A DREAM THE CHANGED MY LIFE

Several years ago, I had a dream that changed my whole life.

I saw the cross with a little door at the bottom. It was VERY, tiny. It was so small, that I wondered if I could fit? As I started to crawl, army style on my stomach toward the cross,  it began to open up. It was such a mystery. I wanted to know what was on the other side, but I didn't dare to look up, in case the Lord might notice me. 

Foolish woman that I was--Jesus wasn't even on the cross. Then a voice spoke to me, "Why are you crawling on your belly, child?" The voice was familiar. It was Jesus.

I answered, "Lord, I want to go through the tiny door, but I am afraid I won't fit."

"With  that backpack strapped to your back, child, you will never get though. No baggage allowed," He responded

I was so disappointed. I didn't recognize that I was carrying a heavy burden on my back. For years, it had been attached to me like superglue.   

The Lord knew my thoughts, " Have you forgotten?  I AM THE DOOR and I took all your burden through this door years ago." exclaimed the Lord.

I had forgotten. Strapped to my back was still my burden of sin. I knew better, but why was I still holding on to it? Before I knew it, Jesus had unstrapped my backpack, put it on His shoulders, and disappeared. 

The tiny door began to mysteriously open.  I heard the Lord say, "Now, go through the door and enjoy my presence."

In fear and trembling I went through the door as it closed behind me. What a marvelous sense of His presence and fullness of joy came over me.   For the first time, I was free of my burden of sin. 

Suddenly, I heard a loud wailing cry from the outside of the door.  "My God My God, why have you forsaken Me?"

I fell prostrate on my face.  In my spirit, I saw Jesus on the cross with blood sweating through His pores and dripping down His face. His flesh was merciless stripped from His body. All of this was endured for my sake. My sin had nailed Him on the cross. I cost Him His life.  For how long I don't remember, it was quiet.

Then I heard these words, " Arise my daughter.  Your sins though they were many have been washed in my blood. You were forgiven--come follow me."  I  now found myself on the other side of the cross looking out into the world through the eyes of Jesus  and my heart was changed. 

This vision opened my spiritual eyes to see that Jesus is the door into the Kingdom of God. There is no other way. Through His death, burial and resurrection, the Lord crucified me. Now I no  longer live, but I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.(Gal 2:20 KJ).  I have a brand new life and it is a brand-new day.  Jesus is alive in me and I in Him.  
John 10:9  'I Am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." 

A GREAT DECEPTION

Have you ever felt sorry for yourself and feel that no one understands or cares how you feel?  I didn't that know these feelings were deep inside me. I soon found out that my emotions  had a mind of their own. I could think one thing and feel another. My spirit was grieved. My prayers were hindered.  What was going on?

Seeking for some answers, I took my grievances to a dear friend. While we were  having coffee, we started to discuss  growing up as kids. It didn't take long before I found myself complaining about my mother and her control over my life. 

From there it started all down-hill. My husband was on the list.  All I wanted was my friend to sympathize and to feel sorry for me, but she would not. She just  patiently listened to my complaining until she couldn't stand it any more.

 "Dottie, it hurts me to hear how you are discrediting God's character. You are full of self-pity.." 

Discrediting God's character? Self pity? I didn't know what she was talking about.  I was just expressing how I felt. It was the truth.  I was getting a little angry inside, thinking that she was a little self righteous in her judgement.  Wasn't there anyone who understood me?

The conversation wasn't  fruitful. I politely excused myself, quietly I stuffed my feelings down again for another day. My friend said that she would continue to pray for me. I felt offended and a little embarrassed baring my heart so openly.

I was miserable.  I couldn't pray.  No one understood me not my husband, not my best friend, nobody. My children were still too young to understand.  Yet, I couldn't escape the thought , "How was I discrediting God's character"  

It kept plaguing me more and more, until one morning I cried out to the Lord, "Lord Jesus, nobody cares about me.  Nobody listens or understands."  By now, I was crying buckets.  Maybe He didn't care either.   Through my tears I heard a small voice say, "Read Ezekiel 16."  I knew if God had anything to say to me it would be in His word. He often spoke personally that way. 
 This is how I interpreted Ezekiel 16 for myself.  "On the day you were born, your parents were not believers, and your cord to the world was not cut.  You were still dead in your trespasses and sin. Nobody pitied you .  You pitied yourself.  But, when I saw you squirming in your human sinful condition without hope, I alone had pity on you and in My compassion I picked you up, and said "live".  

It was like a light bulb lit up in me. It was self pity.  I was deceived, I was discrediting God's character, I was believing a lie.  Yes, I was born in Adam's sin. I was full of self: self effort, self pity, selfishness, self, self, self. It was all about me. 

Now, I understood how I was discrediting God's character.  My complaining and self justification was accusing God. I was calling God a liar, that He didn't pity me. In reality, He was the only one that truly did. He nailed my sin to the cross and raised me to a new life in Him. What more did I need?

Since that day, my whole heart has changed. The deliverance has enabled me understand other areas of sin that I have needed  to deal with. His kindness has led me continuously to repentance. Thus keeping my 'new heart" clean before my Holy God. There is no self-pity in Christ. Every day I am dying more and more to "self" and being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus.  

The Angel of Light Exposed

I was raised in a small town in New England.  My parents were good people.  We had our differences and plenty of family arguments, but we were very religious.  We went to church every Sunday, memorized bible verses, learned to be kind and to forgive one another, but we never heard the TRUE GOSPEL or anything about the BLOOD OF JESUS TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL OUR SINS. I was encouraged all the time "To be good and God will forgive me and when I die I will go to Heaven". What I didn't know nor my parents was that we were being taught a "bloodless" gospel. It was false Christianity.


In Corinthians 11, St Paul exposes the angel of light. Verses 13-15 says,"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises  himself as an angel of light.  So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.  Their end will correspond to their deeds."  

Today, like never before I personally think Satan needs to be exposed more and  more, especially as the "Day of the Lord" draws near.  He is very subtle and extremely deceitful.  He hasn't changed since the Garden and is leading many to Hell through his religious deceptions.

At this hour, Satan is furious. He is like the bees of August looking for their last sting. Satan hates a true Christian.  He can't stop any of us from being saved, or believing and receiving the Lord Jesus as our propitiation, (blood sacrifice). But he will stop at nothing to keep us deceived by a false Christianity, struggling to be like Jesus and never letting us know the true freedom we have in our wonderful Lord. Satan will constantly try to keep you away from hearing or believing anything about the the Grace of God, His abundant life, His power to deliver or to heal. He will constantly condemn you or make you feel guilty about everything, especially when you know your conscience is clear.  Don't let him!!!


Once we are born again, we become Satan's worst enemy and our only defense is our FAITH in EVERY WORD OF GOD. For instance  Revelation 12:11 says "And they have CONQUERED him, (the devil) by the BLOOD of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."  I am still learning through my own trials, that the word of God is true and His promises faithful.  Be encouraged.  God is on our side and the devil HAS NO TEETH. He is all bark. The blood of Jesus and the Word will shut him up.


In my last post, "The impossibility" I shared my struggle getting free from all the lies of the angel of light,and how he  perverted the scriptures to make me think that I had to perform to be accepted and loved by the Father. WHAT A LIE. In Christ all things become new, cleansed, forgiven and washed in the blood of Jesus.  By the grace of God we can declare, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, accepted in the beloved, and belong to Christ alone.  He is the author and finisher of my faith and I am so very grateful that He will finish for His glory.'


If by faith you have received the Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you can be sure that you have a very special place in the heart of your heavenly Father.  He not only carried you to His Son on the CROSS, but He will carry you home protected in His loving arms of GRACE.

The impossiblilty

Have you ever thought how impossible it is to be a Christian? You are right.  It is impossible.  I tried for years and failed miserably.  I finally gave up trying to prefect myself to be like Jesus. It just was too hard and impossible.  I thought I was a Christian but I was getting very discouraged.  Have you ever been discouraged with your Christianity as you strive to perfect yourself or to change yourself? IMPOSSIBLE!! It doesn't work. It is just religion and an empty, futile life. 


Where is the GOOD NEWS? Where is the joy of the Lord?  I was trying hard to please God, by being  kind, forgiving, showing mercy, etc. But I was getting more and more frustrated. I soon found out that it wasn't TRUE CHRISTIANITY. The big piece of the puzzle that I found missing ,was that I didn't believe that the FATHER REALLY LOVED ME! I was trying to perform to win His approval, by reading my bible, doing devotions, and trying to change myself to be like Jesus, when all along the Father JUST LOVED me because I was His daughter.  I will never forget the day when I heard in my spirit, "There is nothing I will not do for you, because you love my Son." Knowing the Father's love has changed my life as a believer.


Today, I am so grateful to be delivered from a religious spirit( false Christianity) of striving, trying, and working so hard to  please God, when all along my Father is most pleased with JUST my faith in the finished work of His Son Jesus.  I am so happy NOT to be striving as a Christian.  I AM A CHRISTIAN, because I believe the simple gospel.  I am a sinner. Jesus died for my sins, rose again, I repented and He breathed His resurrected life back into me. God now declares me righteous in His Son, Jesus. Christ lives in me and I live in Him. Jesus Christ is truly the ABUNDANT LIFE.

What has made the Christian life possible is the imputation of the Holy Spirit and faith in the finished work of Christ that He accomplished on our behalf.  Without the Holy Spirit and faith it is just IMPOSSIBLE, (Hebrew 11:6) to live the Christian life. Don't try.  You will only get discouraged and fail. I did. Together, let us take a deep breath, relax and be grateful for our Father's love in His Son and enjoy Him forever. AMEN

Two Identical Trees

Often the Lord will speak His heart to us as we wait upon Him  in prayer. The following is an impression  I received while meditating on Psalm 1, and I would like to share it with you.
 
" I saw myself standing on a high hill looking down into a valley.  There were only two trees and they were identical, leaf for leaf.  I couldn't tell them apart. As I looked down into the valley, wondering what was going on, from behind me came a huge gust of wind.  It  blew over me and swept down into the valley with a  ferocious thrust, hitting both the trees unmercifully. I stood aghast.  What was  going on?

Leaves were flying all over the place.  It was like a snow storm of leaves.  I could hardly see. Then as the wind subsided, I began to notice how the tree on my left was totally bare.  There wasn't one leaf left on it. Dry leaves were piled up under the tree.  The tree on my right was totally intact.  The leaves were green and healthy and not one leaf was missing.  "Lord,' I cried out, "what are you trying to show me? "Then I heard an almost audible voice say, "Look at the roots."  But, I couldn't see the roots. The Lord then opened up the ground for me to see the roots..  The tree on my left, had very little root.  The tree on my right had strong roots that went deep into the ground .  I could see the roots reaching out for the underground body of water.

At first I didn't understand until the Lord spoke to me, " I am sending a strong wind to establish my Church in these last days.  There is a false Christianity that denies the power of my Spirit and it is a dead religion. It has counterfeited  my true Church, my Bride, and I want my Bride to know that I am her life. Those who hold fast to my roots  that I have put in them will weather this storm, others will fall away.  They never knew me.  Yet, I know them and will draw them once again to my cross for a real conversion.  Only one tree will stand upon the earth for all to see.  The Tree of my Son on Calvary".  I was very humbled and grieved in my spirit, yet I knew it was the heart of God to draw all men until Himself at any cost.  Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with the living God.  Jesus is resurrected and he is living His life in His true body the Church. A shaking is a good thing. God loves us and wants us to know Him personally and He will reveal Himself to us more and more as we surrender our lives to Him."