Mysteries of the Kingdom - A White Stone

Revelation 2:17 NJKV - “….To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’

Last night I dreamt I was with a friend in her house and she was explaining how she had some kind of accident at her home. I saw some white rocks inside the house that looked like they were for decorating outdoors. They were gathered from some project they were working on. I went to take some outside but saw a sack full of them in the house and placed the ones I found in the sack.

My friend recovering from an accident could represent endurance in a life trial. There is only one mention of white stones in scripture and it is found in Revelation 2. Whitewashed stones are found in Deuteronomy but they were large stones. In Revelation 2, Jesus said the overcomers in the church of Pergamos would receive a white stone with a new name on them. This represented entrance into the banquet of winners. (In Pergamos, when John was writing the book of Revelation, athletes who won their competition received a white stone with their names on it which allowed them entrance to a celebration for winners.) The white stones in the dream were in a sack which meant their purpose had not been fulfilled. They were for something that had not been completed yet. We are in the last days and the Lord wants us to remember that there is a reward for those who endure temptation, testing and trials, and are faithful to the end. The church at Pergamos went through great difficulty, even martyrdom. Jesus even referred to the area they lived as “where Satan dwells.” The Lord expects us to resist quitting regardless of the level of difficulty we face.

God's News

There is a lot of crazy stuff in the “news.” Some of it can be depressing and so much of it is not even true. So, to keep ourselves in a healthy frame of mind, let’s rehearse some of God’s news. It’s always up to date and it’s always true. (Underline added for emphasis.)

2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

1 John 4:4 NKJV

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Romans 8:31 NKJV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:37 NKJV

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Psalm 46:1 NKJV

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 23:4 NKJV

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

John 16:33 NKJV

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 14:1-3 NKJV

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Speak and share often the encouragement the Lord gave us in His Word. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to comfort each other and edify one another.

How People Will Believe Lies

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJV

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (I have made certain words bold for emphasis.)

I am amazed at the amount of people who believe obvious lies right now. Then I think about how the scriptures predicted that one of the end-time signs would be deception. Paul told the Thessalonians that the anti-Christ would present lying wonders. Because they reject the truth, God will allow people to believe delusions. I know of many lies that have been spread by people in the political arena and the news media (which is not really about news at all). However, the old lies could be believed if you were unaware of the facts. Now, the lies being told CANNOT be believed with a sound mind. You just have to know simple things like snow is white and two plus two equals four to see that what we are told is a lie - a deception. Yet too many have “drunk the kool-aid.” People in government have repeatedly said that people who are not “vaccinated” need to be “vaccinated” to protect the “vaccinated.” There is not one tiny bit of logic in that. It’s just as bad as saying “the snow is black” or “two plus two is seven.” This type of nonsense is not only ludicrous, it’s dangerous. If I can convince someone that he/she needs to protect him/herself with something that could not protect those who did it from anyone else who didn’t do it, I can convince him/her that putting on a coat will keep other people from freezing who already have on a coat. If you believe the nonsense being passed around you have lost your mind - literally. If you believed the lies but you understand what I just said and change your mind, there is hope for you. If you believe so strongly what you have been told and cannot understand what I just said, it’s too late for you. I’m sorry. You will not be able to think for yourself anymore. You will now need the people who took control of your mind to lead you from here on out. They will tell you one lie after another and you will believe all of it. You will wait to hear from them before you decide what to believe. In most cases the liars are wicked and ungodly people. That makes it more sad if people who claim to be Christians are following them. It is more important than ever before that we are led by the Holy Spirit, we follow His leading and walk in truth. It is important to be around people, including church groups that are living in line with the Word and are not walking in fear. If we are led by fear, we are led by the devil. We must never make decisions based on fear. For those of us who still have a sound mind, we need to thank God for it and keep our sound minds by accepting the truth of the Word and staying around like-minded believers as much as possible.

Mysteries of the Kingdom - Partnership with God

Ephesians 6:10 NKJV

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

One day recently I picked up a stone that is on my nightstand that has a quote from Psalm 61:1 – “…Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ”I closed my eyes and visualized myself handing it to our Father in Heaven. It was a way of me offering up that prayer I have prayed many times with that stone in my hand. Suddenly I saw in my spirit the Father push my hand away, rejecting the stone. I was puzzled. Then a strong, large burst of light came between us. I didn’t have time to find out what that all meant at the time but I knew I needed to get an answer. I left for my break not long after and in the middle of the first night of my break (Monday-Tuesday, October 11 and 12, 2021) I was meditating on Proverbs 1:6 when I was reminded of my inner vision. The verse talked about solving or understanding riddles. God speaks to us often in mysteries and we have to solve them to get what He wants to say. The secrets are not hidden from us but hidden for us. As I studied what I saw, I understood. First, our Father wanted me to no longer bring that request to Him. This is why he pushed the stone away. It was not that the request could not be granted, but He wanted me to handle it myself. The huge burst of light represented power, energy, ability, strength. The message was that He had given me the power to make it happen myself. It doesn’t mean I will accomplish this without Him. He still gets the glory because the power I have to get it done came from Him. (The scripture at the beginning of this blog talks about us operating in God’s power.) Since that encounter I have been experiencing that power and energy in a tangible way. Stay with the Lord. There are so many wonderful adventures that await us when we continue with Him.

Prepare

John 14:2 NKJV

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

When someone prepares a place for someone or some people, there is an event that will take place that requires that preparation. Revelation 21:2 NKJV says, “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” This lets us know that the preparations being made for us are elaborate and the event is special. Since Jesus is preparing such an elaborate place for us and therefore planning a very special event for us to participate in, how should we be preparing ourselves? The extent to which we go to prepare for an event depends on the nature of the event. We would not prepare for a picnic the same way we would prepare to attend a banquet at a palace or residence of a head of state. Let us examine our lives and see if we are living like we have an invitation to the event Jesus is planning.

John 3:2-3 NKJV - “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Hebrews 12:1 NKJV - “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV - “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Mysteries of the Kingdom - Part Human?

Proverbs 4:5a NKJV - Get wisdom! Get understanding!

Last night I dreamt Robyn and I were going down a street and came across a man who was about to get in a car. The man was complaining about being in pain in his head. I asked Robyn if we could pray for the man. He said we could. So, we got the consent of the gentleman and laid hands on his head. His head became a glass type object. I then went around a walled area and found the man washing something. I asked if he felt better and he said he did.

I also dreamt I was praying by the laying on of hands for a woman for a reduction in her breasts because they seemed to be growing to an unreasonable size. The breast became a metal object that looked like a grid and was in a separate location from the woman.

Both these dreams have the same theme - a person interconnected with an inanimate object, yet separate from them. I believe this is revealing that we may in the future be praying for people who are part of the last days prophecy found in the book of Daniel. Daniel 2:43 NKJV says, “ As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” In the dreams, the objects were a part of the people but were disconnected from them. We will need wisdom in dealing with those who are now part human and part something else because of what has been placed in their bodies.  It could be similar to people who have artificial body parts through surgery. Something to think about