Jewels From JudyThursday, December 31 2009
HELLO! It is my hope to I take this time to bless you and your loved one for the coming 2010 New Year. I pray your walk with the Lord rises to new heights as you lean on His love, direction and heed His discipline in 2010 and beyond. The number ten signifies the perfection of Divine order. The Lord revealed something in my life that needs to be brought into His order - and perhaps yours as well. If you would take a few moments to continue on, I would like to share a very short but significant dream I had yesterday morning. I include for your discernment my interpretation, applications and Scripture references. Dream I dreamt that I was driving a car. A friend of mine was a passenger and she was listening to me complain about many things troubling me. Mind you, I was not seeking out solutions to these problems; I was just ranting on and on in anger and frustration at all that was wrong in my life and in the world. She looked over at me and said, "In Jesus' name, I take authority over the spirit that is speaking right now and command it to be quiet." She spoke with a very calm and peaceful, but matter-of-fact tone of voice. I looked over at her and was speechless. I immediately woke up. Interpretation (Genesis 40:8) The Car: In dreams I have found a car or any type of vehicle often represents a person's ministry or profession. The Friend: Is someone I have often gone to for prayer and she has been a vital part of this ministry since before its inception. I have enjoyed physical, emotional, and spiritual healing when she followed the Lord's lead to pray for me. The night before I went to bed, she had called. We had not talked in a long time and we really had a wonderful two hour visit on the phone. She was led on several occasions during that conversation to pray for me for healing and encouragement; and I was very blessed. In this dream, she represents wisdom and discernment, the Lord's will and intervention, and the power of Spirit-led prayer. She recognized that my words did not edify or build anything; they were words of destruction and death. No resolutions were being sought, so in effect I was caught inside a wheel going around and around with no way out. She gently brought it to an end. There was no accusation in her tone of voice. For a second I felt offended, but then I felt free. When I woke up I had a smile on my face and felt the joy of it. I gave the Lord thanks for this simple illustration and reminder to guard my heart. (Proverbs 4:23) Application: While this dream was obviously a personal correction of the Lord, if my being transparent will help you in your walk with the Lord, then it is worth any humiliation I bear for it. I do not point one finger outward without three pointing back at me. James wrote that a teacher is more strictly judged; the writer of Hebrews states that God disciplines those He loves and if we allow ourselves to be trained by it, we will reap the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Complaining and grumbling is a stumbling block to the Body of Christ and her effectiveness to reach out to the lost. This is what kept the Children of Israel from coming into the Promised Land, so we must take heed! The dream taking place in a car reveals that the direction and distance we travel in fulfilling our destiny in Christ Jesus, both as individuals and together as His Church, will be determined by our obedience to steer our thoughts and words clear of murmuring. We cannot allow this complaining spirit to continue; we must take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ! Right now I am acutely aware that those in ministry have been battered by a barrage of personal attacks that have been difficult to bear with few to help carry the load. Those who live on the mission field have been, and are, suffering from a bombardment of accusation launched directly at them. When one has continually suffered injustice, it is easy to slip into complaining. The fruit of complaining is deception and this is why many have fallen into believing lies over the truth. Honestly, there are times when there does not seem to be a solution. There is something about the injustices in the world that grips our hearts in a way that makes us feel so helpless. We complain because it is the one thing we can do! This is when we must remember that what is impossible to man is possible with God. We cannot believe God and complain at the same time (bless and curse). The complaints will overtake our faith. It is faith that sees what is unseen until it is seen! Without faith it is impossible to please God. Complaining is the opposite of faith. Complaining exists in union with fear; and God does not answer prayers of faithlessness. Do not assume this means we are never to voice a grievance, but if there is a point where the complaint turns into railing, slander and judgment then we must take authority over it. In this dream this was what I had slipped into doing and the moment my friend took authority over that evil spirit, it stopped. She didn't scream and yell at the demon, as some do with bravado. She loved and cared for me while at the same time casting out the spirit with true authority Christ died to give His Body. When that ugly spirit was arrested, I was released from its grip and enjoyed immediate freedom. Because of that, I could not help but smile when I woke up. I gave thanks and praise to the Lord for that powerful but simple illustration. It is my hope and prayer for me and for you, not only the New Year but continually, that we will be careful with our words and keep a guard over our mouths. We are blessed to be a blessing. In Father's love, Scriptures To Ponder (Emphasis mine): Matthew 12:35-37 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." James 5:9, 10 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Deuteronomy 30:11-16 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No,the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 19: This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Another example of this can be found at: |