The World is Hostile Toward God
Hi Friends,
I have four visions to share with you today. They cover different topics, but since I received them together, I thought I will share all four of them with you in this post.
The Visions
A Small Metal Clip
In the first vision, I saw a small metal clip like the type used to hold a pair of mittens to a child’s jacket. It had teeth to grab the fabric and a flat closure that secured it. This small clip was attached to a fabric that had a woven selvedge with fringe.
There were many closely spaced metal clips holding the fabric up like a drapery. Where there was a gap between the clips, I saw someone attach one just like the others. As I watched, I noticed that the fringe was crushed where the teeth grabbed the fabric. I could not help but think that there could be a better way to hang the fabric using something else that did not crush the fringe, which is not at all decorative, it is simply the unfinished woven edge with cut wefts that form the fringe. If the fabric was to be hung as a drapery, then a sewn in heading, using proper drapery hooks would certainly be more finished and appropriate. As I thought about the vision I asked myself, “Why this clip?” It certainly was not a normal way to hang a fabric. It seemed make-shift—improper. Perhaps the clip was the only hardware available. Why did the person install the clip in the gap? To maintain uniformity?
What does this vision mean?
I believe that the vision represents thoughts and decisions that can be right, wrong, or simply made with no thought. Sometimes decisions are made so as to maintain tradition, or to follow an already established pattern.
This reminded me of so many things we have been taught by watching how someone else does something. A friend of mine was once criticized for how she made mashed potatoes. The potatoes were not riced, or whipped as some might make them. They were lumpy by comparison to the average person’s liking. When asked why she did it that way, she said that her grandmother made them by pulverizing them with a potato masher, and always left chucks. She did it this way because her grandmother did it just like that. Is it wrong or is it simply a tradition or method that was passed on?
When there is no pattern to follow, we have the chance to experiment and find out what works best. When something doesn’t work we cross off the idea and try again.
What I believe this vision is about is doing everything for the right reason, and to do it as if unto the Lord. For whatever is worth doing, it is worth doing right. “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24
This is the Protestant work ethic. When we know that all that we do and all that we are, are meant to bring glory to God, then we choose to do everything with excellence. We take pride in our work, but not for our own glory, but for his.
It is also true that if we are doing everything as if unto the Lord, he will give us work to do: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 If we make ourselves available to the Lord, he will orchestrates our steps and give us divine appointments.
When we see how something is done, we might ask ourselves, how can this be improved? Is this functioning as it should? We might also ask ourselves, “Am I bringing glory to the Lord by what I do? Or am I just doing only what is needed and just enough to get by? Am I representing the Lord as his follower? Or am I doing anything that causes others to think poorly of Christians?”
“As it is written, ‘My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you!’” Romans:2:24
Instead, we honor the Lord through the work of our hands and our care and concern for others. “If at all possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with all men.” Romans 12:18
A Woman in a Cover-up
In the second vision, I saw a woman walking towards me. She had blonde hair in a ponytail, and was wearing a mid-thigh, bathing suit cover-up, made of terry cloth. Her hands were in her pockets. There was a wall to her right, (to my left). She came up to the end of the wall, turned to her right and then walked away from me on the other side of the wall. She did not see me.
As I contemplated the vision for just a second, I thought of following her to see where she was going but instantly I said “NO!” I can not follow her. I knew she was a demon.
In several visions that I have had in the past, a wall usually represents a separation between the natural, physical world and the spirit realm. This woman walked from one side of the wall to the other side. Angelic beings have access to both realms.
The woman was large boned, reminding me of other visions where the demons look like people, but much larger. Wearing a cover-up with bare legs, suggests that she probably wore a bathing suit underneath. I believe that the cover-up represents her mission - to cover up, to hide or conceal the deeds of darkness. I believe that her intent was to get me to follow her, for that was my initial thought and then I said, “NO!” Thank you Jesus! I certainly would not want to follow a demon, even in a vision! It is so important to pray for discernment so that we do not get sucked into the plans of darkness.
In the vision, the woman’s hands were in her pockets. We know that when the authorities arrest someone, they will immediately apply handcuffs or demand that the person places his hands in the air where they can be easily seen. It is assumed that if there could be a hidden weapon, available to criminal’s use. So they keep his hands restrained or in full view. Since the woman’s hands were in her pockets, we don’t know what she may be hiding.
I should mention that the day I received this vision was Halloween, the most wicked day of the year. It is a shame that so many people consider it innocent. Making the devil, witchcraft, death, and the occult “fun for children,” is a big mistake. I am perplexed by churches that do not teach their people to avoid the holiday altogether, but rather they accommodate their families and neighbors, by giving the children a “safe” environment to celebrate the holiday. Often they will call it a Harvest Festival. Really? We need to call a spade, a spade. This is the day where satanists worship their “god.” It is when children across the world are sacrificed, literally, to demons. It is a celebration of everything that is evil. Why do we mimic the world or be friends of the world?
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4
As Christians, we should be teaching our children to hate what God hates, and love what God loves. We should be teaching our children to fear the Lord, and to not compromise with the world. Otherwise, when the day comes when we have to stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives, we will come up short. Remember it is the one who does the will of the Father that will be saved:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21
The Man
In the third vision, I saw a man eating a small bowl of pudding or yogurt with a plastic spoon. There were two bowls, two spoons and two servings of desert. The man was directly in front of me, opening his mouth wide to eat his desert. I knew that what he was eating was not something that I could eat, for the Lord told me almost three years ago: “No added sugar.” So I have not had anything with added sugar. (I do eat fruit that is naturally sweet.)
I see that this vision represents temptation. Sugar is not too difficult for me to avoid. I just read labels. If on the label under “Ingredients,” I see “sugar,” or on the label, or under “Nutrition Facts” the words “added sugar,” I just don’t eat it.
But the point of the vision is that all of us can be tempted. But how we handle that temptation makes all the difference. We are told in the Bible to “resist the devil and he will flee.” So we bind up the demonic powers that come against us in the name of Jesus.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
However, we are not to resist temptation. If we do, we may succumb to that temptation. No, the Bible tells us to “Flee temptation.” Run away! Do not try to fight your own flesh’s desire to have what you should not have, or do what you should not do, or entertain thoughts that are harmful to your being, (your body, soul, and spirit). We are told to:
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18
And flee from all other temptations—
We can be tempted to steal, to take what is not ours simply because we have the opportunity.
We can be tempted to lie, to get out of trouble, or to blame someone else.
We can be tempted to deceive others in order to get something we want. We saw an example of this recently with wealthy parents who misrepresented their children’s abilities and scores to get into a prestigious school.
We can be tempted to cheat on our financial records to buy a house or to lower our taxes.
We can be tempted to escape our problems with drugs, or alcohol.
We can be tempted to escape responsibility by choosing abortion over loving and caring for a child.
We can be tempted to idolize something or someone in our lives, for it gives us a sense of identity, or security, or a feeling like belonging. But it is only in the Lord that we find our true identity, our eternal security and our sense of belonging.
“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:14
So to reiterate: Flee temptation! Run away!
But stand firm, and hold your ground against the devil and his demons.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
A Foam Mattress
In the last, and fourth vision, I saw my 2” foam mattress that I use every night. When I saw it, I said, “That’s mine.” Then I heard a voice say, “Give it to Frank.” (Frank is my husband.) And I knew that the Lord was telling me not to regard anything as “MINE.” After this vision, I just started giving everything to God. I looked around the room and asked myself, “Is there anything here that I claim as ‘MINE?’”
I am a minimalist, so I don’t think I am holding on to anything, but just the same, God knows me better than I know myself. So I decided to take inventory. I thought to myself, “What items am I unwilling to do without? What am I saving for an emergency or “rainy day?” What items are associated with survival? What items are connected with security? In what am I placing my hope and trust? What am I counting on having for financial security?
If I were living in China, and a bulldozer came to flatten my home, and leave me destitute, what would I do? The government would not bail me out—for they would have been the cause. There is no insurance that covers a loss from a government decision like this. What if they took away my access to my own bank account? What if I could not buy or sell without government approval? Who would I run to? Who would I trust?
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7
We cannot hold onto anything, declaring “Its MINE.” For that is the very thing that the Lord will ask us to give up. The Lord asked me to for things in my life that gave me identity: I thought of myself as a designer. I thought I was the plaques and certificates on the wall. He told me, “I don’t want you to do, I want you to be.”
So, after I was saved, the Lord asked me to give up my design business. So I did. Then, the Lord asked me to give up my masters degree, so I did. Later, the Lord asked me to give up my fitness ministry. I did—and then—Surprise! He gave it back to me! No that long ago, I needed more CEC’s to keeping my fitness certifications current, but once again the Lord spoke to me. This time he said, “No more certifications!” So I am the Lord’s, not my own.
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Whatever we have that enlarges our ego, or gives us our identity, the Lord will ask us to give it to him. Anything that competes with God for our attention, or our time, he will also ask us to give up. Our Lord is a jealous God. He wants our full attention, our full devotion. He wants us to be “all in” with him. We cannot compromise with the world.
However I must make this disclaimer: I am a married woman and I have not had to be the primary breadwinner of the family. Because my circumstances and calling may be different than yours, I was able to give up my career as a designer, and my educational pursuits. But please understand the intent. God wants you to put him first. He comes before your job. He comes before your family. He is God and God alone. As soon as we make our job our “god,” or our favorite pastime our “god,” then we become an idolator. And that is a dangerous place to be.
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
But to those who love him, he gives the gift of eternal life!
Please take this message seriously. Let us get our priorities aligned with the Lord’s. Let us give him the proper place in our lives and worship him, for he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is our everything, and he deserves the highest praise! He is our savior, our redeemer, our Prince of Peace. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is Lord over all the earth and the Creator of all that is, and all that was, and all that will ever be! Hallelujah!
And he love us! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, for whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life!” John 3:16
And so we return his love, putting our hope and trust in him.
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27
Thanks for reading! Please share this post with others who need encouragement with scripture and revelation. (We all do!) God bless you and your family!
