Matthew 3: 16: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
At times a relationship with Jesus can get a little mystical. Doves, spirits, voices from heaven, and the heavens being opened all make for a mystical moment. Jesus transcends what we see on a daily basis. He operates in heaven and earth simultaneously. That may throw our normal pattern, but be thankful that He provides access to the Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit on earth at once to affect our lives.
Listening to the message of the moment from the pulpit, my life seemed to be the content. The preaching pierced pointedly and profoundly into the core of that night’s dilemma. All day, I had lived the problem being answered. It was exhilarating. God’s timing in bringing my pastor to the present point of my life is amazing. There are too many times to tell of when this has happened. The scriptures come alive with fire and stir me up to new levels of faith. How could God care so much to make the message match my messes? What an amazing God!
ACT! Need anything from heaven? Some things we need don't exist right now on earth. Jesus is access to heaven. Ask the Father for the impossible in Jesus. Go ahead and plan the rest of the day as if you had it.
PRAY! Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy is Your name. Cause the heavens to open for me in my life. Cause Your Holy Spirit to brood over my life and cause chaos to come to order. Release all You are in heaven and earth in me that Your will would be done here even as it is there
Hi Phil,
ReplyDeleteI’m getting ready to leave the house for the day. First stop is to see my mother at Deaconess Hospital. She fell Monday and broke her pelvic bone. It looks as though she has a good chance of recovery, even at 86 years old. Your prayers are appreciated.
I doubt I’ve ever told you about an intervention by God that happened in 1985. This is only one of many in my life.
In 1984 I sat for the civil service exam to make myself eligible for a position with the US Postal Service. I worked with them daily and decided I wanted a career with them. An opening in a post office where an acquaintance was postmaster spurred me to take the exam. I passed near the top of the stack but there were “bonus points” earned by Vietnam veterans so I kind of forgot about it. Months later, in 1985, I received notice that if I could pass the US Postal Service’s driving test I would have the job. I also knew that in the interim time, a friend who had been laid off from a career job in OKC was actually performing that job as a “casual” within the USPS and could have the job permanently if I passed on it. This kind of heightened my spiritual senses that God was up to something.
I did want the job, so I went ahead and took the driving test, just like the one for a state drivers license. I failed by one point. The examiner said I could take it as many times as I wanted and as soon as I passed the job was mine. Too many weird things all together, so I prayed about it. Because I knew that I could pass that test any day of the week under “normal” circumstances, I told them I would not continue in the process. My friend go the job and I felt good and forgot about it until August 20, 1986. That day Patrick Sherril shot and killed fourteen co-workers in the Edmond Post Office. My friend, Jerry Reed, was an Oklahoma National Guardsman and trained to act, which he did. He grabbed the workers on either side of him that day and fled over the front counter, saving himself and those with him.
God acted months in advance to save my life and those of the others that Jerry led out. To add a post script to that fact, last year (2008) at the funeral of a new friend I made in 2005, I learned that he had almost the same exact experience which added more than 20 more years to his life. He was the one in line just ahead of me to get that same job, but he also failed the driving test. God indeed does work in very mysterious (even mystical) ways.
Jim Kettler