Jewels From JudyWednesday, August 31 2016
Are You Hungry for the Things of the Lord? It’s time to Eat!By Judy A Bauman
After a productive week working on “Jewels from the River II,” I had a very vivid dream. There was a tiny house that I evidently owned and had rented. The occupant had moved out and the house was empty except for two aquariums filled with fish. One tank was big for the tiny house and stretched nearly the full width of it; the other was an average sized fish tank. The numerous fish in the larger tank were big (4-5”) for fresh-water aquarium fish. They were healthy, but hungry. (I have had reoccurring dreams for years where I realize I have fish that I have forgotten to feed. There is always food for them; I just have to give it to them. I have asked the Lord repeatedly what these dreams mean, but for the most part, I haven’t had clear understanding.) There was something really wonderful and remarkable about the fish in the large tank of this particular dream. These fish had the faces of animals! They weren’t named after animals, like the lionfish, but actually had a miniature version of the face of an animal on a fish body. They were truly unique and beautiful. The first fish I saw in the large tank had the face of a male lion with a furry mane! I saw face of a bighorn ram on a fish – complete with large curled horns. There was an eagle’s face that had feathers, a zebra whose face and body were striped, but it had a long zebra nose. One looked like a goat and had such a sweet, innocent looking face. There were many more, but the last one I saw had the face of a horse with brown eyes, and long mane. They were all so amazing!!! The tank was full beyond capacity and each fish was different; however, they all seemed to live in unity. I knew they were hungry, but was unsure what to feed them. They looked like they would each need a specialized diet. Then I looked over at the smaller aquarium and saw hundreds of goldfish in it. They were also hungry so I gave them flake food and they all readily ate it. I turned back to the fish in the large tank and saw feeding pellets on top of the hood. I put a good amount in because I knew there were a lot of them and they were ravenous. While contemplating whether I should give them some more, I woke up. I shared this dream with my husband and a couple of friends, mainly because it was so vivid and amusing. However, through this dream, the Holy Spirit gave me a revelation about these “aquarium” dreams I’ve had over the years. Jesus used fish as an analogy for believers. (“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” Matthew 4:19) Here is what I believe the Lord showed me: The reason these fish were so vivid and unique in the dream is that they represent us, the Church. God’s people are to be spiritually vivid and unique. We need the Father’s “daily bread” to sustain us. (Through food in the natural, the food that feeds us by studying Scripture, teaching of the Word, prophetic words that speak directly into our lives, and last but certainly not least, the promise of God’s covenant through remembering the Lord’s sacrifice by taking the Lord’s Supper. This is not so much about taking elements of communion as it is receiving JESUS. We must have a personal relationship with Him. We do not want to hear the Lord say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you...”) The Fish (us) that I saw in this dream were vastly unique and marvelous creations of God, waiting for something they could eat that would give them sustenance. They were God’s delight and eager to receive something that would give them strength for the day. All I had to do was to put food in the water and they would eat what they needed. (We all have those we are called to feed, and others who are called to feed us.) One Scripture that has always stood out to me, is found in Revelation 3:2, where the Lord admonishes, “strengthen the things which remain”. I do take the whole of that Scripture very seriously and I hope you do too. God is strengthening each of us by the power of His Spirit, but He doesn’t strengthen us void of the Church. He has called each of us into His service. Will we choose to put our hand to the plow, or lay back and assume someone else will do it? Remember, the foolish virgins in Matthew 25 did not go in because they did not invest in the needed oil. We need to be generous with our resources when it comes to the things of God. There are seasons of rest and rejuvenation, but there are also seasons of clearing the land, weeding, uprooting, tearing down, building up, planting, watering, and harvesting. I am seeing and experiencing the change of the spiritual season we are in and rejoice for it! So many are losing hope, and we need rise up, dust ourselves off, and say, “Not on my watch!” Let me pose some simple but very important questions inspired by a message my pastor recently gave:
God is building something and we need to focus on what unites us and not what divides us. We live in a time that people are very polarized, but it is important we keep our eyes and ears in tune with the Lord. His ways are not our ways, and to Him, obedience is better than sacrifice. Be like the wise virgins and invest your time, talent, and resources into the work of the kingdom. Do not miss the opportunities that come your way to feed the Body of Christ and those who don’t yet know Jesus. We are all hungry, we all need to eat! In the Father’s Love Judy A Bauman If you would like to hear the series my pastor has given recently, go to http://riverstonechurch.com/sermons-2016 and listen to The Nehemiah Project. Comments:
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