THE TREE

I was shown a vision.   There was this dark gray forest, a forest I thought at first were hairs on a dog in the moonlight.  But as I looked more closely I realized these were no hairs of a dog at all but trees.  They were trees without any limbs or branches.  There were thousands of tree trunks and they were all leaning like a great wind at blown them in all the same direction but within this sea of grey slivers I was guided to a single warm yellow light.  I looked closer and realized it was a tree, a tree of light.   It was small and I would had probably missed it if it hadn't been pointed out to me.  It had branches and leaves and it was standing upright.  A tree of light.... in a "barren" wilderness.

It does remind me of dream I had of a ocean and a forest.  A ocean that was pouring onto the land stripping the trees of their bark and laying their fruit to waste.   The trees were no longer getting their water from the mountain but the poisoning ocean.

If you have the Spirit of God living in you, you know the ocean is the sea of immoral humanity.  It poisoned the trees with it's sinful values, rules, mandates, human understanding and so called "improvements".  You can also figure the mountain is God, the source of life.      

The forest in this vision also had been stripped.... and a darkness had come upon it.

When you think of the word “gray” what does it mean to you? 

Gray isn’t black and white.  When things are not black or white, then there is no real sense of right and wrong.  When these things become gray how do we define things like justice, morals, sin, love...? 

When people do not stand on what is right or wrong or know right from wrong then they are blown this way and that way like grass in the wind.  They can believe anything is right and true even though it is not.   Truth is not a matter of opinion.  Truth comes from God, what is written in His word.  When you have no REAL truth living in your soul then you just have a "barren" existence.

Think how those trees were stripped... why were they stripped?

Existing isn’t life but “Life” happens when God (TRUTH) is allowed to be engaged in a person’s soul.  JESUS made this possible.  

Christians, God wants us to be that tree of light in a gray world.  He wants to sing in our branches-so to speak.

Yes Jesus said.... “Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”  But He ALSO continued with: “ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.  And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come…” Matthew 23:12-14

Has the end come? No! Of course not, so why act as if it is so…  Our true HOPE is Alive and Well. And that hope in us is contagious because God, unlimited in encouraging resources and trustworthy promises, is OUR SOURCE!

  

Jesus spoke and there was light.  Jesus came into our life and a newness beyond our imagination came into our life.  We were transformed were we not? Light had come into our life! Truth had come into our life.

Jesus said “I am truth, the way, and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.”

John said "God is light" (1 John 1:5) and if you have Jesus then His light is to shine in you for He is the light of mankind. (John 1:4)

Jesus said to those who believe in him, “You are light of the world- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.  Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead put it on a stand and let it shine for all.”

Let the goodness of God flow through you!  TRUST and call upon His goodness with expectation… and in this, the calm peaceful pleasant perfect centering will of God will be manifested in your life! Yes Joy!  And the dark things of this world will become POWERLESS in your life... as the saying goes.. "This too shall pass..."

Do you remember what Psalm 1 says?

"Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers. 
 But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law.   They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
  Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.  But this is not true with the wicked.  They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.  They will be condemned at the time of judgment.  Sinners will have no place among the godly.  For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.”  

Be that tree of light! No matter how small a tree you might think you are- God notices and points you out.
  

Time 3

Recently a pastor publicly mocked the idea of a boy going to heaven and coming back again…. 

WHY?

I don’t understand it myself. 

I mean Jesus has resurrected people from death and they have shared their experiences of heaven- so why not a child? What is so far fetched about this? Is nothing impossible with God? Is He not sovereign over time?  

How about those of us filled with the Holy Spirit that have experienced Heaven while still physically here on earth? 

“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.  Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.  They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”  Isaiah 6:1-3

“I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don't know--only God knows.”  2 Corinthians 12:2

“Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”  Ezekiel 43:5

As I have shared before I have had such a vision but I am not going to retell this experience but another one. 

Some time ago, as I was resting I had vision.  I was young child maybe 6 years of age but I was no longer here on earth.  I pass through a small gate where a girl dressed in white with brown hair took my hand.  I didn’t recognize her from the past or even the present but it was apparent I knew her.  There was a forest of trees on the left side filled with this warm yellow light. 

As I continued in the vision I seem to go back and forth from being in my child self to watching myself as I am now.   I watched the younger me dressed in white holding this girl’s hand.  I remember feeling so filled with joy and energy.  We laughed and giggled as we ran up this tall grassy hill without even having to catch our breath.  And that is where the vision stopped- as if God didn’t want to give away the surprise that awaits on the other side of that tall green hill.

Three things come to mind when I think of the vision. 

1. My grandfather told me when God took his name down off the “hook” he would go over those green hills.  I never gave it much thought until after the vision.  What made him say such a thing?  Had he seen the green grassy hill himself? 

2. Then a sister in Christ told me when she has experienced heaven she is always a child as well. Now there were two of us that experienced the same thing.  We must be children in heaven.

3. Jesus says, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:2-4 AMP

These types of experiences are windows to things that have not happened yet they have been shown to us as things to come and are…

GOD is sovereign over time and the experiences in time.

He can do what he chooses….

For “nothing is impossible with God.”

God’s predestined timeline might have been what the Apostle Paul thought when he wrote, “When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.”  EPHESIANS 3:14

God knows the plan…. It is already written.   When I think about God knowing us, I think all that has been before us… I think of our past, our present, and our future- I think of words of prophesy, visions, dreams and even those déjà vu experiences.

Let us look at some encouraging scriptures about Jesus/God and Us and time.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” JEREMIAH 1:5

God knew us! God set us apart and appointed us for "spirit-filled" tasks in this life.  I say "spirit-filled" tasks because God is suppose to be helping us in those tasks but because we don't seek God's help and guidance that may seem too difficult for us to do or even mundane.   But the tasks that God gives are not to be mundane- we are not to think we are too good for any tasks for Jesus who was God took the servant's position and cleaned the disciples feet.  That was the job of a servant or a slave.  He died a death he did not deserve!

Let us look at Gideon who said, " “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” JUDGES 6:15 
But God did not see Him as the least.  God seeing all that Gideon would become in time gave him this message, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” JUDGES 6:12
  
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” ROMANS 8:29-30

“No, we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” 1 CORINTHIANS 2:7

^“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,” EPHESIANS 1:4-5

“but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.  He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”  1 PETER 1:19-21

Thinks about what Jesus says here, “Yet even in Sardis there are some who have not soiled their garments with evil deeds.  They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.  All who are victorious will be clothed in white.  I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.  Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”  REVELATION 3:4-6

JESUS knows who names are and are not in the book of life before they are even born.   There is no reason not to believe this if He knows everything. 

Is he not the author and finisher of our faith?  Does he not know us in time and out of time?

Living Out Wisdom

I know I haven’t written and I thank you for your faithfulness in coming back to read my notes. I have been mediating on the things God has been sharing with us more thoroughly. It is wonderful to receive new insights but the insights mean little if we don’t allow them to sink in more deeply.

A few weeks ago I had a vision of wisdom being a little girl about 5 or 6 or 7. In the vision I was also a little child as well about 4, 5, or 6 years of age when I entered through this gate.

This vision has really changed my outlook on what Wisdom is and should be … at least me.

If Wisdom is illustrated as a child, how does wisdom see things like love, justice, grace, mercy, faithfulness, hope, and joy?

How does she perceive life differently then what we may consider an adult or mature Christian?

What happens to the mind and heart that is given words of wisdom from God and combine them with childlike faith?

If those two things live in the heart – the process that we consider “life” is or should be done with heart. There is living with heart, playing with heart, working with heart, worshiping and praying with heart, and even dying with heart. There is where the Holy Spirit can truly take the wisdom that he has planted in our heart and use it to aid and direct and counsel us.

There a tree grows; it is not set back from correction but takes and accepts that correction in the best possible way. He/she doesn’t run from God but sees their need for God’s help and responds to it in a gracious manner.

Think of the law of love and the teachings the Lord provides us. Proverbs 6:23 says “For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of you. The correction of discipline is the way to life.”

“For the Lord disciplines and corrects those he loves. Just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11

The way we see things greatly affects how we look and perceive life. Our faith is greatly influenced and affected by how we see and understand things. What maybe considered understood may not be quiet as understood as we thought. And sometimes what might seem not logical to us makes perfect sense to God. Yes our understanding greatly affects our faith and life.

Jesus says, “Wherever you treasure is there your heart and thoughts will also be. Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul but an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!” Matthew 6:21-23

For “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like complete darkness. Those who follow it have no idea what they are stumbling over.” Proverbs 4:18

Just this week I was taking my daughter to school and from the east there was this crest of brilliant light at the edge of this flat blanket of grey clouds that covered the sky ceiling. The morning gleam of light was so strong I could feel my pupils quickly shrinking. It was beautiful.

Just think: “the way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.”

King David anointed with the Holy Spirit told his son Solomon, “Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her and she will guard you. Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment. If you prize wisdom, she will exalt you. Embrace her and she will honor you. She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.” Proverbs 4:6-9

“Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.” Proverbs 7:4

Proverbs 8:10-21 “Choose my instruction rather then silver, and knowledge over pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable then rubies. Nothing you desire can be compared with it. I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption and perverted speech. Good advice and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine. Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just laws. Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments. I love all who love me. Those who search for me will surely find me. Unending riches, honor, wealth and justice are mine to distribute. My gifts are better then the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth, for I fill their treasuries.”

I believe these treasuries are in the heart.

Rubies, gold, silver… are worthless to a child of God. The things that matter most to a child of God are in the heart and mind.

Think about what a child desires in ideals like justice, love, dreams, possibilities, faithfulness etc. Think about a child’s ability to have joy in the little things and be merciful, forgiving, gracious, hopeful, trusting, etc. Now think on Childlike Faith.

Think on where your true treasures are to be stored -for there is wisdom. Reference: Matthew 6:19-21

David and Solomon knew how important wisdom is but her beauty and friendship is worthless if she has no place in your heart and you don’t appreciate her company.

Maybe if we understand wisdom as a child like illustration and are ourselves as children- we would to see things in a more childlike manner and live in childlike faith. Sometimes we see things in such an “adult” understanding that we are really far off in scope but when we start to understand we see maturity in God’s way is really seeing life in all the pure childlike nuances.

It is the God in Us.

I have been thinking about my encounter of seeing Jesus in the tree.

The other day I shared with my sister about my encounter with Jesus in the tree as I read what the Spirit of the Lord lead me to. Isaiah 41:11-20 said, "I will plant trees- cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir and pine- on the barren land. Everyone will see this miracle and understand that is the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, who did it."

The Holy One of Israel is Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 61:3 "To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory."

Then one of my favorite psalms came to mind. Psalm 1: "Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners or join in with scoffers. But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper."

King David spoke about this joy and how this joy gave him strength. Psalm 73:24 "You will keep on guiding me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever."

We are trees planted by the Lord and because he has planted us we trust in Him. Though the storms come, the winds blow strong, the conditions of the weather of the situation may change drastically but we are kept upright by the Lord's Spirit which is in us. For the Lord's Spirit is in us and He gives us joy in the midst of diversity. For in diversity we turn to God and because he loves us he turns to us.

He cares for those he has planted and "those mountains" are soon torn apart into dust and tossed up and carried away in the wind for we know this can not happen unless we turn to the LORD, our GOD.

And when people happen to ask, why don't you settle, why you believe, you don't try to get even... you can say, "It is the God in me".

Vision of Jesus In a Tree- Joy

Last night I just spent some time in the presence of the Lord because I have been feeling this mixture of negative feelings lately. I was more or less feeling misunderstood, undesired and even resented and hated and this caused me to rebuke and wrestle sinful and dark thoughts and suggestions.

I thought, " This is how the Lord must feel when we don't desire him." He must feel hurt, hated, misunderstood and taken for granted."

I continued to stand my ground but it was HARD. So what did I do...? I turned to God for I know how great a friend He is to me. (He is also probably the only one who understands me.) I turned on some Hillsong music, put in my ear phones and let the Spirit of the Lord take hold and there I saw Jesus in a tree. He wasn't surrounded by some mystical light but it was just him.

He wasn't in the top of this tree but I kind of felt like he climbed down this tree so I could see him - not so he could see me. He smiled at me and when he did I felt this unexplainable joy as I smiled back and even chuckled.

I wanted to continue to stay in his presence of unexplainable joy but then the Spirit of the Lord had me lay down (though I was sitting the entire time in this reality) and as I did I began to weep. And as the Spirit of the Lord comforted me, I started to be drained of these negative feelings and burdens.

I got to see Jesus again as the Spirit raised my head and once again his smile made me smile and chuckle again and then the Spirit of the Lord lay me down again and I started to weep again until I was drained of all this negative feelings and burdens, Exhausted I then went to bed in peace.

How wonderful to feel the joyful presence of the Lord.... who takes our burdens and smiles upon us.

Numbers 6:22-27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: `May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.' This is how Aaron and his sons will designate the Israelites as my people, and I myself will bless them."

Vision of Two Women

I asked the Lord to give me some inspiration yesterday morning. I sat on my bed and opened my bible and began to read Daniel.

We are covering Daniel during our devotion time for the boy's youth program at church. When I was done reading I closed my eyes to relax and reflect but I must have gotten too relaxed because I must of dozed off when I saw this vision.

Vision of two women.
I saw a woman come into a house where another woman was. They were both wearing something that looked like togas. The woman who came into the house carried long silver like rods that were at least 7 or 8 feet long.

The two women went into a white room where the windows were covered but still let the natural light come in from the outside. The room had no pictures and was empty of furniture.

There the two women began to start their work, working on the rods and I got the distinct impression they were making a basket out of the long silver rods.

Then I opened my eyes and as I started to look for answers, I first thought of Moses in the basket but then I was reminded by the Spirit of the story in Zechariah 5

I would have just shared this vision with the church I attend and not shared it with my fellow Christians but I believe we all need to be aware of what is being prepared and what is happening.

Zechariah 5
Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, "Look up! Something is appearing in the sky."
"What is it?" I asked.
He replied, "It is a basket for measuring grain, and it is filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land."
When the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, there was a woman sitting inside it. The angel said, "This woman's name is Wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.
Then I looked up and saw two women flying towards us, with wings gliding on the wind. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew with it into the sky.
"Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel.
He replied, "To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on it's pedestal."