“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28).
I wanted to share some pivotal moments from the early days of my walk with the Lord.
Several years ago, I was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray with a friend and surrender to the Lord’s will for my life, and at that time, my friend shared a word of warning he received concerning me. If I pursued this course, then I would experience some of the greatest joys of my life, while also experiencing some of the greatest pain, and to date, his warning has held true. I often find myself mystified by the fact that one can experience the very peace of God, hear His voice, and to be given the faith to even drive out demons, while, other times, go to such dark and lonesome places that it takes all my faith just to hold on, but all the while, realizing the Lord has actually been holding on to me. “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28). As I said, this night was a critical point, a cross roads moment, in my walk, which set everything to come in motion.
After some time passed, I dreamt that I was standing in a dark place and saw a Bible sitting on a pedestal in front of me. I opened the Bible, and the brightest light shined from within its pages, yet it didn’t hurt to look. I began to rip out pages, one after the other, as someone starved, and ate them. The pages tasted sweet and satisfied my hunger. I was filled, and then the dream ended. To the best of my recollection, this dream was a precursor; the first of many dreams and visions and other spiritual encounters to come. I have not yet received the words to adequately share most of them, while others may not have been meant to be shared at all, but I have been able to record and write about many in this blog. Because of the nature of the spiritual realm, it would be easy to embellish, and interject my own interpretations and biases; therefore, I proceed cautiously and prayerfully; I devote time to scripture (1 John 4:1-6). My observation has been that the Holy Spirit does not necessarily move in chronological order while weaving a tapestry over time. What I see are glimpses much like blurred reflections in a mirror; images that my puny brain can comprehend.
For those who are skeptical of things like words and visions and dreams, within a prophetic context, I agree that you’re wise to be skeptical. There are ministries and ministers popping up like weeds, with people claiming to be prophets and apostles and whatever other title one can bestow. God promises to pour out His Spirit in the last days (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17), indeed, but Jesus also warned that the enemy would be sending emissaries as well (Matthew 7:15). I praise God that He sometimes speaks to me through visions, dreams, and by various words, and I keep saying that nothing I have ever received is new; the Bible is already written, and God has always spoken to me through, and according to, His Word. I look forward to sharing more as the Holy Spirit permits.
I often ask to question, “Why me?” I’m neither a preacher, nor a prophet. I’m really nothing special. But God reminds me that it isn’t about me; it’s about Him and His plan. He reminds me of Abraham, of David, of Peter and Paul, then He reminds me that I am the man I am in Jesus Christ, not the man I am in the flesh. I gotta remember that! I am grateful God is transforming me everyday; conforming me into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). God literally turned my world upside down one evening (An account not yet shared), and nothing has been the same ever since. “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:3-5).
I had wanted to record my spiritual journey in the Lord for some time, and although it hasn’t always been easy, my heart delights in the undertaking God has set before me. Back when I set out writing, I just assumed that my readership would consist primarily of relatives, church family, and friends, but as it turned out, very few people I know have probably ever read a single word; instead, most of my readers hail from across the United States and the world. How cool it is to connect with people about Jesus who live all over the world! What a gift! The Great Commission!
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Agreed, it’s a blessing to be connected with folks from all walks of life. I felt today the description of such connection was an “ongoing Bible study.”
From the post, this part really jumped out to me, “the Holy Spirit does not necessarily move in chronological order while weaving a tapestry over time.” I need to keep that at the forefront of my mind when I deal with diverse “growing” seasons. 😌
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You will “experience the greatest pain”, so warned your friend. I am sure that few of Jesus’ disciples or followers knew exactly what to expect when He gave them the Great Commission. I do not believe it would have mattered to them. They had experienced the most horrific death of their beloved master, yet they chose to continue His work. I do believe that Paul knew exactly what his life would be like. He had been one of the worst persecutors of Christians before his transformation by God. Just like Paul, the disciples left everything behind to follow our Lord. Following Jesus will be, at times, a painful lonely journey, but following Jesus will be the journey of a forever lifetime. (A personal note) ❤️
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Thank you! I needed to hear that right now.
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Wow, ok, I see how my post on dreams was timely and God used it to minister to you. Praise Jesus! I think of the scripture man cannot live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God!!!!
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Indeed you have ministered to me. It seemed like the perfect way to finish up Babylon the Great in which I shared a few visions I’ve had. You’ve probably via your comment and blog ministered to me more than you realize.
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Thanks be to God that He knows and what you needed through my blog amd comments, He provided! Praise the Lord Jesus for allowing me to be used. Thanks for sharing this! I want Him to shine through and to hear He is, God is awesome!
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“nothing I have ever received is new; the Bible is already written.” Exactly! I have a lot of dreams, and some are very profoundly helpful to me. But if my interpretation of them is contrary to Scripture, either I’m interpreting wrong, or it’s not a dream where God is trying to tell me anything. Lately I have been asking Him daily to help me remember and understand the dreams that are from Him, and I’m forgetting most of my dreams these days. (I don’t worry about those.)
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It’s funny how those dreams stand out from the others. I pray that you continue to be edified, and I agree with you, let the Spirit guide us by His Word!
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Thank you for sharing. Visions and the such can be scary (at least it would be to me) to share for various reasons, but you did so with meekness and bravery.
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Thank you so much!
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👍
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