Greetings again my Brethren. Is it not nice to know the LORD will visit us? What a reassuring feeling within us when we can feel the presence of the LORD or in some cases see the actual manifestation of the LORD. Now some people would dispute me (they then would be a disputer of the word of God) and tell me I am crazy, but not so my friend. Okay to be honest I have never seen the manifestation of the LORD, but I often feel His presence which is just as nice. But others I know personally have seen the manifestation of the LORD (the Father or an Angel) and the Lord (Jesus) in a visit. No one is more trustworthy than your mother and wife and in both they have seen the LORD walking in our midst. Two quick condensed stories. There was an ex-soldier (he flew attack helicopters) who lived near our home in Fayetteville, NC named Mike. Well, Mike was a drunk and did drugs. I am not sure why, but he was kicked out of the US Army for these habits. But when he would get high he would come over to our home all in tears and would want to talk with my mother. This went on for months. Well one day my mother was in prayer and she would lay on the couch and look out the open door to the street about 700 yards. One day she was sitting on the couch and she saw Jesus come walking up the street. she quickly got up and went to my father who was sitting in the den watching TV and said, “Hon, Jesus is coming to our house for a visit.” They both ran back to the open door and my mother said, “I see Him coming up the street.” My father looked and saw nothing and said, “I do not see Jesus.” And my mother looked again and ran outside the door and said, “He has passed our home and just entered Mike’s home.” My father said, “okay good” and went back to the den. Well about four or five hours later my parents heard fire trucks and an ambulance coming up the street and they too stopped at Mike’s house. Later in the night my parents found out Mike just died, not sure from what, but according to my mother Jesus came for a visit first. Another visit from the LORD was when David our oldest son was first born and had hyperbilirubinemia or yellows jaundice which is a life threatening medical emergency for a newborn. He had to stay in the hospital for a few extra days under these very bright lights (bili lights) to destroy the red blood cells at the skin level. Well, one night Karen (she has another story where she saw Jesus, the Lord, touch David when he was sick) was up late, upset, crying, and praying while David was in the hospital (I was asleep) and she could sense, just knew someone was walking towards her and she felt someone bend down (she was sitting in chair) and hug her. At that moment she just knew David was going to be fine. She got up from the chair and ran into the bedroom, woke me up out a sound sleep, and told me Jesus just visited her and told her David will be okay. There was no audible voice or physical presence of the LORD, but she could feel this glorious presence as the LORD reassured her all is well. I woke up and asked, “what is going on?” And she told me Jesus just visited and David is going to be okay. And I responded that is nice and went back to sleep, Karen soon followed. Yes just like in the Bible the LORD still visits us today. Now I like that. In the Gospel of Luke we find another time the LORD visited (the Scriptures are full of such examples) His people. I wonder why people say today these are just stories the LORD really does not visit His children? I guess they are disputers of the word of God. In Luke we read, “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:” (Luke 1:67-70) What a wonderful story of here in Luke as the Angel (or the LORD) comes and makes a proclamation of the birth of John the Baptist, but the story within the story for Zacharias is the end of the story which started months earlier. Back in verse 17 of Chapter one of Luke we find Zacharias had a hard time dealing with the visit of the LORD. Now to be honest most people if not all people would have a hard time with a visit from the LORD. Our human and logical thinking would only get in the way. Unless we had a spiritual understanding we would write this visit off as undigested bit of food or a bad dream, but not so in God. In verse 17 the Angel Gabriel comes for a visit to talk with Zacharias, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” (Luke 1:17-20) Sadly, Zacharias disputes Gabriel and (the LORD) and Gabriel shuts up Zacharias mouth until the birth of his son (and cousin of Jesus) the prophet John the Baptist. Verses 67-70 was what Zacharias said when his mouth was opened again. Now who visits? Is it Jesus, the Lord, yes. Maybe an Angel, the LORD, yes. Or maybe the LORD, God the Father, yes. At any rate it does not matter because when the “LORD” visits man is touched and wonderful things are done for the glory of God.
Next month we will continue looking at the ways we can say the LORD has visited us. Do you see Him draw near? Please know God is near to them who are near to Him. Do you feel His presence? Do you see His hand in your life? He is waiting on us to make our first move.
