Journey to see God: See God’s reality in Abraham’s life

Abraham’s journey -one hundred years of faith living!

In this journey to see God through Abraham, the watchman and friends see how the Lord appeared to Abraham whom He called His friend. Note that the Lord actually took the initiative and conversed with Abraham a number of times. Abraham was a watchman and intercessor. He could understand spiritual matters and he believed in God and every words spoken by God. He had no Bible or even the Laws of Moses to guide him at that time. But he listened carefully to what the Lord spoke to him, and he remembered the conversations, acted on them and continued his journey by faith into the unseen future.
What did God do? God honored His own words.
GOD’S CALLING OF ABRAHAM & PROMISES (by faith Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home; he went without knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8. Romans 4:16-22)

1. Genesis 12:1 [ Promises to Abram ] Now the Lord had said to Abram:“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2. Genesis 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
3. Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
4. Genesis 12:8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
5. Genesis 13:4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
6. Genesis 13:14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
7. Genesis 13:18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
8. Genesis 14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
9. Genesis 15:1 [ The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram ] Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
10. Genesis 15:2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
11. Genesis 15:4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.”
12. Genesis 15:5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
13. Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Romans 4:3)
    
14. Genesis 15:7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
15. Genesis 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
16. Genesis 15:18 So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River
17. Genesis 17:1 [ Abram Is Named Abraham ] When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

BIRTH OF ISAAC （child of the promise, born by the power of the Spirit. Galatians 4:28-29; Romans 9:8)

1. Genesis 18:1 [ The Son of Promise ] Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2. Genesis 18:13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
3. Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
4. Genesis 21:1 [ Isaac Is Born ] And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

OFFER ISAAC (compare to God giving His only Son, John 3:16)

22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide;[b] as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
INTERCESSION BY ABRAHAM  (James 2:23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.)

1. Genesis 18:17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 
2. Genesis 18:19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
3. Genesis 18:20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
4. Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
5. Genesis 18:26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
6. Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
7. Genesis 18:30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
8. Genesis 18:31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
9. Genesis 18:32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”
10. Genesis 18:33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

SARAH (ABRAHAM’S WIFE: an incident of walking by flesh and not by faith and the consequence)

1. Genesis 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
2. Genesis 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”

HAGAR (EGYPTIAN MAID received God’s message and the mercy of God)

1. Genesis 16:7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
2. Genesis 16:9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
3. Genesis 16:10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
4. Genesis 16:11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:“Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
5. Genesis 16:13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

SERVANT OF ABRAHAM (completed his mission to TAKE WIFE FOR ISAAC faithfully because he believed in Abraham’s God, Who remained faithful to His promises. The servant encountered and testified God’s reality!

1. Genesis 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
2. Genesis 24:31 And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
3. Genesis 24:40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.
4. Genesis 24:42 “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
5. Genesis 24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
6. Genesis 24:56 And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”__________________________________

Journey to see God: So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him

The message today at this beginning of another human calendar year (period to mark a season of time and events), is "OBEDIENCE'. 

The case of Abraham, father of faith, is a classic case of human obedience by faith in action. Faith is not mere words. Faith can be seen. God is only pleased with faith. He sees faith in action.

Indeed, every born again Christian is called as Abraham was called: to depart from his familiar and comfort zone, even from himself (self-preservation) to venture into an unknown journey, a journey into the unknown. Why do we do that? Why do we commit ourselves to heed the same call? The watchman believes that this is a pure work of grace and mercy by the Lord. We respond to His call not because we are super-human in terms of spiritual sensitivity or inclination. We respond to the unseen God and believe in His word because the Spirit of the holy God touch us through the holy word in His holy Book (the Bible).

Faith means Obedience. We have no power to obey in our flesh. But the Spirit of the Lord has given us His power to do so. 

Genesis 12:1-9 (NKJV) Promises to Abram

12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh.^[a] And the Canaanites were then in the land.

⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. ⁹ So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.^[b]

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 12:6 Hebrew Alon Moreh
2. Genesis 12:9 Hebrew Negev 

A celebration and song in faith to the covenant keeping God. 
1 Chronicles 16 David’s Song of Thanksgiving

⁷ On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

⁸ Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
⁹ Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
¹⁰ Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
¹¹ Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
¹² Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
¹³ O seed of Israel His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

¹⁴ He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
¹⁵ Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
¹⁶ The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
¹⁷ And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
¹⁸ Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”
¹⁹ When you were few in number,
Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

²⁰ When they went from one nation to another,
And from one kingdom to another people,
²¹ He permitted no man to do them wrong;
Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,
²² Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”^[a]

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
²⁴ Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.

²⁵ For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is also to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and gladness are in His place.

²⁸ Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
³⁰ Tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved.

³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
³² Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.
³³ Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.^[b]

³⁴ Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.^[c]
35 And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;
Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.”

³⁶ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!^[d]

And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

spiritual journey 2012 in review: further sailing on uncharted waters

2012 has turned out to be a year of impossible changes. To men it was impossible. To God nothing is impossible. So the watchman has observed.

The watchman did considerable watching through out the year albeit missing the signs completely at certain crucial moments. He paid for such costly omissions.

The following are some examples of how some signs were ignored or were accurately heeded:

1. When someone wanted to give a large sum of money to help to bail out a church member, believing that the Holy Spirit has told her to do so, the watchman received a warning in the words of God. His Bible turned to 'Judas Iscariot' at least twice at that time. He did not persuade the person not to give the money because he did not want to be accused of presuming that others could not hear the Holy Spirit accurately. So they went ahead. The condition was that the person went for healing and deliverance after her bail-out. It did not happen. In his latest journey to see God, he again interceded for the person when the Lord showed him the word ‘Judas Iscariot’ (Mark 3:19) while praying in the Spirit with another intercessor. At the end of the prayer, the other intercessor told him not to intercede for that person again as the case would be closed on 31-12-2012 if that person does not repent by that date. This requires a miracle as 31st December is only a day away.

2. On the other hand, he did the appropriate intercession when prompted by the Lord while praying in the Spirit on that same occasion. He saw the verse on ‘Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29) and the name of a pastor came to his spirit. So he interceded for that pastor. When he finished praying the intercessor told him the case broke through. He was happy and relieved. He walked by faith and not by sight.

3. In another case the signs were very clear, as they built up in momentum over a short period of months. He received the clear verse to depart from a 'place of worship' on 30th June 2012. He hesitated but events soon took place at an accelerated rate to confirm the signs (which came to him in the Bible words). Others received similar warning words too and conveyed to him. Dreams, visions and words combined through revelation received by a few persons gave him the final leading to ‘run’.

Spiritual discernment is a absolute must for a spiritual watchman intercessor. It requires faith. it also takes time. The watchman is thankful that throughout the journey he had access to other watchmen and intercessors. Their prayers and advice indeed helped him to avoid some pitfalls. He has been humbled and had to make adjustments in his lifestyle.
He has learned that the Lord demands the best. Knowing the Lord is the number one priority for all watchmen. There is no substitution for reading God’s word (the Bible). Living by the Spirit and being led by the Spirit (as required of all sons of God) require obedience and constant practice too.

He was led to read the Bible from the beginning to see God. The Old Testament characters provide rich food for his spiritual journey. His lifestyle changes mainly involved redistribution of time: sleep time, wake time, eat time, fast time, Bible reading and meditating time, praying in the Spirit and singing in the Spirit time, praying in understanding time, discipleship time and teaching time, worship time and time spent before God. The changes involve quality change and quantity change as well. His life has never been so fulfilled before.

Overall he would describe the year 2012 as a year of signs and wonders for his little world. He has been comforted by the Lord in answered prayers (including undeserved favor and mercy) for some of his own family members and also blessings for the few families who worship with him and diligently seek God even at odd hours, determined to know God at all costs!

And recovery of sight to the blind

 THE LORD GOD HEALS BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS AND ALL MANNERS OF DISEASES (BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT)

Exodus 4:11
So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?
Exodus 4:10-12 (in Context) Exodus 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations 
 Psalm 146:8
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous.
Psalm 146:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 146 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 29:18
In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
Isaiah 29:17-19 (in Context) Isaiah 29 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isaiah 35:4-6 (in Context) Isaiah 35 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 42:16
I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:15-17 (in Context) Isaiah 42 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 43:8
Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears.
Isaiah 43:7-9 (in Context) Isaiah 43 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Jeremiah 31:8
Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there.
Jeremiah 31:7-9 (in Context) Jeremiah 31 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations 


JESUS (WITH THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT) HEALS ALL KINDS OF BLINDNESS

Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
Luke 4:17-19 (in Context) Luke 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Luke 7:22
Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Luke 7:21-23 (in Context) Luke 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Matthew 11:5
The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:4-6 (in Context) Matthew 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Matthew 15:31
So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Matthew 15:30-32 (in Context) Matthew 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations  

BUT THE BLIND MUST BELIEVE AND TAKE THE STEP OF FAITH TO COME TO JESUS FOR HEALING
 
Matthew 9:28
And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
Matthew 9:27-29 (in Context) Matthew 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations Matthew 12:22
[ A House Divided Cannot Stand ] Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
Matthew 12:21-23 (in Context) Matthew 12 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations 
Matthew 21:14
Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
Matthew 21:13-15 (in Context) Matthew 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Mark 8:23
So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
Mark 8:22-24 (in Context) Mark 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Mark 10:49
So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
Mark 10:48-50 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Mark 10:51
So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
Mark 10:50-52 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS IS WORSE THAN PHYSICAL BLINDNESS

Isaiah 59:10 (THEY CANNOT SEE NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO EYES, BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN AND TURNING AWAY FROM GOD)
We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.
Isaiah 59:9-11 (in Context) Isaiah 59 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Romans 11:7 (ISRAEL IS BLIND TEMPORARILY. BUT THE GENTILES WHO WERE NOT IN THE ELECT WERE REALLY BLIND).
What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Romans 11:6-8 (in Context) Romans 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Romans 11:25 (SOME BLINDNESS CAN BE HEALED WHEN GOD'S TIME IS UP)
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Romans 11:24-26 (in Context) Romans 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Corinthians 3:14 (BLINDNESS HAPPENS IN THE MIND!)
But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:13-15 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Corinthians 4:4 (TO THOSE WHO CHOSE NOT TO BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST)
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
2 Corinthians 4:3-5 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ephesians 4:18 (TO UNBELIEVERS)
having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
Ephesians 4:17-19 (in Context) Ephesians 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Peter 1:9 (TO THOSE WHO FORGOT HIS SALVATION)
For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:8-10 (in Context) 2 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
1 John 2:11 (HATRED BRINGS DARKNESS WHICH IN TURN CAUSE BLINDNESS).
But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
1 John 2:10-12 (in Context) 1 John 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Revelation 3:17 (TO THE BLIND CHURCH)
Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
Revelation 3:16-18 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
 

Journey to see God: In the beginning

The watchman has been led to seek God as God is. Here is the beginning of a new journey. A journey to see God from the Book of Genesis.

(The watchman invites all to read with him. Some of his own notes are in brackets.)

Genesis 1:1-25 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Parashah 1: B’resheet (In the beginning) 1:1–6:8

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(God was in the beginning…)

² The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.

(The Holy Spirit was in the beginning…)

³ Then God said,

(Jesus, the son of God was in the beginning…In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. John1:1)

“Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.

(God created light first. When He came to the world as Jesus, He announced that He was the light of the world.He who does the truth comes to the light. he who practices evil hates the light. John 3:20-21. God uses light to differentiate who belongs to Him and who does not.)

⁶ God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” ⁷ God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, ⁸ and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day. ⁹ God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,” and that is how it was. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.

( 2 Peter 3:5-6 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) ^5-7 They are deliberately shutting their eyes to a fact that they know very well, that there were, by God’s command, heavens in the old days and an earth formed out of the water and surrounded by water. It was by water that the world of those days was deluged and destroyed, but the present heavens and earth are, also by God’s command, being kept and maintained for the fire of the day of judgment and the destruction of wicked men.)

¹¹ God said, “Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹² The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

(Note God’s priorities: 1. the plants and fruit trees were created first, after the light. 2. the requirement that the plants and trees bear seed bearing fruits. The key essence is “SEED-BEARING”. Psalm 126:5-6 (NKJV) ⁵ Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. ⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.)

(Matthew 13:23 (PHILLIPS)^18-23 “Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a man hears the message of the kingdom and does not grasp it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is like the seed sown by the road-side. The seed sown on the stony patches represents the man who hears the message and eagerly accepts it. But it has not taken root in him and does not last long—the moment trouble or persecution arises through the message he gives up his faith at once. The seed sown among the thorns represents the man who hears the message, and then the worries of this life and the illusions of wealth choke it to death and so it produces no ‘crop’ in his life. But the seed sown on good soil is the man who both hears and understands the message. His life shows a good crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”)

(A: ii) ¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. ¹⁷ God put them in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

(God sets marking for day, night, signs, seasons, days and years. These are marks for human to count, and know where they are at any point of time. Moses said in Psalm 90:12 (CJB) “¹² So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise.” Moses knew it was more important to see how each individual measures before God. David too knew the measurement of one’s life before God counts at the end, Psalm 39:4 “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”

Jesus reminded that we should discern the crucial spiritual signs of the times instead of looking at physical signs. Matthew 16:3 “…Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times”.)

²⁰ God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.” ²¹ God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

(A: iii) ²⁴ God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. ²⁵ God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.

(God took the bother to make each kind and every kind of living creature. Looking at the vast variety of living things in the world, we cannot help but marvel at how creative and particular about details our God is. The same characteristic is revealed when God instructed Moses the exact pattern and details of everything about the tabernacle of God, and later David on the temple of God. To the prophet Ezekiel He revealed again the exact pattern and measurements of the heavenly Temple that was never built on earth.)

(God measures the earth, the church and each individual too. Habakkuk 3:6 “He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations.” Zechariah 2:2 “So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” How do we measure when aligned with God’s measuring rod? )

Finally for today’s Bible reading, let all who read this blog take heed of what Apostle Peter had urged all followers of Jesus, in 2 Peter 3:10-12 (NKJV)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?