I woke from a dream this morning that bothered me. I knew it was more than just a weird dream and instantly prayed and sought God for an explanation about it. Before going to bed, I was studying the Bible concerning three key words: disciple, consecrated, and anointing. I have come to realize that I have only been a follower of Christ but not a disciple. I have not fully consecrated myself to Christ, which means set apart for Christ to fulfill His purpose in my life. I have turned from things He has set in my heart to do or held onto material possessions or statuses for my pleasure. I have been thinking a lot about this and spoke with Jeremy right before bed. I want to rid myself of anything that keeps me from wholly consecrating myself to Christ, and I was asking Christ what do I need to do? What am I missing?
My Dream:
Jeremy and I advertised our couch, loveseat, and recliner to be sold. We had a couple show up at our door interested and wanting to look at it. They were poorly dressed and dirty, which immediately made me uncomfortable. They seemed to wonder around our house and while Jeremy and I followed the gentleman down our hallway talking to him, the woman wondered into our kitchen. When we came back to the living room, we found her around the wall in the kitchen. She had searched through my kitchen, got out some ziplock bags, and put some fresh vegetables, carrots, broccoli, and celery in four of them. I immediately heard in my Spirit that I was to ask her what else did she need that we could provide her with, but instead of listening to my spirit, I chose to listen to my flesh which brought great anger up and the desire to make her pay. I saw her purse laying on the counter and a small clear bag with some coins, a few one dollar bills, and coupons. I snatched it up and told her that she was going to have to pay for what she has taken of mine. But, I didn't make her pay a fair price. I took three one dollar bills out of her purse and told her that this is what she owed me for those four ziplock baggies. Which, I knew the whole box of those baggies cost less than the amount I took from her. I then threw them out of house and yelled for them to go away. I then noticed that there were several people walking down the road, up my driveway, and in my yard looking at me and coming towards my house. They were all poorly dressed and looked very dirty. I would venture out to say that they looked homeless. I immediately slammed the door shut, with fear gripping my heart. I locked it quickly and looked out the window. They were coming up to the house now. Some were at the door knocking, some were peering at me through the window and others were still walking up. I was very angry that all these dirty poor people were coming to my house. They scared me and I wanted them to leave me alone. I then woke up.
My Prayer and the Answer:
When I woke up with my eyes still closed and not moving but just feeling the effects of that dream knowing it was significant, I began to pray. I asked God what did this mean. I began scanning back over my dream. I searched God for an answer. Then I heard in my spirit with great stillness, "I separate the sheep from the goats." I gasped! I knew what He was saying. My heart was still part goat. I still have greediness for money and possessions in my heart. I still am lacking the compassion and love for my neighbor that Christ wants me to have. Thank you Lord for showing me. Now I must go and read Matthew 25 where you speak of this. What does it mean for me? What do I need to do to change my heart and actions? And I know I will blog about this.
The Story of the Sheep and Goats:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' The the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? hen did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For i was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
My Conviction:
I know that when I receive God's Word, gain knowledge or understanding concerning something in life, that if I do not act on it, then I am sinning. So, for me, right now in my life, this is a conviction that Christ is giving me, therefore I must act on it and change my ways and heart.
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