Hidden In Him

I have not read Gandalf's post yet, and usually he is very thoughtful with his answers. But while I agree with Melissa that it is commendable of you to be so patient with that church, my initial response to this question is very plain and simple: Leave. Unless you feel a very specific leading to stay for some reason, that is not somewhere where you are ever going to grow any time soon. I would just have a nice meeting or dinner with your friend and with a very heart-felt explanation inform her that you two need to find someplace you can grow, and right now that is not the place where you can do it. Don't feel so obligated to others that you sacrifice your own spiritual welfare for them. This is a habit with many believers, but it is taking self-sacrifice past the point that one should. What could happen if tragedy strikes and you truly need some strong Christian fellowship to get you through? Where will you be then?

This is actually indicative of what may be things to come, sister. It is prophesied that the judgments of God will return to the churches, and those who stand in authority yet distort His word are going to come under increasing chastisement. I have heard several stories of pastors actually dying in the pulpit in the last few decades, something almost unheard of until fairly recently.

LoL. That's pretty much the case here in the US as well, although in many cases they're no longer quite so happy anymore either. When the Holy Spirit leaves, it opens the door for all sorts of other spirits that are not so pleasant, especially gossip, back-biting and strife. Think you could give some detail on this? I like hearing good reports, since they tend to be fewer in number then I wish they would be around here.

I think a problem, too, is that not many with the ability to receive revelation from God concerning prophetic utterances have been restored to the church as well. The previous verse (1 Corinthians 14:30) makes it clear that exercise of the gift of prophecy was to be accompanied by revelation, similar to how the gift of speaking in tongues was to be accompanied by the gift of interpretation (so that all might learn from the utterances going forth, as your verse points out). Prophecy and tongues are closely related in that they are like pure utterances from the Spirit. Revelation and interpretation are related in that they are more mentally-oriented, where what is communicated is then assimilated mentally for the benefit of the entire congregation. So all of it becomes a necessary part of the process, leading me to believe that the FULL array of the gifts need to be in operation in any given church on any given day, not just prophecy. Defenceless absolutely. I have had on-going arguments with people at other forums about their claim that the Spirit of God only speaks words of encouragement, when nothing could be farther from the truth. Any quick glimpse of scripture makes one come away with an awareness that prophecy was most often used by God to warn His people of impending dangers, both spiritually and literally on occasion. It is the same today, and any church that rejects the Spirit of prophecy (for whatever reason) rejects the Lord's ability to warn them of what the enemy may be doing in their midst, and the possible judgments that might ensue if certain members do not repent. This was happening all the time in the New Testament period. I quote this verse all the time, which when understood to be especially applicable today, makes the following verse you quoted all that much more important: We need to be desiring the gift of prophecy and praying for it incessantly. It is extremely important to the life and vitality of the church. If it were not, he would not have given this command.

No, it was not. I'll try and get to it when I have some time, maybe later in the week hopefully. God bless!

That is amazing. Thanks for the explanation, Friend Of. Timing - and therefore context - has huge bearing on interpretation, so it pays to mention stuff like that too. Just a heads up in case there's a next time. God bless.

Ok, now take this seriously. When the Lord sends you dreams He is speaking to you prophetically (Numbers 12:6, Jeremiah 23:28), and these dreams have all the tell-tale signs of being sent from Him. They have not faded from your memory like ordinary dreams, nor do ordinary dreams get brought back to your memory during a discussion with other believers. And when the Lord speaks prophetically it often comes with a warning, as they do here. The meaning of your third dream is as follows: - The poor skinny man is you, in an advanced state of starvation from the true word of God. Again, this references to what was presumably happening to you as a result of the rotten fruit you saw being offered in worldly churches in your first dream. - That he is “in my closet” means that what the spiritual starvation creates in you (the machine) is something that could damage your reputation. The expression that someone had “skeletons in their closet” was used to describe that there were undisclosed facts about them which, if revealed, could damage how people perceived them. It evokes the idea of someone having a (presumedly human) corpse concealed in their home so long that it eventually decomposes. Skeletons "in your closet" may be a play on words here because you clearly see yourself as “skinny” and "starving." - That your stomach starts to swell and turn grey are symptoms of not just advanced starvation, but a particular kind of starvation where the victim is getting plenty of food, but with no protein in it. In other words, you were hearing plenty of preaching and thus receiving plenty of spiritual “food,” yet starving to death because there was (again) no true spiritual life or vitality in it. This condition is called Kwashiorkor, and it is what causes the bellies of starving children to swell up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwashiorkor. - That the belly turns grey is another symptom of the vitamin deficiency caused by starvation. According to the wiki on starvation, “Vitamin deficiency is also a common result of starvation, often leading to anemia,” and anemia is one of the leading causes for skin to turn grey https://www.healthline.com/health/gray-skin#causes. - Now, here is where the starvation threatened to have negative effects on your behavior. Please keep in mind that this dream was given to you a long time ago, and you may have dealt with this properly. You also may not have. I am simply telling you that this is where you were vulnerable to reacting in a way that was not of God. - The stomach is what scripture refers to as our “bowels,” sometimes translated as “affections,” and in this case yours turns into a machine; a destructive machine with “sharp teeth.” And the imagery of teeth is used in scripture of believers potentially “biting and devouring” one another (Galatians 5:15). - The yellow and red stripes under the eyes are in all likelihood symbolic of the war paint used by American Indians. All such marks on their faces carried spiritual meaning, and much of it referenced their "spirit guides" (i.e. demons). Under the eyes means that demons would be causing you to see things the way they see them, and react accordingly. According to one Indian website, “Red color symbolizes war, blood, strength, energy, power and success in war,” and “Yellow color symbolizes the color of death… and that the wearer… was heroic and willing to fight to the death.” https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-culture/war-paint.htm. Now don't take those things as a compliment here. In this context, it’s not. That the man’s belly had morphed into a machine meant it would attack and bring (spiritual) death to others indiscriminately. As I was saying in the second interpretation, believers have to be discriminating in recognizing those who are part of Christ’s body and those who are not. His true disciples can come from all different spiritual backgrounds on their way to finding the truth, though they will gravitate towards the truth no matter where they start from, which is why indiscriminately declaring war automatically on others simply because they are from a particular Christian background can be a big mistake. - The scariest part is in how, when the machine opens its mouth (i.e. speaks), it is filled with fire. Fire in its mouth here is a reference to the tongue being set on fire of Hell (James 3:6). Note James' teaching was that “wisdom” which engenders strife among the brethren is “earthly, soulish, and demonic.” (James 3:15. The specific Greek word used there is where we get our English word “demonic” from). The last dream is a little scary, but I know you, and I have noticed how many of your posts are very caring and loving towards others. This is what the Lord desires from you. He wants you to overcome the effects of the spiritual starvation you experienced earlier in life, and continue to seek Him for true spiritual food with life-giving power in it. He also wants you to always see things from His perspective when it comes to judging others, and remain on guard against what the enemy wants to make of you. He wants to use you to generate strife and hatred, whereas the Lord wants you to speak only words that are sown in peace (James 3:17-18). If you’d like, I can discuss any of these matters with you in private any time you'd like, so please just let me know. I’d be more than glad to offer any advice or encouragement I can give you when things get tough. And as I said before, I know how it is.

LoL. Certainly no strong emotions there. This site has been funny lately! I imagine a bipolar pit bull is something to take seriously, LoL.

Ok, Friend of, let me give you part 2. This second one is pretty simple. First of all notice your wording: "All of a sudden I am remembering another dream I had." When I see this sort of thing, it means the Spirit of God is/ was bringing another dream to your remembrance now in context of the first one. That's important, because it means the two dreams are related, as also evident from the fact that the setting is the same in both (outer space). The meaning is this: That you were being pulled into space meant that you were again being drawn by the Spirit to receive a spiritual education of sorts, but this time on how things "line up" according to God's will. Many wonder how the true kingdom of God and true body of Christ can be "one" when so much false teaching and denominationalism splinters everything. (I noticed you also talk a lot about Interfaith, which is a similar concern but in reverse). But there IS a kingdom and a Body that lines up with His will completely, only the only way to see it is to see everything from Heaven's perspective, and preferably up close. This is how to avoid what becomes of you if you do not see things from this perspective (as the last dream suggests), but are instead overcome by the spiritual starvation you experience, and by the spiritual corruption you see all around you. Gimme a little time on the last one. I want to word things properly.

Greetings in Christ! Melissa7 did a good job of answering your questions, but if you need more help don't hesitate to ask.

Well, I don't know that an interpretation is 100% accurate, LoL. I just sense it is. I have plenty of experience with it now, though, and I am right a very high percentage of the time, even when the one having the dream initially tells me they don't think it's right. We find out a month later that it was. But I have "missed" a few times as well, so I just sort of wait on time to tell me if I was right or not. About only dreams that relate to Biblical things, I have only interpreted for Christians before, and the Lord uses the same sort of imagery and metaphors in dreams as He does in scripture. Well, discernment actually is a form of spiritual revelation... maybe you mean like clairvoyance or something. No, I never had the gift when I was an unbeliever. In fact, I used to have dreams all the time that I had utterly no idea what they meant. Now I'm able to interpret them, but it certainly wasn't something I was "born with" or anything. Maybe I don't fully understand your question here. Oh Heavens, no. I think I'd be spooked. I just sense it. Sometimes when a dream is tough I have to sit there and look at it for a second. After a bit the Lord starts making sense of things, piece by piece, until the whole thing fits. I actually want to teach it to people. But while it is a skill that can be refined in a sense, it is ultimately a gift you have to pray for and receive from God first, so praying for gifts is where it starts. Very good questions, btw.

Yes we should. Scripture prophesies that in the end-times, He is going to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh (i.e. believers of every age group), and that our sons and daughters will prophecy, and old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions. Some think this passage was fulfilled after Pentecost, but a few verses later (Joel 2:31) Joel goes into how the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and fearful day of the Lord comes. This means the fullest fulfillment of this passage is still ahead of us, not behind us. It is my experience that believers are having dreams and visions a LOT these days, but the problem is there are not a lot of good interpreters yet. As for becoming a seer, I suppose they mean in the occult sense. But I've heard it taught that the seer is also a Biblical concept. It's a matter of who you are receiving the visions from.

Ok, this one only takes a second. - The piece of fruit is spiritual food from God - teaching coming directly from Him rather than man, and is therefore true spiritual food - accurate teaching from God, given by the Holy Spirit. It represents things He has shown you directly in His word through your own studies, not just repeated by someone else and assumed to be true. - His word is also "light," and that it comes from a great distance represents coming from God Himself. - That it was "crisp and sweet" represents being full of life and vitality. Scripture sometimes refers to "tasting" of the things of God, that they are good. - Descending back to earth represents descending to the carnal realm, where false teaching is being eaten. Specifically you come through a church top. This represents that many of the churches at your disposal at this time were serving "diseased" fruit, i.e. bad and unhealthy teaching that led to spiritual starvation (this leads into your dream of the starving man in your closet. That man was you, probably especially at that time you had the dream, unless it was pointing more towards the future). - That the people in the church ate the diseased fruit yet thought it was great is an accurate description of much of the church today. They are receiving teaching that has very little spiritual life in it, but they don't know any better and think it's great because they have not eaten food directly from God by which to compare it. That's the basic meaning, and again, I can share with you a major vision published several years ago where the Spirit is communicating the exact same thing. God is calling those who have ears to hear to eat teaching that comes directly from His hand, as opposed to that which is worldly and unhealthy.

Dream interpretation? Certainly it is. It runs throughout scripture, including in the New Testament several times.

The first one everyone should hear (though not all may receive it). The third is a little more personal. Maybe I'll send you that in private first or something. But I can assure you I have dealt with the same issue.

It's not that bad. I've interpreted far worse in public, bro. But if you would rather I send it in private, that's no problem. Glad to do it. Give me time. The first is a piece of cake, the second one is sort of basic. The third one takes some explaining. I can also send you some stuff that confirms that what He is communicating to you in these three (especially the 1st and the 3rd) is the same thing He is speaking to the end-time church in general. God bless. I'll send it when ready.

Hey Frienduff! I was just reading through this, and I know what your dreams represent. They run together, and have to do with where you should expect to receive proper spiritual nutrition from, and what spiritual starvation will do to you. Want me to explain more? I can do a full write up if you like.

Greetings, and welcome to Worthy! If you can, please explain why he was frustrated at you for "lacking faith." What made him say that?

Yeah. I noticed a few of our Muslim members posting lately. I generally avoid debate with them because while they enjoy discussion and often have a genuine curiosity about things, they have often undergone so much indoctrination that it can be very difficult getting through to them. That's why in most cases the situation calls for the Lord reaching out to them Himself. So I generally just urge Muslims to pray to Jesus Himself to reveal to them who He truly is, and whether what Christianity says about Him is true or not. If they sincerely want to know, He will reveal it to them.

Greetings Deb! The trouble with Islam is that it embraces the law but does not embrace grace. The Jesus of Islam did not die for the sins of humanity - that notion is considered blasphemy - so forgiveness is not a dominant part of their religion as it is with ours. When it comes to expecting them not to use such scriptures to defend their practices, they first need to get the Spirit of God inside of them before they will see how they are misguided. To them, they are making a stand against sin whereas we are being too lenient against it. But they have to recognize Jesus for who He truly is first, and for many that has involved having supernatural encounters with the True and Living God (visions of seeing Jesus have been increasingly occurring among Muslims in the last few decades, and led to many conversions of those who struggled to reconcile the Jesus they saw in visions and dreams with the "Jesus" they were taught about in Islam). And yes, many must make a choice between their families and Christ, and even their lives or serving Christ. But Jesus warned in His word that we must count the cost of serving Him (Matthew 10:36-38).

Praise God, Lulu! This is what it is like to start getting some victory in the spiritual war we all face. I used to think only things like enduring persecution counted as spiritual victories, but the spiritual war is going on in all kinds of subtle ways all around us all the time, as Jayne was mentioning. Your reaction of staying at peace instead of getting into anxiety is the beginning of what James said about letting God perfect endurance within you (James 1:2-4). What that means is this: The command of God is to respond in peace like that every time, no matter what anyone says or does to you. It may feel like you have a long way to go, but success breeds success, so take time to be proud of yourself over this. You just showed the enemy he may be in trouble. Now what you need to do is meditate on similar situations happening in various ways, and how you would react. Envision yourself responding in peace consistently every time. That's sort of what you did this time in how you said "I took what you said to heart and decided that the next time..." Now don't get discouraged if you slip up and Satan manages to get under your skin again. He may try to ramp up the tests on you to break your will. Just think of yourself as a marathon runner who is building up endurance to handle all things (Hebrews 12:1-2). The more endurance you build up, the more you can handle the next time. Eventually, you'll come to the place where you can handle things you never though possible. Just keep praying for the Lord's empowerment, telling Him that you like how it feels to be victorious over anxiety, and asking him to perfect the good work that He has begun in you. Very proud of you, and you have reason to be proud of yourself. Keep at it. Eventually you will have stories to tell others Christians who are still where you are now about how it is done.

Another helpful epistle with this, Acacia, is the book of James. Especially the following verses (in particular the last one): Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man does not cultivate the righteousness of God... Who is wise and understanding among you? let him demonstrate out of good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom... wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and not hypocritical. And the fruit of righteousness is being sown in peace by those making peace. (James 1:19-20, James 3:13, 17-18) What it means is that the wise man will watch, and wait to speak only when the other person will be receptive to his or her words. He senses when his words will generate conflict, so even though true, he will hold his tongue until what he has to say can be sown in peace. When you express your opinion and you pick up resistance to it, be ready to back off and wait for a better time, when they might be more receptive to what you have to say. It will do no good to get into strife with them; they will only get defensive and dig their heals in deeper. James compared sharing wisdom to planting seed (as also in James 1:21). And the wise thing to do is to sow seed into others when the ground is soft and can receive it. If it is hard soil, like when a person's heart is hardened against it, it will never get down in them, and the birds of the air will simply come and steal it away from them soon (Mark 4:14-15). Our God wants to share wisdom with each of us, too, but He likewise only waits until we are ready to receive it. So part of learning to be like Christ is holding your tongue and waiting for when people are ready to hear it.

Granted, Gandalf, I understand there were numerous OT scriptures stating that those who gave to the poor would be blessed, and also systems built into the law to help provide for them. I was simply addressing specifically the issue of helping them at one's own expense, such as to not even have proper clothing, and this seems to go against the very promises of God for the believer (Matthew 6:28-30, 1 Timothy 6:8). But let me know what you think. It's usually interesting.

This could be a thread all its own. There are always a few good ones out there at any given time, but I think the main problem is that there just aren't as many Christian musicians as in the world, so when you're used to top end secular talent and writers, the Christian stuff sort of pales by comparison, especially where musicianship and creativity is concerned. I don't know what the answer is. I still listen to quality secular music most of the time. But I do enjoy good Christian stuff as well on occasion. And certainly nothing compares to being caught up in anointed worship. But the music of heaven is supposedly amazingly beautiful and never monotonous, and flows throughout Heaven, everywhere and at all times - angelic choirs, children singing praises, worship services unlike anything we have ever experienced on earth - So it's only a matter of time till that problem gets solved forever.

Hmmm... you used the word "Christ-like," and my mind went immediately to "what would Christ do?" Frankly, some may not like my answer here, but I don't see our Lord as having been in places of great material need. I see Him as having such matters covered so that He could fulfill the will of His Father. In other words, He was not so selfless as to deny Himself proper clothing. Moreover, He once told those who took offense to the woman who poured expensive ointment over His head, "The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you desire you can do good to them." (Mark 14:7). Notice He didn't say you must do good to them, but whenever you desire to. In other words, the poor are always going to be around, so we help them as much as we can and whenever we desire to, but not at the expense of our own needs in serving God. Moreover, the scriptures teach that those who do not provide for their own households have disowned the faith and are worse than the unbelievers (1 Timothy 5:8). Is she a member of his household still? It would seem to me that you should come first if you are and she is not. Now that having said, the issue becomes how to deal with it, and this is another matter. If you bring it up and he doesn't listen, you would need to be prepared to walk in forgiveness, so as to maintain the commandment to walk in love and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That would mean praying for him that he eventually opens his eyes to see how he is sinning against you, but without holding any resentment. Sounds like it might not be an easy fix, sister. As Gandalf said, there are and may continue to be several factors going on there at once. But are you sinning to think you are being cheated? No. I think you are being cheated. But you will need to deal with it wisely to remain faithful to God yourself, and hopefully turn things back in your favor at the same time. God bless.