Christ's Return

Yes, I had a dream about Christ coming back. I woke up with this gem on the morning of January 13, 2009. I don't even know where to start with this one. It was so full of messages, big ones and small ones. I feel it's necessary to go over the dream, but I have shortened the details so it doesn't become a novel...and hopefully doesn't deter you from coming back to read more!

I went out for an afternoon and ended up downtown Montreal, where I used to live. Crossing the street I had an encounter with an impatient man, to which I reacted very badly. Realizing this, I attempted to correct my reaction with a wave and a smile. I stopped at the foot of a big hill and felt the need to return home as I was unprepared for this outing. Turning around I saw people's faces filled with worry and I turned back to see what they were looking at. Charcoal gray clouds were rolling in fast, and so I decided to hurry. I looked again at the sky after entering a glass roofed building and saw the clouds growing at an alarming rate. There was no wind or rain, just these ominous clouds. I began to feel desperate to get home and searched for the subway entrance. I finally found it only to realize that I did not have my wallet. I decided to appeal to the ticket man's good nature. He had one, and let me through. I lingered, struggling with the need to say, "God bless you" and finally found the guts to do so. I arrived back home in the garage and noticed all sorts of people in the yard. Strangers, but they were welcome there. I also noticed the clouds breaking up, as if running from something, and just evaporating. The fear in me subsided, curiosity took over, and so I went into the yard to get a better look. I questioned a man as to whether he thought it might be Christ coming back. He said no and looked at me strangely, but I was convinced that's what was happening. Thinking this is "it," I began to feel frantic to be with my family and hold onto them, but then felt God prompting me to pray. I heard Him tell me that I had no power in this situation, he comforted me and peace returned. A bright light began to come closer in the now clear sky, like a beam, growing longer and wider. It was soft, warm, comforting and really bright. This is definitely Christ, I told myself. Almost throwing myself, I laid on the ground and reached my arms into the air (despite people's reactions and thoughts) and began singing at the top of my lungs:

"Behold He comes riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call
So lift your voice it's the year of jubilee
Out of Zion's hills salvation comes"

The light then passed over us, the sky turned dark but was littered with mores stars than I could have ever imagined. A few seconds later, there was a small "poof" sound and complete darkness followed-as if the universe had disappeared. The glow of the city lights began to appear. People started discussing the event. I was still convinced Jesus has returned but others were suggesting the possibility of a meteor. I was in complete disbelief of their blindness.

It was at this point I woke up to a child who needed some TLC. It was hard to pull myself out of bed as I wanted to stay in that dream and see what happened next. The excitement, joy and peace were unexplainable. I managed to get up, but found myself with a strange feeling of fear. I kept peeking over my shoulder and around corners, checking to see if there was an intruder in the house.

The big picture: I have been over this dream many times. While I am not sure I have unveiled all of the smaller messages, the general message is obvious to me and, I am certain, not just for myself. I believe the great reminder to all of us is that we need to live as though Christ is returning. It's not a message of "we are all going to hell," but a reminder to live for our eternity, to live beyond what this earth has to offer us. A reminder of what is really important and where our eyes need to be focused. I was not ready for Christ to come back. I found myself on a journey without my wallet, a repetitive symbol in my dreams. Once again I had travelled a fair distance without being prepared. It raises questions of how we can get so far along a path we see as right, without being properly prepared. As I prayed over my dream the big hill was highlighted. I asked Jesus what that hill was and I heard, "justice." I had to turn around as I wasn't ready to climb that hill of justice.

Just as the Bible says, He will come like a thief (Revelations 16:15). We won't expect Him, but we won't be able to miss Him either. My dream began as an ordinary day, filled with ordinary tasks. I found myself in my past, so to speak, where I used to live. I feel this is a symbol of reverting back to old lives. Not necessarily forgetting about God, but more about falling back into our old life patterns. The other thing that stood out for me here is that I didn't even see how I got there. All of a sudden I was far away from "home." Far away from where my heart was suppose to be. It seemed to have "just happened." It's amazing how easily our focus can slip without us even noticing.

The smaller picture: There were many smaller themes throughout this dream as well. Many of them are aspects of how we can live our lives for Christ.

Make amends: I turned around to correct my reaction to the impatient driver. It is never to late to attempt righting wrongs, and we should always try to do so. Listen to that voice in your head that prompts you to do the right thing.

Need for the body: It was only when I saw the look of worry in the faces of others that I turned around to see the storm that was approaching. A storm that I had been facing and walking toward all along. It takes other members of Christ's body to help us see things that are happening in our own lives. We need each other.

What really matters: During my attempt to get home, what mattered most was not my safety or the things around me, but the people I love. I believe we are being reminded that people, our brothers and sisters, God's children, Christian and non Christian, are what matter on this earth. Of course, when I began to cling to my family I was reminded that I needed to cling to God above all else. That He is the one in whom I need to put my faith. When the last days come none of the rest matters, only the relationships we have had with each other and with God.

Be bold: This is a message that is aimed at my heart for sure. I know that God is calling me to be more bold. Perhaps He is doing the same for you. I hesitated to share some simple words with a stranger in fear of earthly judgement - as if that is something to fear. Then later I threw myself onto the ground singing out to our King, even though I knew people were looking at me strangely. We need to be bold. While we don't have to have an "in your face" attitude, at times we will be called to stand, share or show our faith and voice what we believe. Sometimes it may be boisterous and other times gentle.

Convictions: Don't let the views of others, especially non Christians, change what you know is true in your heart. I found myself in disbelief over people's opinions and views, and even though it seemed strange to many of them, I continued to believe with all my heart that it was in fact Christ we had seen. Don't let their disbelief affect your own faith. Of course, need I say, you should always weigh things along side God's word.

Lean on God: I felt called to pray about my need to be with my family. God actually reminded me in the midst of it to talk to Him. Call on Him and He will answer you (Jeremiah 33:3). Without Him I felt anxiety, with Him peace.

Pay attention: The sky disappeared with a little "poof." A sound so small for such a big even and one that would have gone unnoticed had I not been looking. Imagine all the things we miss in life when we walk around with our proverbial eyes closed.

Fear: While we are not to fear the things of this earth, I did wake with a horrible fear in my heart. I believe that feeling was contrasting my being in Christ's beautiful and peaceful light. Coming back to this earthly reality I think I finally got a glimpse at how evil our world really is. We get so used to this world and we no longer see the things that aren't "of God" for what they truly are. I often live in a box where I am sheltered from the lies terrible things that happen here and can easily convince myself that this life is pretty good. I will even admit that there have been times I don't even desire heaven, as I'm quite happy in my box. But, after this dream, no more. After feeling the anticipation, the excitement, the joy and peace of Christ (even if only in a dream), I look forward to the day of His return.

Sadly, the initial feelings of this dream faded as the hours passed. This is something that can happen to us all. Over time things we are so positive about, experiences we have felt, can begin to turn into doubt, disbelief or they become weaker. We need to constantly remind ourselves of God's words and promises.

May this message prompt you to take a look at your life. Have you grown complacent? Are you living with Christ's return in your heart? What does it look like for you to do that? I pray that you too may grasp the joy of heaven, the joy of meeting the One who loves us so much and the joy of spending eternity with Him. May you find His peace cover you, so that the evil in this world does not bring you fear. But may you also not forget that this is not heaven, that there is something far better.

.........

That was NOT from God....or was it?

After sharing some of my dreams and their messages, I was greeted with encouragement, and also with a story. Not once, but three times I heard the same story from some friends of mine. Their friend had decided to dedicate his dreams to God. I thought this was such a great idea. I mean, why not give EVERY moment of you time to God. He should get your waking hours, but why not your sleeping ones too. And since I found that God spoke well to me through my dreams, what better way could there be for me to intentionally listen! ....but I didn't do it, at least, not right away. My heart said "yes" but my head said, "that was some one else's idea" After a few days of pondering it I realized how ridiculous I was being. Having faith, desiring more closeness with God, trying to hear His voice...it's not about originality. It's about loving Him. So, I took the plunge and on August 24th, 2008. I dedicated my dreams to God - but only after I considered what that would look like. It meant work. I promised that every message I received through my dreams I would take seriously. I would look at them as if they were from God. I would pray through them and ask Him for guidance while interpreting the meanings.

So, the next morning (August 25th) I woke up with a dream still in my head. I didn't have that "wow, I just heard from God" feeling this time, but I remembered what I had prayed about the day before and began to look at the dream.

I was driving in my car with a man as my passenger. The man was VERY small, the size of a three year old and I was taking him somewhere. The car broke down on the exit ramp of the highway. We got out of the car and were about to start walking when I noticed that the man was naked. I found a towel with which to cover him. I then began to help him walk, and even carry him some of the way. It was a long walk to our destination. We stopped for some food only to realize I had forgotten my wallet in the car. We left the restaurant and headed back for it. People were staring at him and he was having a hard time passing through the watching eyes to follow me. I went back to help him, almost trying to shelter him, only to find him angry with me for doing too much-for babying him. We left together and continued back toward the car.

As I re-capped this dream, all I could think was, "I just had a dream about a naked midget! That can't be from God!" I realize that "midget" is not politically correct, and I don't mean to offend, but it conveys how ridiculous I felt this dream was-something that I would usually write off as bizarre. I knew that I had given my dreams to God, but was I crazy to think that He would actually take them and use them? Then I also recalled the verse in Matthew 7:9-11.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him"

I asked God to use my dreams. Why wouldn't he? Especially if it was something that would glorify Him and draw me closer. So, I sat down, wrote down, and walked with God through the dream. I was amazed, stunned really. The message I discovered was as follows: Even when faced with my own problems (a broken down vehicle), I still need to help others in need-clothing them, feeding them, walking with them, carrying them. The road may be long but I still need to travel it with them. A wallet is something that one doesn't go anywhere without. In this case, I think it symbolized God. He's the American Express card of life-don't leave home without Him! I had left Him behind, and went all the way back to get Him. Even though it would have been faster to just continue on to our destination, it was worth it, and necessary, to make the journey with God along side. The dream ends with a warning not to be overbearing when helping others in need. They need to be respected as adults, not viewed as children that need their hand held each step of the way. Though the man resembled a child in many ways, he was not.

While the dream itself held a valuable message, the experience teaches another lesson. When you ask God for something, have faith that he will deliver. If I had continued to doubt, I would not have seen God show up. I would not have known he answered my prayers. If I had not been obedient to follow through on my own request, I would have missed out on so much. Because I trusted that he would answer me, I have since had more words of encouragement and gentle reminders from Him. The best part is that I grow closer to God with each one.

My next major dream came on July 31st, 2008. It also felt like a message for our church family, as well as myself. Again, I am sharing this as I believe it will provide as a good reminder, or gentle rebuke to many of us.

I was gathered with a large crowd at a funeral. There was a general feeling of indifference. I wasn't even sure who had died. Some one in the crowd finally stood up, and spoke up. He said, "it's time to face the facts, this person is dead." I saw coloured fabric laid out on the floor, which represented 3 parts of life. As he bends down to rearrange the middle fabric (which is blood red), the spokesperson then says, "the road to real life is going to be the hardest to talk about." He then tells everyone to start gathering rocks. Apparently rocks had been requested for the funeral but there weren't enough there. Everyone obediently leaves and gathers rocks in pails and bring them back in. At this point I wake up with the song "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" clearly going through my head.

Jesus, lover of my soul
Jesus, I will never let you go
You've taken me from the miry clay
You've set my feet upon the rock, and now I know
I love you, I need you
Though my world may fall, I'll never let you go
My Saviour, my closest friend
I will worship you until the very end

In praying over this dream some serious things were brought to light. The nameless person at the funeral was in fact Jesus. I believe the indifference at the beginning of the dream symbolizes our indifference to the death of Jesus. People were more interested in themselves and what was going on around them. When the spokesperson said that it was time to face the facts he was referring to the sacrifice Jesus made, and that He needs to be our focus. The red fabric, surprisingly enough (ha ha) represented the blood of Christ. I believe the other fabrics were a symbol of earthly life and heaven, but they weren't as important. This said to me that we need to focus on the path to "real life." Real life is found in the blood. Real life is found in Christ. The rocks spoke of our foundation. Whether it's not strong enough or we don't have enough of one, I'm not sure. There was a display of great obedience, however, when the people in this dream were rebuked-which is what I hope (and I believe God hopes) this message will bring-obedience and reverence to a deserving God. As far as the song in my head when I awoke, I think it was meant as a reminder of how we should feel about God and what he has done for us. A reminder of who Christ is suppose to be to us.

Another interesting thing jumped out at me while going over this dream again for my blog. We were busy having Christ's funeral. We weren't even at the point of celebrating his rising again. That sure saddens my heart that we could be so wrapped up in ourselves that, not only do we forget about Jesus and what He did for us, but that we also forget about the great joy His overcoming death can, and should, bring us. It's like God was saying that some of us haven't even reached that stage of great joy, we are too busy with ourselves.

Also recently brought to mind is the word from Revelation 3:14-22. God asked the Laodiceans to give up what they thought was important and valuable and exchange it for what really matters. They didn't even realize that they were wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. The believed they were good Christians.

I pray that this dream will also speak to you. That it may prompt you to sit down and ask Jesus, "have I been focusing more on earthly things than you? Am I missing out on the great joy you want me to have?" I hope, of course, that you can answer "no" to both of these questions, but if you can't, may this be the gentle reminder you need to shift your focus back to the "real life."

Waiting in Unity

The next big turning point in these messages was a dream I had on May 10th, 2008. I awoke with that same certainty that it was a word from God, but this time it came with a feeling that the message was not only for me, but for my church family.

All of our church members were waiting inside a building to gain entrance for a rodeo. This building had been put up in a rush to be finished for the event. We heard creaking, looked up and saw the whole thing moving. We were divided by two points of view on what we should do. The spokesperson on one side said we should stay, that we are Christians and God will protect us. The spokesperson from the other side (which included myself) said that yes, God will protect us, that he can do so us by prompting us to run....which is what we chose to do, leaving the others to make their own decision. Those of us that ran outside then began to throw up some really gross brown sludge. The other group came running out to help us and make sure we were all okay.

This dream came shortly after our Pastor resigned. We found ourselves in a time of transition without clear direction. This is where the waiting to get into the rodeo came in. It symbolized our current situation as we waited upon God for our direction. Walking through the dream, with Jesus as my guide, I saw that the shoddy workmanship of the building was very significant. Any structure that is to be steady and solid must be put up with care...and it takes time. The divided opinions we had were about the same issue - God protecting us. Though we see the details differently, the focus is still the same. Look to God. He should be our fixation. I realize that, to most, the issue of whether to get out of a building that was about to fall apart is a no brainer. The building was just a symbol and is not meant to be taken literally. It illustrates the two extreme paths to the same truth. It was only when the one group started throwing up some seriously gross stuff (and it WAS nasty!) that everyone else came out. The action was a catalyst that reunited us again. This said to me that by getting rid of the "gross stuff" between us, or within ourselves, we can remain united.

The bottom line is that God is calling us to remain united, to take time to build a strong structure, to be patient and trust. We need to focus on Him and put our personal issues and ideas aside.

Though this message may have been directed at a certain group of people, it surely applies to everyone. Imagine a nation of people who can put aside their differences to focus on God and what he wants for us. Imagine what we could accomplish...or rather what God could accomplish through us!

I think I just had a dream from God....

Bear with me as I back track a bit. I feel it necessary to go back to the very beginning of this particular fork in my journey. My very first prophetic dream came to me about three years ago. I don't know why He decided to speak to me in this way or what lead up to it. One thought is that He has been working in me for a long time and preparing my heart to hear His voice more clearly and obviously-and I was finally ready. On this occasion I woke up with an unmistakable feeling that God had just sent me a message. I took the dream seriously and thought about it's meaning for some time. It was amazing to see what, to many people, would be considered just a strange dream, turn into a message FOR me FROM God!

In this dream there was a family of deer in my back yard. I thought they might be hungry and so I rummaged through the fridge for some food. I passed by all the good fruit and found an apple that was starting to go bad. I chose it to give to them and they gratefully ate it. Then I watched as they changed into people-homeless people. I felt terrible that I had given them almost rotten food. Horrified, really. I knew I needed to help them out and offered them my garage to stay in. They accepted but I again felt terrible that they were staying where it was cold and I was still warm in my house.

As I woke I could still feel God's presence with me and began to decipher the message with His help. I was a little jarred to find it was a word of rebuke, but not completely surprised. He was telling me that I need to give my best to others in need, not my leftovers or what is convenient. While I may not be greedy by human standards, I can honestly say that I was (and still am) a long walk from Jesus' example of selflessness. It was a great reminder to me and, I'm sure, to many others, of the heart attitude we need in caring for others. One that I need to consistently revisit.