Overcoming Temptation
Hi Friends,
Thanksgiving is only a few days away. And it is a time to really be thankful for all that the Lord has provided us. Giving thanks should be an everyday habit. Being grateful helps us to see life’s events and circumstances in the right perspective. So today, let us be thankful even for the things that seem tough or unfair, because we know that God has our best interests at heart. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Let’s be thankful. “Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Today I have three visions to share with you, two that I just received and one that I am sharing from several years ago. It is always my hope that you benefit from reading, sharing and making it real in your life.
The Visions
In the first vision, I saw someone seated at a grey wooden picnic table. He was sitting on the picnic bench, at the far left side of the table, with his back towards me. Then he leaned his body all the way over to his left to look under the table. Suddenly, a dog appeared from under the center of the table. He had what looked to be a white plastic lid in his mouth. I noticed that the bench was no longer there, because the dog came forward without the bench blocking his way.
After praying a good deal about this vision, I still did not understand its meaning. So, I asked the Lord to give me another vision to help me understand. This was the next vision:
I saw a long string of colorful rings all in a line and attached side to side. They were tossed out as one might toss out a rolled up mat to make it lie flat. The rings unfurled to make a straight line. I also noted that a ring on the far end was colored orange and the ring on the opposite end was larger than the others. This vision again was perplexing. What was significant about these colorful rings?
I went to the Bible and asked the Lord to show me anything that would give me a hint as to what they represented. I opened my Bible and began to read. I noticed that there were two words that appeared several times. The words were “throw” and “thrown.”
Here is the first passage. It concerns paying the temple tax.
Jesus asked Simon, “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” Matthew 17:24-27
You can see the command of Jesus was to “go to the lake and throw out your line.” The colorful rings were tossed out in a similar manner.
As I read, I saw the words “throw” and “thrown” again. This next passage speaks of temptation and sin that causes one to stumble.
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large rock hung around their neck and to be thrown into the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:2-6
Luke uses nearly the same words:
“It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” Luke 17:2
To cause someone to stumble is a very grave offense. And the idea that the words “thrown into the sea” convey is judgment.
As I continued reading, I saw the words “throw” and “thrown” several more times:
“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” Matthew 18:1-9
I believe that the Lord uses such words and mental pictures to show the gravity of this message. The phrases “cut it off and throw it away,” and “gouge it out and throw it away” are horrifying. And other phrases are even more horrifying in that they speak of eternal judgment: “be thrown into eternal fire,” and “be thrown into the fire of hell.” Jesus is not mincing words. He is showing us his hatred of sin and that without his salvation, we would end up in hell.
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
The string of colorful rings in the vision terminates with an orange colored ring. Orange I believe represents fire. In these passages, we see that the fire of hell is where people will go who align themselves with the world and what the world has to offer. It is the world where temptation exists. That is why the Bible states:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
And: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4
Now to explain the second vision:
A Picnic Table
In the vision, I could not see any distinguishing features about the person sitting on the bench. Was it a man or a woman? I could not see the face, and the body and hairstyle did not give any indications as to the gender. But I believe he was a demon, for demons and angels have no gender, for they are spiritual beings. Because he was seated at the picnic table at the far left, this also gave me a hint that he was a demon. Left, as a direction, position or location, I believe represents evil, hell, or anything having to do with the demonic realm. The demon leans to the left, indicating that he is actively engaged in wickedness.
The table where he sits, I believe represents the world, for it is where we see people engaging each other over a meal. It is at the table where ideas are exchanged, plans are made, deals are negotiated and where transactions and contracts are signed. The demon looks under the table, for that is where bribes are offered and underhanded deals are cut.
The dog represents faith and faithfulness. He is unseen at first and then emerges from under the table. The dog seemed content and happy with the plastic lid. It was not a bone, or food from the table. It was just a white plastic lid that had little to no value to most people. Yet, he was easily pleased.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
Faith, as represented by the dog, was not seen at first, for it takes faith to believe even when we do not see. Then faith (the dog) emerges with a happy demeanor and simple contentment, experiencing the joy of finding a plastic white lid. The demon did not see or engage the dog to tempt him, as he would have done. But Faith made temptation worthless, for faith found contentment with something simple. The little white plastic lid represents God’s provision.
The demon in the vision was sitting at the table ready to tempt or mislead some unsuspecting soul. As he leaned far to the left to look under the left end of the table, the dog walked out from under the center of the table. I immediately noticed that there was no bench in front of him. It must have been removed for he came forward unhindered.
The bench I believe represents judging or judgment. We often speak of judges as “sitting on the bench.” It is from this position that judgments are handed down. First there is the weighing of facts and testimonies, then deliberation follows and a decision is reached. But we see in the vision that the bench was removed so that the dog was not hindered as he came forward.
Faith stands firm without wavering or deliberation. The weighing of facts and the sorting of thoughts does not enter into the final decision, when there is faith. Faith is pure trust. Faith comes from knowing the one who is faithful. In the vision the bench was removed because faith over-rules reason.
Reasoning and the weighing of facts can lead to doubt, fear and inaction. But faith in the Lord keeps things simple: fear and doubt are cast down and faith and trust win out.
Looking at the Two Visions:
If we look at these two visions together, we see that the devil will try to tempt us to sin. It may be that we are enticed by what our eyes see. Jesus said “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28
When we covet, or desire something that someone else has, we sin. Again it is with the eyes that we see and covet. So the Lord’s solution is to gouge out the eye. BUT before we take such a drastic measure, we can turn our eyes from the thing we covet, and look to the Lord instead. We can pray for him to change our hearts and our motives, so that we are no longer tempted or snared by what has enticed us. The Lord said that he came to set the captives free. If we are captivated by material possessions or lustful thoughts, we can be set free. We look to the Lord for forgiveness, strength, deliverance and healing. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
And we see that we overcome our temptations in the world with faith in Jesus as the Son of God: “For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep his commandments, and his commandments are not difficult, because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Who overcomes the world? Is it not the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:3-5
Hallelujah! We do not have to succumb to temptation. We do not have to fall into sin, we can place our faith in the Lord who gives us the desire to be free of sin. We can choose Christ over sin. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
However, we all know that no one is perfect except God himself. He is a triune God—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son of God, the “spotless lamb,” who takes away the sin of the world. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9
Hallelujah! The Lord saves!
I would like to share one more vision with you that the Lord gave me years ago about temptation, and overcoming the world.
The Tree and the Three Temptations
In this vision I first saw a box with holes in the side as if the box contained something alive. The lid opened and suddenly three snakes sprang out of the box and flew through the air with their bodies elongated. They landed and recoiled in the branches of a large tree. I heard a voice say “These are the three temptations.” At the base of the tree sat a man with brown hair cut in a blunt style. He was looking up into the tree, contemplating the three temptations. I assumed the temptations were money, power and sex.
Then the vision changed. I was looking down a long tube, and saw that the tree had been cut down and only the stump was left. The moon took up most of the background. There was a man standing on the stump with his silhouette outlined by the moon. He took a step off the stump and suddenly I found myself following him in the tall grass. The light was dim and narrowly focused so that I was able to walk behind him.
The snakes are the three temptations. They were contained in a box, but then were released. When Jesus was asked about the end days he spoke of many signs, one of which was the increase of wickedness. The release of these three temptations demonstrates this increase. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12
The tree represents the world for that is where the temptations are found.
The man represents all mankind for everyone is tempted.
The man on the stump I believe is Jesus who has overcome the world. We see this by the fact that the tree was chopped down and only a stump remained. Jesus stood on top of the stump in victory having overcome the world. He is the man that I followed in the moonlight. The message here is this: “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Matthew 16:24
It is Jesus who has over come the world. He has made it possible for us to be over-comers too, by surrendering to his will and denying ourselves. He will give us the strength and wisdom we need to over come all temptations.
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:13-14
I hope you will share this message with those who will understand and appreciate it. Thanks for reading and sharing. God bless you and your family. God is good and he is coming soon! Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!
