DREAMS: Rising temps and swirling tides

I had a couple intense dreams in the last two weeks, and I've been carying them with me, knowing that I should share them.

I. The first dream took place in the middle of this house, yet it also carried traces of our old house in New Guinea. Frank and his dad (both passed away) were somehow making a fire right where the kitchen island is. I saw that they were heaping lots of wood into the stove of the fireplace and they were saying how much heat it would produce. They were so pleased and the kids were playing around us. But I looked up above the fireplace and saw that the walls were so hot that the paint was starting to turn black and peel as though it would burst into flames any second!

Horrified, I was trying to tell everyone we need water to put it out, but no one was paying attention. Everyone just kept doing what they were doing, almost like I wasn’t there… I woke up feeling like fire would burn down my whole house and there was nothing I could do. It was an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I got up and got a drink of water.

II. About a week later I had another dream. This time I was living on the riverbank. Again, it was a combination of this house I’m in now with the PNG environment mingled in. My kids were all around and they were young. They were playing around in the water and floaties and their toys were scattered around our front porch. It was such a happy scene and a pleasant memory of sunny days gone by.

The river was about 20-30 feet away from our front steps and the level was high, so I kept an eye on it. The strong current reminded me of Bisorio or the mighty Sepik at flood stage. Come to think of it, I couldn’t see the opposite bank. Suddenly I noticed that the swirling eddies were lapping into the kids’ play area right near us, and picking up items like a raft and some toys and taking them out! One by one things were being pulled away, and to my horror, my little babies were out there floating on innertubes, oblivious to what was happening! Hurry! I was trying to point out the dangers and get everyone to understand that we need to get to safety.

Again, it seemed everyone was just standing around watching it, but they were all motionless. Why? Why doesn’t anyone do anything?

I woke up just as some of the larger things like an empty raft were being lost downriver, well beyond our reach. I felt like everything was going to be lost and it would be too late to recover.

Hmmm. Isn’t it interesting the similarities here? Whether by fire or flood, there is clear danger and a real threat of losing everything. Am I anxious about losing the house? Am I afraid about not being able to warn or protect the ones I love? Or, does it come down to a deeper spiritual significance about the coming end times? I do think this explains my urgent passion to share Christ while there is still time.

There's no doubt, we all see the signs of the end and sense that it is fast approaching. As these dreams so vividly portrayed, the very paint is peeling and the angry tide is rising. Current events are swirling around us every day and we know our enemy isn't sleeping.

It's interesting that both dreams started with good intentions and happy times. There were warm fires and playful kids, but in both scenarios we were oblivious to encroaching dangers. Then there was an inability to respond or hear the warnings until it was too late. What a dreadful situation!

Let us not grow weary! Remember that we have the life raft, but let's not hog it to ourselves. Whether people listen OR NOT we have a job to warn people. The TIME IS SHORT.

It always amazes me how very real a dream can seem. Like an internal flight simulator, you feel like you’re right there, and your mind's eye is being impacted by the visions. The emotions can carry you away just like the current of that high river and you can be transported to another time and place. When you wake up your pulse is racing, your clothes are sweaty, and your mind is far away. It's as though you really did go there and travel in your spirit. It reminds me of the astral projection I tried in Alaska. The experiences seem so real. Of course when I woke up each time I asked the Lord to reveal to me, why am I dreaming such things? And the best I can tell you is that I believe God wants me to write these things down for you, whoever you may be.

I know the Word teaches that God uses dreams to speak to us. Sometimes it's baffling, sometimes it's obvious, but these visions knit themselves to my inner memories, and I really believe God wants to use them to spur me (and hopefully you) to action.

Lord God, teach me what you want me to learn or do. I am meeting so many people each day who are listening and responding, spiritually hungry, yet there are some, even within my own family, who are unaware of the impending danger and unfamiliar with your voice.

I pray, Lord, open our eyes and our hearts before it is too late! Grant that your people would be sensitive to the opportunities and open doors around us and give us boldness to teach what we know to be true, in Jesus' Name.

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The lesson of these visions actually boils down to a simple one, and not just for me, but I believe it is for the church here in New England, and beyond. The combination of cultures and places gave these dreams a universal feel and I believe there is a universal message here that fully agrees with the Scripture.

The fire and the flood are coming and time is short. We the church need to keep warning people! We can’t just keep going about our business watching the kids swim or enjoying the heat of our fires, but keeping an eye on the surrounding temperatures and the escalating currents against us. There is danger lapping at our very shores and approaching our very doorsteps. We must quickly deliver the water and words of life.

Lord God, give us awareness of the urgency and boldness in the face of trouble. Grant us wisdom, eyes of discernment to see what's happening around us, even beyond our shores. Give us the confidence of a lion and the gentleness of a lamb. Make your people strong to the glory of our Captain and our Master, Jesus.

And, if for some reason, you are reading this and you do not know the words of Jesus or what he did for you by taking your place on the cross, I pray for you right now. Ask him to show you the truth about these things. Believe me, he will. He will hear your prayer and forgive your sins whether you feel like you deserve it or not.

Don’t let the life raft drift away beyond your reach. Grab onto it and get wisdom with all your getting as the Psalmist wrote. Jesus is alive! He is willing to forgive and impart real spiritual life, but you have to ask. No one can do it for you.

For everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13

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