A Red Feather
Hi Friends,
I hope all is well with you and your family. Today is another day that brings us closer to the Lord’s return. Keep your eyes and hearts looking up, for someday we will hear the trumpet call of God, calling his church heavenward. Jesus said, that no one knows the day or hour of his return–no one knows except the Father. So we remain vigilant, knowing that we must do the work of the Lord, and to be faithful to keep his commands.
I have three visions to share with you today.
The Visions
A Red Feather
In the first vision, I saw a tiny bright red feather popping up through a down jacket. My first reaction to seeing a feather poking through, is to grab it and pull it out. It is really an automatic response. But as I contemplated the vision, I knew that the red feather was very significant.
The color red in the Bible, generally denotes sin, blood or bloodshed. Because the feather came from inside the jacket, we can surmise that it had been concealed, and then came out into the open. This reminded me of the manner in which we pray, declaring that “Whatever is hidden in darkness, be brought to the light, in the name of Jesus!”
The enemy, the devil and his demons do their work in darkness, so we use the authority of God in the name of Jesus, to declare that the wicked one’s plans be exposed and brought into the light.
The red feather, I believe, represents sin. Sin that is exposed can be dealt with properly. But sin that remains hidden and unconfessed separates us from God. When a true believer commits a sin, either by thought, word or deed, he will feel remorse, and repent. He will ask God to forgive him right away, and his relationship to God will not be adversely affected.
But, when a person commits a sin and tries to pretend that it didn’t happen, or he tries to hide it from others and God, then his relationship to God has become broken. If he has shame, he will avoid God. If he does not come to repentance, but tries to justify his sin, or blame his sin on someone else, or declare that God’s ways are invalid, he puts up a barrier between himself and God.
When sin is hidden and continues without repentance, it opens the doors to the devil and his demons. It gives the devil the “right,” or the authorization, to bring condemnation and torment to the individual. The devil creates thoughts in a person’s mind causing fear, shame and guilt. He can exploit the sinful nature of the person, tempting him and by creating more opportunities to sin. If the person continues without repentance, the sin becomes habitual and the person becomes bound spiritually.
At this point the person may feel that there is no possible way to return to God. He may resign himself to a lifestyle of sin. Eventually, his heart becomes hard, and he no longer feels the conviction of the Holy Spirit attempting to bring him to repentance.
From here, the person may find himself on one of these three paths:
Justification: He accepts the sin, justifying it as, “I was made this way. I cannot help myself. This is my lot.”
He may try to do other “good deeds,” to prove to himself that he is still a “good person.”
Self-Hatred:
In other situations, where there is guilt and shame to such a degree that the person cannot forgive himself for his sin, the enemy will turn up the heat of torment, for he has agreement with his victim. The person can hate himself and want to end his life. He can be driven to suicide simply because of the demonic voices he can no longer bear.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:8-10
Repentance:
But for the one who truly wants to be free, will humble himself and seek the Lord with a repentant heart. This is really the only solution to the problem of spiritual bondage and sin. We must bring the sin to the light, exposing it as it really is–sin. We cannot candy coat it, blame others, or pretend it never happened.
We must seek God for his mercy and forgiveness. And when we confess our sin and feel Godly sorrow, receive forgivenes, we are freed of the guilt, shame and condemnation. We are truly free. We are restored to right standing with God as he forgives our sin, cleanses us and makes us whole.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
“For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12
This is truly a wonderful thing - the Lord’s forgiveness and restoration.
In the vision, the red feather represents the sin that was hidden. It is the Holy Spirit that brings it to light, and shows us that it is not acceptable. So it is when we acknowledge our sin and confess it to God, we are immediately forgiven and we do not go through all the condemnation and anxiety that others do, by not dealing with it right away. If we are walking with the Lord, our heart’s desire is to not grieve him or the Holy Spirit. We will not want to do anything that would harm our relationship with God.
If we treasure our fellowship with him, we will not allow anything to come between ourselves and the Lord. It is truly a blessing to know, that we can be forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. What a wonderful God we serve! How he loves us!
Thanksgiving
Thank you Jesus, for suffering and dying for us, to atone for our sins, and the sins of all mankind. We want to give you all our love and devotion. We ask you to help us follow in your footsteps and be obedient to your word. Help us to love you above all things and all people, and to give you the honor you alone deserve as Lord, Savior, God and King. We remember the words you spoke:
“Therefore I tell you, because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:47
Jesus! Help us to love much!
A Table with Papers
I saw a table or desk with papers scattered all over its surface. It was a cluttered mess, a nightmare to a minimalist.
I believe that this vision speaks of things that are not in order. The Lord is pointing out things in our lives that need to be given attention. Perhaps he wants us to make a change or correction in our behaviors, our habits, our priorities and our obligations.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
A messy desk represents unfinished business. We must ask ourselves, “Is there something that God is showing me that I have started, but not finished? Have I gotten off track with him, and put what he considers a priority on hold?”
I know over the course of years the Lord has told me many things:
“Do not slander my bride!”
“Do not go where I have not sent you.”
“Give her the same chance I gave you.”
“This time don’t leave me.”
“No, pray that revival comes here.”
“Are you coming?”
“That is not what that meant!”
“I don’t want you to do. I want you to be.”
“Stop complaining. Do you want to be like the Israelites and wander for 40 years?”
“Forsythia!”
“Amelia!”
“Obadiah!”
“And now this!”
“Amelia, ask me about the divine curfew.”
“It’s okay to fast.”
“As long as you are fearful of man, I cannot use you, for you are already being used.”
“The more scripture you know, the more I can reveal to you.”
These were all words that I heard the Lord speak to me directly. And I treasure everyone of them. They mean something only to me. The Lord also speaks through visions and occasionally through a dream. Many of these are commands, some are rebukes, some of them are for direction, and some are for the purpose of calling me to come, and calling me to restrain myself.
The Lord is our father, and like a good father he is constantly working to help us to be the people that we were called to be. He rebukes us gently. He loves us greatly. He is more than willing to help us to grow and mature in our faith, to believe him for greater things. He wants to show us his faithfulness, and that we would show that same faithfulness to him.
The messy desk reveals a cluttered mind–-an undisciplined life, a life filled with distractions and misplaced priorities. The Lord is asking us to look at our lives, and to take inventory of our obligations and how we spend our time. Are we doing what the Lord asked us to do? Or, are we busy with our own agendas and give the Lord little of our precious time? We will all be held accountable for our actions and decisions as the following scripture points out:
“The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:7-15
In the story of the ten talents, the Lord uses his parable to teach us that while we are on this earth, we are to “do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
According to the parable, each of the servants was given money to invest for their master. Two of them were able to invest the money and get a 100% increase, which they presented to their master on his return. One of them was lazy, and simply took what he was given and buried it in the ground. Upon his master’s return, the servant presented the master with his money but with no increase. The master was irate with the servant and pronounced a harsh judgment against him:
“You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”
“So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 25:26-30
Just as the servants in the parable had to give an account of their actions and decisions while the master was away on business, we will have to give an account of our actions and decisions before the Lord. If we are found faithful, we will receive whatever reward the Lord would give us, and he will receive us into his kingdom, saying as the master in the parable:
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” 1 Corinthians 9:25
Hallelujah! Perhaps we will be like those in heaven who cast their crowns before the throne of God saying:
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; by your will they exist and came to be.” Revelation 4:11
The Chrome Hinge
In this vision, I saw a chrome hinge that is used to secure a door to a cabinet. This is a concealed hinge that normally attaches to the walls of a frameless cabinet. Its opposite end is inserted into a circular recess which is bored, into the backside of a cabinet door. In the vision, the lower edge of the circular bore melts and collapses as the portion of the hinge is pushed into place.
What I believe the vision means:
Because I am an intercessor, I think of doors, as a spiritual opening made available to the devil through our sin. As intercessors we pray for people to be able to close the doors to the devil, through repentance, renouncing sin and wickedness, and resolving to live for Christ.
In the Bible, there was a woman caught in adultery and brought before Jesus. The teachers of the law accused her of being caught in the very act. Jesus knew the evil intentions of their hearts and their purpose was to test him. Would he stand with the law and stone her, or was he going to depart from the law, (as they believed he had), when he chose to heal on the Sabbath?
Jesus said nothing at first but knelt down and began to write in the sand. No one knows what he actually wrote, but when he stood up he said to them, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” It was the older men who put down their stones and left first. Then the others did the same. Jesus asked the woman:
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:1-11)
The Lord saw the woman’s heart, her anguish, her fear, and the pain that she bore daily. He forgave her and commanded her to “Go and sin no more.” He knew that she would close the door she had opened through her sinful lifestyle. He forgave her because he had mercy.
“I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy.” Romans 9:15
In the vision, I believe that the door represents the gateway to sin. The hinge represents a person who can choose to open the door to sin or choose to keep it shut. It is through obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit, that we overcome. In the vision, the bored recess melted as the hinge came in contact with the door. I believe that this represents a believer who is “hot,” and “on fire for God.” He has been tested in the fiery trials and has overcome. He is “hot” with the power of God. This believer, the hinge, was able to melt the door at the place of attachment. The recessed bore could be seen as a trap, a place especially designed for the hinge, to engage sin. But because the hinge or believer was “hot,” totally committed to God, the plan of the wicked one to ensnared him failed. It gave way under the heat of the power of God that moved mightily in the believer. Jesus said to his disciples just before he ascended into heaven:
“And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
The power that fell on disciples in the upper room, in Jerusalem, at the feast of Pentecost we refer to as the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. This was the promise that Jesus gave them. They were now “clothed with power from on high.” That very day the Church was born. The disciples came out of hiding with great power, and “Those who accepted his message were baptized. And 3000 were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:41
John the Baptist spoke of Jesus and the baptism that would give his followers:
”I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Matthew 3:11
The hinge (the believer) moved in the power of the Holy Spirit. What caused the walls of the bore to melt was the fire of God, which rendered the bore unable to ensnare the hinge again, for its walls collapsed in the heat.
The Bible warns us of the fires of hell. It speaks of the fiery trials we will face in our lives that test our faith. We are told that “Everyone will be salted with fire.” Mark 9:49
Persecution, and fiery trials will come to test us, but the Lord promises that those whose faith does not fail and who overcome the wicked one in their lives, will receive the crown of life.
“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” Revelation 2:10
This is the Lord’s promise for those who remain faithful to him:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” John 10:27-29
“For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40
Hallelujah! It is God who gives us the power to overcome the wicked one, and to say no to temptation and sin. He has the power to keep us and bring us into his heavenly kingdom and into our eternal home. To God be the glory for the things he has done!
I hope that you will share this message with people that you know may benefit. God bless you in all that you do!
