Be Willing to Lose it All

Hi Everyone

Today I have three visions to share with you.  They concern what is important to the Lord, for when he speaks to us about something, we need to take it to heart and not minimize its importance.  We need to pay attention to what he points out. Often it can be a correction to our lifestyle or to the way we think about something.  We need to know his heart and what it is that pleases him.  We must prioritize things as God sees them, for our life here on earth is only a testing ground.  Will we consider God most important, or will there be other things that take precedence?  If God is not first, then anything that does come first is an idol.  Let us instead put God first in every matter and in every decision, for he is worthy of all our praise and worthy of all our devotion.  

The Visions

The Dice

In this vision I saw two dice side by side, and each of them displaying the number one. Years ago, while watching an old black and white movie, I saw a dice game played called craps.  The men were exclaiming that the roll was called “snake eyes.”  So, I looked up the game to find out the significance of the roll.  The website confirmed that when two dice are rolled and they both display the number “1,”  the combination is called “snake eyes.” According to the website, it is usually considered a losing roll, for the two dice add up to the smallest possible score: two.

But I asked the Lord, what does this mean? I believe that God is saying, “Be willing to lose it all.”  Nothing in this world should be so important to us that we hold onto it and are unwilling to give it up.

Years ago on a retreat, I was delivered of an evil spirit, and baptized in the Holy Spirit and received the gift of tongues.  Just a few months after that tremendous life changing event, the Lord spoke to me and asked me to give up my design career of 20 years. I was more than willing, for I had decided that it was too materialistic and took time away from my family.

That spring my father died, and then while on a vacation with my family, I was trying to finish a  paper that I needed to complete a class that was “incomplete” because of taking time off to be with my father before he died. I was at the kitchen table of a small cabin in Wisconsin, when I heard the Lord speak to me, “Lay down your pen.”  I knew the Lord wanted to talk with me so I grabbed my Bible and went into the bedroom.  

Suddenly, I knew that he wanted me to stop writing.  I thought that the Lord wanted me to spend  time with my family instead of working.  So after prayer, I went back into the kitchen. Since no one was home yet, I reasoned that I could just do a little writing until they came home.  I sat down and grabbed my pen and I heard the Lord speak again.  “What are you doing?”  

I dropped the pen and ran outside, I cried and cried, realizing that He was asking me to give up my master degree. I was only a few short courses away from finishing the degree in physiology.  My husband wanted me to continue for the masters program was number 11 in the nation as a pre-med program.  I loved being a student.  I loved learning.  But God is more important to me than ANYTHING ELSE in my life.  I mean that; I truly mean that.  So I gave it up.  The decision  put considerable tension between my husband and myself, but God means everything to me.  After having been delivered of an evil spirit and baptized in the Holy Spirit, I was finally close to God, like it was when I was a child.  I  was not willing to let anything come between the Lord and myself, not ever again!

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, speaks of the same love for God and the value he places on pleasing God rather than on his own accomplishments.

If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.  

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Philippians 3:4-11

God asks us to put down and remove any idols in our lives.  For me, I thought I was my accomplishments. I thought that my worth was found in my career and the plaques on the wall. I thought that my worth was measured by what the world valued, and by what others thought of me.  This is the fear of man, and I had certainly bought into it.

But God told me that I had value because I was his. He told me “I don’t want you to do.  I want you to be.” This was so foreign to me, but I understood that I didn’t need to impress others, I simply had to be who the Lord made me to be.  He made me for himself alone.  I belong to Him!  He is mine, and I am his!

The Stainless Steel Mesh

In this vision, I saw two square pieces of stainless steel mesh that were placed one on top of the other but slightly askew, so that the holes would not line up.  The holes become partially blocked by the wires that criss-cross over the openings.  This makes a tighter mesh with smaller holes.    If one were to use the mesh as a strainer, then smaller particles would be able to be filtered out, when compared to a single layer of mesh.

The scripture that came to mind as I saw this vision was the Lord’s remark to the Pharisees: 

You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!  Matthew 23:24

Jesus criticized the Pharisees because they majored on the minor details and did not concern themselves with the more important matters of sin and morality.  Here is the passage in its context:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Matthew 23:23-28

The Lord wants us to be truthful and solely dedicated to him.  The Pharisees and many of the leaders of Jerusalem wished to be praised and held in high honor by the people they were supposed to serve. The Pharisees did not appreciate the Lord calling them out on their hypocrisy. He pointed out their moral failures, and their teachings and traditions which nullified the word of God and his law.

He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother.  Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”  Mark 7:9-13

We in the church can do the very same things.  We can get territorial about “our” ministry, and compete with others for attention, position, influence, power, and honor.  This is exactly what the Lord does not want to see in his church. The word tells us not to call any man ”Father,”  for we only have one father and he is God.  We should not call any man “Pastor,” or “Deacon” or Bishop or any other title, for these puff people up and show favoritism one over another.  People may hold a position or job in the church, but titles are not necessary.  I appreciate the churches where people call each other by their first names.  Even a child calls the person who preaches “David.” or maybe in another church - “John,”  or whatever his name is.

Paul was called Paul.  Peter was called Simon or Peter, James was simply James.  We need to drop the titles for it separates people from their true identity with God.  We are all children of God and co-heirs with Christ.  Why should we do what is against the word of God?

But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.  The greatest among you shall be your servant.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.  Matthew 23:8-12

We can become comfortable with our traditions of calling people “Pastor Tom, Deacon Smith, Bishop Jones,” or “Father Gary.” But if we choose comfort over the Lord’s teaching, then, we are choosing to sin.  This is the sin of rebellion.  We are ignoring God’s command to follow our traditions, just like the Pharisees.  

All scripture is true and inspired by God. We cannot pick and choose which passages we want to follow and ignore what does not please us.  There may be exceptions when something was a cultural norm for Biblical times, but is not applicable to our day.  These we should take before the Lord for his approval and wisdom.  We should remember that.. 

All Scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Plastic Containers

In this vision, I saw rows and rows of clear plastic containers with lids spread out across the floor.  They were about 24”w  x 30”l x 8” h.  They were all empty, but I kept looking until I found one that had a back pack in it. 

Storage containers are for storing things that we want to keep. They might be seasonal clothing, equipment, supplies, photos, mementos and things that we think that we may need sometime in the future. But in the vision, the storage containers were empty.  God wants us to keep nothing for ourselves but to bless others with the things that we have.

We are to be stewards of God’s abundance.  It all belongs to him.  It is his abundance which is to be a blessing to others not an opportunity for us to hoard things for ourselves.

Jesus said we are not to worry about the future, what we will eat and what we will drink..  He told us not to worry about such things for our heavenly Father knows that we have need of them and he will provide.

But we are asked to give to the poor and take care of widows and those who need help.  We are a very wealthy nation, and there are people who may have lost jobs, or because of an illness or a death find themselves in need.  We are to help them, in any way that we can.  This is a passage from Isaiah 58:

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.  And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.   Isaiah  58:6-11

The Lord blesses us to be a blessing.  

In the vision the containers were all empty.  God is not saying that he will not bless us, or that he will withhold his blessing.  No –  this vision is telling us to not store up for ourselves treasures on this earth:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19-21

In the vision I was looking for a back pack. A back pack carries things that are to be immediately used.  We would not carry anything extra in a back pack that we do not need, for the weight alone would be too great and we would feel its burden.  The back pack represents only necessities, just what we need for today. The Lord wants us to unload the things that we do not need and live simply.  The Lord spoke to the rich young ruler about what is really important.  But he went away with sadness, for he was not willing to let his treasures and his possessions go.

 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”  He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,  Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”  Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Matthew 19:16-22

Jesus told his disciples after the young ruler left that it was hard for the rich to inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Their response, “Who then can be saved?” showed that they believed, as many of their day, that the rich were especially blessed by God.  And if it was difficult for the rich to be saved, what would become of the poor and of the disciples themselves?  But Jesus reassured them saying: 

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible… And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.  Matthew 19:26 and 19:29-30

So the vision is an invitation, to simplify our lives, give to the poor and follow the Lord wherever he leads us.  

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”  Matthew 26:24-26

The Lord is asking that we live for him, not in self-indulgence, and self-gratification, but in humility preferring others over ourselves. He wants us to live simply, to not be taken in by material pleasures and possessions of this world. If Jesus said that it is difficult for the rich to inherit eternal life, shouldn’t we be concerned and aware of the trap that is set with material goods and pleasures that are available? If our hearts are for the things of this world we will seek them rather than God.

How many people do we know that are consumed by their careers, their sports or their hobbies? How many are consumed with filling every spare moment with commitments and church functions? Church is not a replacement for God. We do not work for our salvation. Jesus paid the price for our sins, to reconcile us to the Father and for us who believe He purchased eternal life. He overcame all things, including death, so we can have eternal life with him.

What could this life offer us that is better than life eternal with our Lord, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. the Great I Am? I hope that you can appreciate what he has done for us. Hallelujah!

Thank you Jesus!

Please share this post and read the bible everyday for it is true spiritual nourishment! God bless you all!