A Bondservant of Christ
Hi Friends,
I hope you are well. I am writing about a few visions the Lord just gave me this past Sunday. There were four visions given within several minutes of each other. They are related, giving us idea of what is important to God and what he expects of us.
The Visions
A Stack of Shoes
I saw a stack of shoes, about 5-6 pairs of flats. They were not in boxes, but were together in pairs. I recognized the stack of shoes to be mine, for the top pair was a pair of black lace flats that I wore to a casual wedding reception a few years ago. Because I wear zero drop (minimalist no heel) shoes, the stack was very short, only about 8” high.
What I believe the vision means.
Shoes, as I have seen in other visions, represent our walk with God. Whether we walk with him or away from him is our choice. When I sat down to pray about the vision, I decided to make a mock-up of the stack using my own shoes. I studied the stack, and asked the Lord, “What am I supposed to see?” I thought for a moment, “Could it be that I am packing for a trip?”
No, that wasn’t it. The Lord was not asking me to go anywhere. So I continued to pray, looking at the shoes. Every shoe was black, because I like to keep things simple. And there were only a few pairs, because I keep only the things that I need. Each pair was for a specific purpose: one for formal occasions, one for casual dress, one for muddy hikes, and one for everyday use. I have a pair that is still in its plastic wrap, waiting for me to retire the everyday shoes. This also makes life simple.
So what does the vision mean?
I realized that the message was one of comfort. The Lord wants each of us to know that even though life is filled with uncertainties, He will be with us in every situation, and in every decision. The Lord knows what brings us joy and what brings us dread. Some people thrive on challenges and others avoid them. No matter who we are, or what we face, we know that the Lord will be with us. He stands with us in our trials. So when we are weak he shows his power through us! For his power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9-11)
This passage of scripture came to mind:
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
Psalm 139:7-12
The Lord says that he will never leave us nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6) He promises to be with us at school, at work, and at home. He will be with us in our celebrations and in our grief. He will be with us in corporate prayer, and in our prayers alone with him. He will be with us when we are far from home and when we are busy in the hustle and bustle of daily life. He is with us on the mountain tops or in the valleys below.
When I think of the faithfulness of God, it can bring me to tears of joy. He is like no other friend. He is there in the middle of the night and in the early morning. When I feel like leaving or running from situations that seem hopeless, the Lord will speak to me, and help me see things from his eternal perspective. And then I respond to him by saying, “Yes, Lord. This too shall pass. In light of eternity, it doesn’t really matter. I am yours, and you are mine. That’s all that matters.”
Yet, when it involves a place essential to you as your livelihood or your calling, it can be very difficult to know what to do. And when there is a spirit of disunity or dysfunction, we might ask ourselves, “Must I leave again and start all over? Where can I work in peace or fulfill my calling?” So we look to the Lord for the answers..
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Peace and unity are essential for people to work together. And even more so, when it concerns the church, because it must function as the body of Christ. There can be no room for strife, discord and division.
"Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 18:19
Jesus prayed for us to be in unity:
“..that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one.” John 17:21-23
The Lord gave me three scriptures to help me to function in a less than ideal situation:
“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
“But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Matthew 5:3
I am sharing this vision of the shoes, because rejection and hostility are things that everyone may experience sometime in this life. We are people and have issues like envy, jealousy, and egos. But we all need to learn how to deal with difficult people. We cannot change anyone’s heart, but we can control how we react to what they say and do.
“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
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15
I know that if we follow the Lord’s direction, he will keep us under the shelter of his wing. The Lord said:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
The Lord wants peace and joy in his house, so we must be faithful to keep his word and keep the peace.
A Hand
The next vision was of a hand with its fingers spread far apart. The Lord gave me this vision, because the hand represents worship and declaration. When I worship, I use my hands to communicate my feelings about the Lord. I am not one to sit in my seat and look pious. When I am in worship, in the presence of the Lord, I am constantly moving, crying, shouting, praising God, dancing and singing in the Spirit. When I saw the hand with the forearm horizontal to the body, I knew that this was a stance where my thoughts become declarative. Our God reigns! I have resolved to honor God with all my being; all that I am belongs to him. We shout to tell the world that there is no one like him! We sing in the Spirit, as the Holy Spirit moves us to sing the praises of God. Our hands are lifted, as we express what our hearts and spirits want to tell him and to declare to the heavenlies that our God is great! Our bodies belong to God and we use them as instruments of praise and adoration.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” John 4:23
Today, allow yourself to be free, to worship and to declare to your Lord God and Savior that he is worthy of all your praise. Let him have his way with you. Express your inmost thoughts of love and gratitude towards Him, He has suffered and died for you, to reconcile you to the Father. He deserves all our praise, all our love, and all our devotion. There is no one else but Him! Hallelujah!
Two Tiny Squares
In this vision, I saw two tiny red squares butted up next to each other. The thin, red squares were etched by making very tiny vertical lines across the surface. The etching process revealed that the finish below the red was silver in color.
What the vision means:
The two tiny red and silver striped squares I believe are small earrings fitted with posts. We generally refer the this style of earrings as “studs.”
In the Bible, red generally represents sin, blood or blood shed. And the silver represents itself - a valuable metal.
I believe that the vision conveys the idea of being a bondservant of the Lord. In the letter to the Romans, Paul introduced himself as a bondservant of Christ.
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Romans 1:1-3
What is a bondservant? It is a person who sells himself, to pay a debt or is a slave that when given the opportunity to be set free, chooses to remain with his master. By Mosaic law, after six years of service a slave that was also a fellow Hebrew was to be set free.
“When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.” Exodus 21:2-6
Paul teaches that we are to be bondservants of Christ, for we were redeemed by the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who paid our debt of sin, so that we owe him our very lives.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
As Christ’s own, we should be content to serve him with all our hearts. Without his blood sacrifice for our sins, we would be condemned, and destined to hell. This is what the Lord calls the “Second Death,” a place of torment and separation from God.
The red color of the earrings represents our sin, and also his precious blood that redeemed us. The earrings themselves represent the relationship we have with Christ. We freely give ourselves to the Lord as his bondservants, to serve him gladly, all the days of our lives.
The silver metal beneath the red surface was revealed by the etched vertical lines in the earrings. Zechariah prophesied about the Messiah and the money that was paid to betray him. The High Priests paid Judas thirty pieces of of silver for betraying Jesus into their hands. This was the price of a slave – thirty shekels of silver.
And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord. Zechariah 11:13
“If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.” Exodus 21:32
If we truly appreciate our salvation, and what the Lord has done for us, then we can gladly say, “Not my will but yours be done.” These are the Lord’s own words regarding his sacrificial death:
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42
“…Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” 2 Philippians 5-8
The Lord took the form of a servant, a bondservant or slave. He humbled himself before God the Father and became obedient unto death. We are to do the same. We are the Lord’s bondservants as we die to ourselves and become living sacrifices. However, if or when persecution comes our way, we have to be willing to give up our bodies to whatever fate is ours so as to remain faithful to him.
A Young Black Man
In the last vision, I saw a young black man with an afro hairstyle. He walked forward coming from what appeared to be a grey cloudy image of a group of people. He walked forward, stopped, made a quarter turn and stood in profile.
The scripture that came to mind as I thought about this vision was about spiritual separation.
“Come out from among them and be separate. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:17
The young man left the grey cloudy image of people, and walked forward. He turned and stood still. I believe that the young man had made a decision to leave his friends, and his world behind. He walked forward, and stood in confidence knowing that he had made a quality decision.
We know that the world and its values are in direct opposition to God and what he values. We know that we become like the company we keep. We know that the word of God tells us that “a companion of fools suffers harm.” (Proverbs 13:20) The Lord does not want us to be tainted by the world. He does not want us to desire the things of the world or live as the world lives. We are not to spend our days chasing money and the things that money buys. We are not to desire the things in life that fill us with pride, greed and arrogance. Focusing on success and life’s pleasures will only take us down the wrong path. For the devil uses these things to tempt people to sin.
In the vision the young man separated himself from the influences of the world to stand with the Lord. He was wearing a white shirt, representing the righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus. We all need to break relationships that cause us to sin, and break free from the values and ideologies of the world that oppose God.
“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
We may need to separate ourselves from activities that hinder our walk with God. We may need to break free from bad habits: gossiping, blaming others, cursing, complaining, lying, and cheating. We may need to stop overindulging in food, alcohol, drugs, movies, social media, video games etc. These passions come from our human flesh and are contrary to the Spirit of God.
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
We have to stop gratifying the flesh with its passions, or we will bear the consequences. We cannot make excuses for our desires, because we know that our own hearts can be deceived.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
Through our eyes and ears and our deceitful hearts, we can become enamoured and ensnared with the things of the world to our detriment. People fall away from God when their desires and passions become greater than their love of God and his word.
In Summary
In the first vision of the shoes, we see that our walk is a walk of faith, trusting in the Lord. We should not allow anything to come between God and us. We need to accept his word and live at peace with all men.
The second vision of the hand tells us to worship the Lord with all our hearts, with total freedom and devotion, for it is true worshippers that the Lord seeks.
The third vision of the earrings tells us that we are not our own, we were bought at a price, therefore we honor him and serve him alone.
And the fourth vision tells us to forsake the ways and values of the world, to separate from the world and live for God.
If we uphold these teaching as these four visions remind us, then we will please the Lord and live in his favor and have true peace, joy and freedom as his very own children.
Please share this message. If you have been encouraged or instructed in any way, would you please share this post with others so that more people will benefit from the scriptures that are quoted. I hope you will take this to heart and put you full trust in the Lord Jesus. God bless you!
