the traumatic situations we have been facing! Our worrying, sometimes stops us from seeing that.

 

A Letter from Blogger

Dear Readers,

I haven't been able to write to you all in some time. Nevertheless, thank-you to everyone who has been sharing and visiting links of previous Revelation Revolution blog posts.

Please pray for Revelation Revolution's continued success and capacity to share some of the beauty that is treasured in the Word of God with others.

With Love,
Revelation Revolution

The Word Became Flesh & Dwelt Among Us

Reference Text

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory 

-John 1:1 & 14

As seen in John 1, our reference text, the bible specifically says that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. This chapter is clearly referring to Jesus Christ as the Word of God who became a man and dwelt among us mere human beings.

With our knowledge of the fact that Jesus Christ literally is the word of God, let's try something new. Every time you are reading the bible and you see "Jesus" being mentioned replace His name (or the pronoun equivalent) with the phrase "the Word" or "the Word of God"

For example: In John 15:7, Jesus says

If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Since we know Jesus Christ is the Word of God (who became flesh), we can replace the pronoun "Me" in this scripture with the phrase "the Word":

If ye abide in the Word, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

_____________________________________ 

Likewise, we can apply the same strategy to our bible reading whenever we see the phrase "the Word" or "Word of God" in the bible. Simply replace the relative phrase with the name "Jesus Christ".

For example: Luke 4:4 says

It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but [also] by every word of God.

Since we know the "Word of God" is Jesus Christ, we can replace the phrase "every word of God" with the name "Jesus Christ":

It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but [also] by Jesus Christ.

_____________________________________ 

Interesting right? Here are some other examples:

John 14:6

****Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

****Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through the word of God."

Hebrews 4:12a

****For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword

****For Jesus Christ is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword

Ephesians 6:17

****Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

****Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is Jesus Christ.

Remember: "the Word was God... and the Word became flesh & dwelt among us" as Jesus Christ

A Simple Way to Build Faith

But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. -Hebrew 11:6

Salvation comes through faith. Healing comes through faith. Miracles come through faith. Jesus even says in Matthew 17:20 that if we have faith as small as a grain of a mustard seed we can say to a mountain be moved and cast into the sea it will be removed and nothing will be impossible to us.  So, how do we build this simple, but mountain moving faith? If the bible says, faith is the evidence of things that are not seen, how do we get ourselves to believe for something we don't see? Especially when everything in the natural is telling us that thing is impossible?

I found that the scripture quoted above answers that question perfectly because it states an almost coded definition of what faith is: having knowledge of who God is. That is the case because if this scripture is true, then the following statement must also be true:

With faith we please God because we believe that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him 

It's a simple truth that having faith for a mountain to be moved is not a matter of believing in the mountains ability to move or believing in your own ability to move the mountain. It is a matter of believing God is mighty and willing enough to move mountains on our behalf. You can only believe this if you have come to know the nature of who God is... whether it be by hearing a miraculous testimony, reading about God's abilities and willingness in the bible, etc.

Therefore, it should stand to reason (metaphorically speaking) that if you are standing in front of a mountain and for some reason or another you do not believe that mountain will ever be moved, there is only one thing for you to do to change your perception and build your faith; increase your knowledge of who God is. Don't read the bible or go to church or even listen to testimonies in order to do God a "favor". Your intentions in doing these things should be to gain knowledge of who God is.

Then when you are faced with situations that seem impossible your knowledge of who God is will activate the faith you need to deliver you from that situation. Consider these 2 bible stories. 1- The story of the three Hebrew boys. Before the king even sent them into the fiery furnace, they said to him, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power".  Just as they believed, when they were thrown into the furnace, God delivered them. 2- The story of the woman of the issue of blood. The bible says in Mark 5:27 that when she heard who Jesus was she touched the hem of his garment believing He was able to heal her. Then Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well". In either of these cases, did the people attempt to have faith in order for them to get delivered? No. They simply either knew or were informed about who God was and as a result, they believed that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. As a result, the metaphorical mountains they were in front of were removed!

I hate to say it, but reading the bible doesn't get you to heaven any quicker. God doesn't give you a scooby snack because you did him a good deed by going to church. However, when you do these things effectively, your knowledge of Him should be increasing allowing you to develop the belief in Him that ultimately moves mountains of hinderances in your life! Without faith it is impossible to please God because if you come to Him for something, you should come to Him believing that He is and that He is able and willing to grant you what you are asking Him for. Let your knowledge of who God is be increased! Don't be among the number of God's people who God says "perish from a lack of knowledge".

Related Blog Post: How to Receive Healing

How to Freely Forgive

"...Freely you have received, Freely give" -Matthew 10:8

Many times, as Christians, we are hurt by associates, people in churches, or sometimes loved ones who we feel should have been more loving or less spiteful to us. Lack of forgiveness is very present among Christians because hurt hurts no matter how holy you are! It's never easy to let go of pain, especially when that pain is still hurting you. However, in life I've learned an easy step by step home remedy that serves as an instant cure to the pain of un-forgiveness and I would love to share it with you:

Think about every wrong thing you've ever done. Consider the sins you have committed, your inadequacies and the many times you have fallen short of the glory of God. The bible says even our righteous acts are seen as filthy rags to God. That's understandable because, if we're honest with ourselves we'd admit, there our times when even our good deeds are tainted with bits of ulterior motives, unwillingness or false humility.

Jesus did not die because he was killed by the religious people who didn't believe He was the Messiah. He died because you killed Him! Those religious men did not have the power or the authority to beat, abuse, spit on, degrade and kill the King of kings. Jesus said it perfectly when He said "No one takes my life, I lay my life down". The fact is, the King of kings laid His life down because of your inability to be righteous!

Factually speaking, there were things that your unrighteousness made you entitled to. Sickness is a punishment of your unrighteousness. Poverty is a punishment of your sins. Lack of peace and all these negative things is what you deserved as a person who constantly fails and falls short of perfection. 

When God saw that you were failing Him and (being the just God that He is) knew that you deserved pain, lack of peace and death as your punishment, His heart could not allow for that to be your portion. The bible says that in sending Jesus to the earth, He was PEIRCED for the transgressions that were YOURS, He was CRUSHED for YOUR INIQUITIES; the punishment that brought YOU peace was upon HIM (meaning He took the punishment you deserved), and by His wounds you are healed.

When, I really became honest with myself and thought about how much of a failure I was... always making mistakes and never able to be perfect in pleasing God, even though I genuinely tried... and then when I learned the true extent to which God doesn't care how imperfect I am because the price for my unrighteousness was taken care of by Him, I couldn't understand why He thought I deserved that type of treatment. Nevertheless, I was grateful for His love because I knew had it not been for his undeserved mercifulness and unconditional faithfulness to me, I would have been dead and in an eternal punishment of torment a long time ago.

When you really understand that all that you have in life is undeserved; when you really come to learn that had it not been for the grace of God (which you and I don't even deserve to be entitled to) you would not even be alive, you would realize that your imperfect brothers and sisters are equally entitled to that unconditional love. Technically, none of us deserve it. You might not have committed the same wrong that person who hurt you committed, but in the eyes of God all sin is equally unrighteous. There is not one person who is more or less deserving of forgiveness because ALL OFFENSES ARE OFFENSIVE!

I've reached the point where (sometimes) when people hurt me, I see the glory of God in it. I examine a person's mistakes and it takes me back to the fact that if I forgive that person, I am giving them forgiveness they do NOT deserve. That mere thought reminds me that without Jesus, I am nothing but an imperfect, undeserving sinner on my way to punishment and death. I see myself in other people's short-comings and am reminded of the scripture verse quoted above: Freely I have received so freely I can give. Out of the abundance of forgiveness I've received from God I can freely give forgiveness to others. You will know when you are truly conscious of how much God's love for you is unconditional when you are able to freely give forgiveness to others the way He freely gave it to you so you can live and have the right to live happily.

Related Blog Posts: Why Worship At the Feet of Jesus

All Things Work Together for Good

One of my favorite promises in the bible is Romans 8:28 where Paul says to the Romans:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

This is a line that is quoted in churches all the time, but I always think it's important to look at memory scriptures, like this one, in context with the chapter it is found in to find out its intended meaning. So let's do that with this verse.

In Romans 8, Paul is talking to the Romans about being led by the Spirit and not walking after the flesh. He is not talking to a group of people who he is trying to convince to stop walking after the flesh. He is talking to a group who already walk in the Spirit. We know this because of verses like verse 9 where he says to the people, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit". Or because of verses like verse 23 where he says to the people, "we... also have the first fruits of the Spirit".  In this chapter, Paul constantly is referring to the Romans as people who already have the Spirit of God. If you read the entire chapter (up until Romans 8:28, our reference text) you will see that even when Paul is talking about people who walk after the flesh, he refers to them in the third person; inferring that those types of people were not numbered among those he was speaking to.

Paul even goes on to say in verse 26-27

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now [God] who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because [the Spirit] makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Here, Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit's ability to pray the perfect will of God for the lives of those who walk in the Spirit (when they pray in the Spirit/speak in tongues). 

So it is clear that Paul is exclusively talking to a group of people who have received and ALSO are led by the Spirit of God.

______________________________________

Then AFTER Paul points out the Holy Spirit's ability to pray the perfect will of God for our lives, He THEN says our reference text; verse 28:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

We can conclude in this context, (and through reading the whole chapter,) that Paul is referring to those who are led by the Holy Spirit as the ones who "love God and who are called according to His purpose".

Paul is trying to inform the Romans that because they seek after and have the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will always lead them to the right places at the right time, put the right people in their life, take the wrong people out, open the right doors, close the wrong ones etc. Since the Holy Spirit's role is to be our advisor and advocate to be led by the Holy Spirit means you are operating in the perfect will of God. So even when seemingly bad things are happening, a person led by the Holy Spirit can rest assured that even that bad thing will work together with God's plan for their good.

Paul wraps up this concept so perfectly by letting the people know that no matter what bad is going on around them, because they are in the will of God (by having the Holy Spirit) all things will work together in their favor. In verses 31-39 he says this:

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ... ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? ... ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ³⁷ ... we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These are the promises to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, to those who are no longer walking in the flesh, but are led by the infinite wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will always lead you to where you need to be. So remember, seek first the kingdom of God (which is described in the bible as righteousness and peace of the Holy Spirit) and all your needs will be added to you! All things work together for your good when you are led by this Spirit.

Amen.

How Does A Person Receive the Holy Spirit?

Christian Meditation (Pt 2)

Meditation and Music According to the Bible:

Think about how music is relevant in meditation. Music is used when a person meditates in order to get them to relax. According to science, our brain emits different types of brainwaves depending on our level of alertness. In the relaxation state that we get to right before sleep (in between waking consciousness and the dreaming state) our brain produces waves called theta brainwaves. We can almost forcefully get to this state of consciousness, even if we are not tired, by playing rhythmic patterns at a certain rate. (Knowledge of this science is what the concept of hypnosis is based on!) This is why if we are angry or energetic, playing music at a certain slower tempo can actually get us to calm down. The rhythmic repetition literally forces our brain to emit a different frequency of brainwaves!

At the theta level and similar states of consciousness, we are more vulnerable to the "supernatural" realm. This phenomenon of being receptive to the supernatural realm when in the theta level of consciousness is seen in the bible on several occasions. For example, in the book of Acts 12, Peter is awakened by an angel who was sent to free him from prison. However, Peter doesn't even realize that he is not dreaming until after he gets to an Alpha state of consciousness (waking consciousness state) and the angel had already left. Verses 6-11 read:

6- And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.7- Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.8- Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”9- So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.10- When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.11- And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

Here, we see an angel, who could have come to Peter at a time when he was awake waited for Peter to be in a theta state of consciousness before he freed him from the prison. The fact of the matter is human beings are less likely to resist what they are being told to do and more likely to go along with/believe what they are being told when they are tired or in a theta state of consciousness. Hence the terms "more vulnerable" and "more receptive".

Baring this in mind, we can now look at instances in the bible where people forcibly got themselves to this theta state of consciousness without being sleepy. Instead they got to this state of consciousness to seek the move of the Holy Spirit by using music to meditate. In 2 Kings, Prophet Elisha specifically requests the presence of a musician before he even begins to attempt to prophesy by the Holy Spirit. 2 Kings 3:13-15 states:

13- Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” 14- And Elisha said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. 15- But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

Important Note: In the Hebrew bible (which is the original language the Old Testament was written in) verse 15 literally translates to say:

“and·now take-you for·me one-playing and·he-became as·to-play-of

the·one-playing and·she-is-becoming over·him hand-of Yahweh”

The “she” who is being referred to in this literal translation is actually the Holy Spirit. Although the gender of the word “spirit” is masculine in Latin, the word “spirit” is feminine in Hebrew. So, it is standard in Hebrew to refer to the Holy Spirit as a female. Therefore, with the presence of the phrase “she is becoming over him” in the literal translation of verse 15, we can conclude that when the musician began to play the Holy Spirit is the form of God who came over Elisha. 

We see that although Elisha was not in a state of concentration or meditation to receive a word from the Holy Spirit, the rhythmic element of the musicians music allowed him to get to a different level of meditation where he was able to prophesy. Here, he was not sleepy nor receptive to angels or the Holy Spirit like Peter was in the above scripture from Acts 12. However, we see here that he used music to meditate and concentrate on receiving a word from the Holy Spirit (remember, in Christian Meditation Part 1, the definition of the word soliloquize that the bible uses to mean meditate).