Many of this blog’s readers only know me by my weekly blog postings, from hearing me speak at our Ignite the Supernatural Conferences, and/or hearing me preach in a local church service. But, there’s another side of me that you don’t know about. I love practical jokes. Here’s a great example.

Present, Future, Past 1Several years ago while we were still living in South Florida, Vickie flew to Texas for a few days so that she could attend a family member’s wedding. My parents picked up Vickie at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport and took her to their home for a nice quiet night before the wedding festivities kicked in the next morning. Me being in Florida and Vickie being in Texas provided the perfect set-up for a great practical joke. Here’s what happened …

Because of Florida being in the Eastern Time Zone and Texas being in the Central Time Zone, people along the east coast watch many television programs an hour before people those in the Central Time Zone. Because Wheel of Fortune is broadcast each evening in Florida before it is televised in Texas, I watched the program, wrote down the answers, and then called Vickie to give her the answers. You can already see where this is going, can’t you! With the knowledge of all of the answers, Vickie began watching the program with my parents. On the first puzzle, Vickie waited for a couple of the letters to be revealed and then told Dad and Mom the puzzle’s answer. This happened puzzle after puzzle. And finally, when Pat Sajak and Vanna White showed the prize Present, Future, Past 2puzzle at the end, before a single letter was revealed, Vickie told my parents the answer. They were blown away. They were insisting that Vickie needed to go to Hollywood, be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, and win us some major money and prizes. Of course Vickie told them what was going on and I got a phone call from my parents that I’ll never forget.  It was one great practical joke.

Here’s an incredible revelation. What Vickie was presently viewing on Wheel of Fortune was what I had already viewed. In other words, her present was in my past. Did you know that this is exactly how the Holy Spirit looks at your today? What you are seeing at the present is what He has already seen. How do I know that?

“He will show you things to come.”
John 16:13

Present, Future, Past 3In every area (did you catch the EVERY?) of your life, the Holy Spirit has already seen your present and what is to come. In military language, the Holy Spirit has flown a reconnaissance mission and is fully aware of exactly what is going on right this very minute and what lies ahead for you. Not only has He seen, Jesus is telling us that He wants to show it to us and talk to us about it.

If this doesn’t make you to want to become more and more dependent upon the Holy Spirit, nothing will. There is so much more that I can say about this, but it isn’t needed. Increase your time of dialoguing (not monologuing) with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal what He sees and knows about you personally, your family, and your ministry. I guarantee that you will be amazed at what He will show you.