Two Donkeys

Hi Friends,

I am writing today about a three part vision concerning the friends we keep, the thoughts we entertain and the difference between innocence and sin.  When God gives us a message, whether a dream, a vision, a word of knowledge, or a scripture that speaks to us personally, we must stop and consider the message.  

James said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.” James 1:22

The Vision

First I saw water being poured into the top of a pitcher, which had a filter, like Brita or Zero Water.  

Next, I saw two donkeys, one black and the other white.  They were standing very close to one another, with the white donkey to the right, and slightly in front of the black donkey.  Their legs were splayed slightly, so that the legs alternated: black, white, black, white…..

Then, I saw a baby on her hands and knees looking directly at me.  She was wearing a pastel fuzzy sweater. Its color was faint - a softly muted, dusty rose.

What I believe the visions mean:

The Two Donkeys

As I saw the vision of the two donkeys, I noticed the sharp contrast between the two.  One was white and the other black. The contrast suggests opposing forces: good and bad, light and dark, open and closed. Yet because the donkeys were very close to each other, it suggested a tight affiliation, association or  relationship. The donkeys’ legs created a pattern - alternating black and white. That pattern repeats two things like a toggle, going back and forth. It reminded me of a conversation or dialog between two people. The legs were so visually interwoven that they describe an intimate relationship, not necessarily sexual, but definitely a friendship with close bonds. 

As I looked to select a photo for this post, I was amazed at how many pictures showed two donkeys snuggling with each other. There is no doubt that God had selected donkeys to depict the tight bonds of love and friendship, because they display this behavior very naturally. Donkeys also describe two character traits which are important to understanding the vision. They are obstinance and foolishness.

As I contemplated the vision, this scripture came to mind:  “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.  For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?  Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?  Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”   2 Corinthians 6:14-15  

God gives us several scriptures that make it very clear as to how we are to live, and with whom we are to associate.  

“‘Come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord.  ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’”  2 Corinthians 6:17

 “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’”  1 Corinthians 15:33    

“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.”  Proverbs 22:24-25  

“Whoever keeps company with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.”  Proverbs 13:20

God is giving us this vision as a warning.  It comes from the very heart of our Father wanting to protect his children from harm.  We can heed the warning and be obedient - or - we can make excuses as to why we think that our particular situation or relationship is different.  Perhaps we can claim that our friendship with an unbeliever is only so that we can be a witness for Christ. Or that because we have a strong faith in Christ, the warnings do not apply to us.  We do not see the harm of maintaining a close relationship with a non-believer because “Nothing can affect our walk with God.” 

But remember the scripture above, began with the words, “Do not be deceived.”  

Let me give you a couple of real-life examples:

A friend of mine has a sister who is divorced and regrets her decision.  I will call her Sue. But now that many years have gone by, her ex-husband is living with a woman, and Sue feels very lonely.  About a year ago, she began seeking the Lord, and going to church. Sue told her sister that she had made a commitment to follow the Lord.  Her sister knew of her loneliness, and had been praying earnestly for her to find a god-fearing man. But instead, Sue found a man that she had known from her high school days.  

She was so elated to finally find someone who she really liked, that even though he was not born again, she chose to date him.  Now several months have gone by, and they seem to be serious about each other. They have arranged for both families to get together.  But in all this, it seems that Sue has left the Lord out of the picture. Since she began to date him, she has never invited him to church, and as a matter of fact, she has stopped going herself.

Now what would you say?  Would you agree that this non-believing man has affected a change in her devotion to the Lord?  Hasn’t she given preference to the man? What is the outcome? How will Sue be able to convince him that her faith really matters - particularly since she has not demonstrated even the basic level of commitment, to go to church on Sunday? And If she has compromised her faith in this way, will she also compromise her body?

I have to be honest, I know that God is also speaking to me about a relationship.  

Many years ago, I read a book called The Contagious Christian.  In the book, the author believed that it was important to get to know someone and gain their trust before you share the gospel with them.  If I remember right, he used the example of having a backyard barbecue first, and then telling them about Jesus. He believed that people would not be so quick to dismiss the conversation about God, if they got to know you first.  The plan seemed to make sense because Jesus did the same, for he was accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners.

However, the mistake that we can make, is by spending too much time socializing and never getting around to sharing the gospel. The more time that passes between the first meeting and the actual conversation about the Lord and salvation, the more that the fear of rejection will come into play. Sue, the woman in the example, in all likelihood, was afraid to share her faith with him, for fear that he would reject it. Since she understands the concept of not being unequally yoked, she would have to reject him. So she chose not to say anything, and keep it to herself. The faith in the Lord that she had professed, she could very easily lose.

Now regarding my relationships, I have made a close friend of a woman who is married  to a Muslim man. Both my husband and I have vacationed with them, and spent many holidays with them as well.  I have always hoped that her husband would receive the Lord as his savior. I have had several long discussions about my faith with him, but to no avail. Yet we continued to get the two families together, out of friendship with her and in hopes that he would come around to believe.   He has asked me to pray for his business, his health and his family, yet so far he has refused to come to the Lord.

I knew all along that her husband had an evil streak in him. But I befriended him in hopes that he would someday be open to the gospel. God gave me grace, to bring the witness of his love to them. Over this past year, his wickedness has manifested in terribly destructive ways. Yet I kept telling myself, “The Lord’s arm is not too short to save.”

I know God had given this vision, to me because he wants me to step aside, and to no longer associate with him.  “For what fellowship does light have with darkness?”    

Now just one more example: 

I had a friend who is no longer alive, but I can say with all honesty that she is now with the Lord.  But while she was still living, and before she was saved, she used to come to church just to see me. We saw each other several times a week, and I helped her in several ways. I helped her get US citizenship, disability income, housing, and welfare benefits and whatever else she needed.  Yet I knew she was stubborn, and would not submit to the Lord. Even though she refused to make the Lord her savior, she still asked me to pray for her. On several occasions, I would be in tears,  pleading with her, “If you get hit by a car and die, don’t you realize that you will go to hell?”  

After a time, my spirit became grieved, over her rejection of the Lord. I wanted to remove myself from her life, but God spoke to me, reminding me of the parable of the tree that did not bear fruit.  The owner of the vineyard said, “‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any.  Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’”

“‘Sir, the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”    Luke 13:7-9

So I told the Lord that I was willing to give her another year.  Towards the end of the year, I went to see a pastor who was also a trained counselor.  He told me that she was depending upon me too much, so that I had become a hindrance to her developing a relationship with God. That very Sunday, the Lord spoke to me during worship.  He said, “You must decrease and I must increase.” So I separated myself from her that day.

For two and a half years I did not see her or speak to her - it seemed like a divorce.  But when I finally met with her after those two and a half years, I discovered that she had been born again! It was true, she had finally given herself to God. Now when she came to church, it was not to see me. She came to be with the Lord!  Hallelujah! God is good!

In the above examples, my relationships were based on my strong desire to see these people saved. God gave me the grace to be with them — for a time.

But we can not, and should not, dismiss God’s written word. We must not jeopardize our faith by keeping close relationships with unbelievers.  Let’s examine another example. I know a man who came to the Lord in his late twenties. When he gave his life to the Lord, he was an alcoholic, and used drugs, but God delivered him from them both. He knew that he needed to separate from his friends that were not interested in knowing God. He spent that first year in nearly continuous prayer. He is now a pastor.

What might have been the outcome had he not chosen to separate from his friends? Most likely, his new life with God would never have developed, and the freedom and deliverance from drugs and alcohol would have been short lived.

“Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’”  2 Peter 2:22

The Pitcher of Water

In this vision, I saw water being poured into a pitcher that had a filter between the top compartment  and the lower portion that held the filtered water.

This vision is best understood, when we see how it relates to the vision above.  The water represents something that goes into the pitcher. It is not something that is inherently pure, because it needs to be filtered.  The filter removes impurities and contaminants, making something that is unclean, clean. The lower chamber of the pitcher holds the purified water.

I believe that the water that comes into the top of the pitcher represents ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and values that are of the world.  These ideas and values are not pure, for they are sourced in the world, by people whose very nature opposes God. The filter represents the spirit of the believer as it has been made alive by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The believer should test and approve what is true, and what is a lie, what is holy and what is not holy. 

The believer is the pitcher, “He that believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”  John 7:38

Just because we live in the world, we are not to take our cues from the world, or align ourselves with its values.  We are told in scripture, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.”  1 John 2:15

If the Holy Spirit is living in us, and if we are reading and taking to heart the word of God, then we will be able to act as a filter for the thoughts and ideas which come our way.  “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

The reservoir of the pitcher contains the purified water.   If the pitcher represents us as believers, then whatever comes from our mouths and from our hearts should be good.   “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

If what comes out is not pure, then there is something wrong with our filter.  The Bible tells us that “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  Philippians 4:8

When we are not in the word of God, or pursuing an intimate relationship with him, we can become more like the world in our attitudes.  What may come from our mouths is not pure or praiseworthy. If we are unevenly yoked with an unbeliever, we can become more like them, and less like God.  That is why it is so important to separate ourselves from having close relationships with unbelievers.

We also must separate ourselves from the world and its values - taking very seriously the command to “take every thought captive.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

“Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

The Baby in a Sweater

The baby in the vision was on her hands and knees, looking directly at me.  The baby represents innocence. Someone who is innocent, who has nothing to hide, can look you directly in the eye.  The baby is wearing a sweater, which was placed upon her by someone else. She is too young to dress herself, for she cannot as yet even walk.  The sweater she wears is pale, a dusty rose. It is extremely soft and fuzzy made from angora or mohair. The sweater is comfortable, warm and soft.  The baby does not mind the sweater, she feels comfortable in it. 

A muted dusty rose is a tint of red, with a drop of black and a drop of green to gray the color, and quite a bit of white added to make it pale.  Still it belongs to the red family. Red in the Bible symbolizes blood, bloodshed or war. It can also mean flesh, because the Hebrew word for red is Oudem which actually means red clay.  Man (Adam) was made from the clay, so that red can mean mankind. Adam, Esau and Edom are names that are derived from this word. If you remember, Esau was given this name because of his ruddy complexion.  Edom and Esau are one and the same man. The people referred to as Edomites were Esau’s descendants. I believe that the pale dusty rose color of the sweater was chosen to represent flesh.

Innocence and flesh are not synonyms, but antonyms, in a Christian context. We know that a person is made of three parts: spirit, soul and body.  The spirit is the part of us which is capable of having communion with God. It is awakened and made alive in us when we are born again and given the Holy Spirit to indwell us.  The soul is comprised of our mind, our emotions, and our will. Both the spirit and the soul are eternal. The body makes up the perishable portion of us. The part that does not live forever. Both Paul and Peter refer to the body as a temporary dwelling, or tent.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, he asked his disciples to pray with him in the garden. But they fell asleep. Jesus asked them again, and once again they fell asleep. Jesus knew that they wanted to pray, but sleep would overcome them. He made this comment, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

So when we give into temptation, we can say that we have given in to the flesh.  Our bodies get tired, so they want to sleep. Our bodies get thirsty, so we want to drink.  Our bodies along with our minds can covet, can lust, can steal, can do all kinds of evil to satisfy their cravings.  So the flesh can often refer to our weaknesses, as well as our passions. We see that our weaknesses are in our flesh and its desires. This also describes our sinful nature.

What does the vision of the baby in the sweater mean?  

I believe that the baby is born into the world, but is not entirely innocent.  Yes, the baby has not committed any sins himself, but there is still sin that resides in him, because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion.  This we call original sin. This sin is part of the inherited sin. There is also the sin that comes down to us personally through our family line.  I wrote about this recently in a post called “A Curse to Be Broken.”    

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.”  Exodus 20:5

 The sweater in the vision represents something that is placed on the child.  I believe it is this sin and the resultant curse that is put upon the one who would otherwise be considered innocent.  Why does the sweater look comfy, and warm? Is it because we are so familiar or comfortable, in our thoughts and in our normal manner of handling people and situations, that we are completely unaware that these curses exist?  Could it be that we are like the frog that is placed in a pot of water on the stove who becomes so comfortable in the heat, that it does not jump out, but succumbs to the inevitable?  

These generational curses are a result of the unrepentant sin of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and great, great grandparents.  When we repent for these sins, the curses are broken.

Over the last month, we have spent a great many prayer sessions in spiritual warfare.  Much has been happening in our lives and in the lives of those for whom we pray. Through prayer we have also experienced love, mercy, grace, and the power of God.  He has given us many victories as well. But I was truly excited when the Lord gave me this next vision, just two days ago.

The Writing on the Wall     

In the vision, I see a large paragraph of words written on the wall.  Then I see a hand holding a spray bottle. The hand squeezed the pistol grip, and out came a huge amount of liquid cleaner sprayed directly over the words on the wall. Again, the handle was squeezed and another full squirt hit the wall and obliterated the words.

I immediately thought of the writing on the wall in the book of Daniel.

(My goodness! The Lord did it again! Just as I am beginning to write this portion of my post, I opened to the very passage which I needed! Wow! God is good!)

In the fifth chapter, of the book of Daniel, King Belshazzar held a banquet for a thousand of his nobles.  He ordered the gold and silver goblets that had come from the temple of God in Jerusalem to be brought to them.  With these sacred goblets which were for the sole purpose of worship unto the Lord, these pagan people toasted the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.  

The Lord was so outraged over this, that he gave them a vision that they all could see.  A hand was seen writing on the wall, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin”   None of the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners of the King could interpret the message. 

Then Daniel was summoned by the king, to interpret the vision. So he did.  

“This is the inscription that was witten:  Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin

This is what these words mean:  

Mene:  God has numbered the days of your reign and brought them to an end.

Tekel:  you have been weighed on the scales and found waning.

Peres:  Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

“Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.  That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”  Daniel 5: 25-31 

So the handwriting was a judgment against the King of Babylon and his people.

Now, in the vision God had given me, the writing on the wall was a paragraph of words that I believe were generational curses. These were words that brought bondage, judgment, and open doors to demonic activity, because of unrepentant sin against God. 

In my vision, God was not bringing judgment, but a cleansing and a removal of the old sins and their accompanying curses. God was taking them all away, he was restoring and reconciling the generational lines of our families. Hallelujah! “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  Hebrews 8:12 

With this vision, God is telling us that it is done!  These curses have been broken and the devil’s assignments are cancelled! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! For he is good and his mercies are new every morning!

In Summary

God wants us to separate ourselves unto him by separating from close relationships that would lead us away from him. He wants us to be holy, and pure, to renounce any affinity we have to the ideas and values of the world. He wants us to filter out our fleshly desires that compete with our love for God.

We know that if we seek God, and repent for our sins and the sins of those in our generational line, He will break the curses and free us from those bonds.

Please share this post with others, if it has been a blessing to you. And, please pray for our nation, and the nations of the world. God wants to see a world wide revival. He wants all to be saved!

And may God bless you in all that your hands find to do!

If you would like to receive an email to announce future posts, you can email me, and I will keep your address confidential.  

Be blessed!