“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
I do not usually post on a Sunday, but this is no ordinary Sunday. I am posting in acknowledgement of the beginning of the Day of Atonement. I am also posting because I had a dream I wanted to share.
Please pray with me today, making this your personal prayer as well as a prayer on behalf of all believers as both gentile and Jew spent this weekend and tomorrow in an attitude of humility and repentance.
Dear Heavenly Father –
Have mercy on me [and your people including the Body of Christ], O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. [Yes Lord – all is done in your sight and you shall reveal it publicly if we do not humble ourselves and repent.]
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. [Cover us with the blood of Christ, and of the new covenant of grace, please Lord. So that we may be made white as snow.] Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
(Psalm 51:1-17 ESV) In the name of Jesus we pray – Amen
Thank you for praying with me. And now let me share the dream I had Friday night:
I saw every one of us (the professing church) silently entering a church building with a placard hung from each of our necks. I looked down and on mine was a list of my sins. At the top were the ones I should have repented of but haven’t (instead I made excuses for them or made up a story in which they were not really sins). Next, were the ones I struggle to overcome. Then, at the bottom were the sins I failed to recognize in my self. These sins are all the unrepented sins which are not yet covered by the blood of Christ.
Then I looked around as did many others and noticed that everyone wore a placard with their sins. You could tell that some of us were ashamed, some were comparing others to themselves, and others were actually proud of their lists. I was ashamed.
Each of us were being ushered in, and had to walk right past the pastor’s children, then the pastor’s wife, and then the Pastor. I thought, Oh Lord, the children should not read some of these! So while in the large foyer, I started on focus on myself (and God) and I acknowledge each sin and beg God for forgiveness. As I looked at my sign and prayed – each sin started to fade away leaving an empty white space on the placard.
A woman came to me with her hands over her placard and asked me how I was getting the sins to go away?!?! She had been frantically rubbing at the sign and she could not get them to wipe off. Others came closer to hear as I told her I asked for forgiveness and set in my heart that I would not continue with that sin – and God cleaned it.
A man said, I tried that and it did not work. Another chimed in and said it’s because of unforgiveness, we must forgive others to have God forgive us. And we fell to the floor, on our knees, and prayed for each other and ourselves and asked to be forgiven.
My usher then told me to look up. I saw we were a small group praying for forgiveness. I saw many standing and making a spectacle of themselves – praying for show and for acknowledgement and for others to regard them well. This spectacle was more dramatic than I have ever seen as they waved their hands and stood proud and danced around. Their prayers were composed of scriptures out of context and scriptures which were mis-quoted to suit their showy intent. They prayed for those of us on the floor (repenting). They prayed for everyone else, but not themselves. And I watched them flip their placards over, so the sins were hidden facing their chests and the side exposed outwardly was white and blank. They marched in first – past the children, greeting the Pastor’s wife, greeting the Pastor.
Mingled in with these clean appearing placards were those who were proud of their sins. They had fewer than others. Or they worked hard at accomplishing their sin. Most of them had the sense to turn away from the children, so the kids did not read them. The Pastor and His wife smiled politely and greeted them as they went in.
Then finally the group of us on the floor were the only ones left to go in. Our placards had many white spots, some faded sins, and some sins still showed. Our eye were red from tears and our clothing wrinkled from being on the floor. The pastor came to us and said. You cannot enter there – it is not the sanctuary. That is a room of judgment. For all of you this is the sanctuary. You have done well by humbling yourselves.
Instead, you all, are to go out and find other people in the world with placards that are long and messy like yours and teach them how to repent as you have done. And he gave us each a bag of food and said, come back when you run out of food and I will give you more.
With that I realized that wasn’t the Pastor – It was the son of God! (which explains why I could not actually see him in my dream while everything else was very clear.) And that wasn’t his family – as they spread their wings, floated up ward and cried out “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty!”
That was the dream.
If you don’t already, and today you would like to have a relationship with a God who can communicate with you and be part of your life (and protect you) – one who is full of mighty power and tender love, then please know that I have put the “A, B, C’s of Salvation” in my introduction. Please click here to follow the link.**
Thank you for reading ~ Grace be with you
Be healthy and blessed ~ I love you and love one another
Watch and Pray ~ Seek God & keep your eyes on Jesus!
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!
If Not For Grace 