Personal God

God may have a particular way He shows you things in dreams, because you are uniquely designed. There are many areas that God uses to show me different things.  When I dream of nursing a baby, God is talking about discipling a new believer. When I dream of missing a boat or plane, He is telling me that I am not doing something He has instructed me to do.  If I dream of chewing gum, He is telling me that I am acting childish, or carnal. I have learned the symbols God uses to instruct me, but for each one reading this book, there may be different ways that God shows you the same message because you are different than me. God might uses a school setting and you as the teacher to show you discipling someone. It is a personal journey for every person.  God wants YOU to seek Him.  No other person can seek God for you.  This is one of the things I love about God, the fact that we all have a different perspective of Him because of our personal experiences and our personality. We are all different from that standpoint.  Don’t misunderstand what I am saying, God is not different, just the way He communicates to each of us. If you have a dream you are needing help with leave a comment in the comment section and I will comment back. Sweet dreams!

God dreams will line up with His word

A dream from God the Father will NEVER contradict His word.  That is the reason for knowing God’s word inside and out.  God would never tell you to do something that is sin.  Although dreams are one of the many ways that God speaks to His children, the primary way He speaks to us is when we read His book.  If you haven’t been reading God’s word for a long time, I suggest checking your dreams that you feel are from God with His word.  By checking your dreams by God’s principles, you can easily determine if the dreams are not from God.  If they don’t line up with His word then chances are they are from your soul or the enemy.

God has used dreams in my life to show me things that I wouldn’t ordinarily know.  When I see something in a dream that is not the way it is when I am awake, I have learned that this is one of the ways His gift of the word of knowledge operates in my life.  I once had a dream that the church we were going to at the time had termites.  A few weeks later, the church secretary, who happened to be a personal friend of mine called me and told me that they had discovered termites in the building.  Wow! My dream had come true.  Why did God show me the termites?  I believe He allowed me to see the termites because He wanted to show me that I could trust Him when He showed me something that actually did matter.  Sometimes He has showed me the heart break that some people go through so that I can pray for them.  If you have a lot of vivid dreams for other people chances are you are an intercessor.  God doesn’t show us things for other people if we are not going to pray. Most of the time the dream is for the dreamer unless you are an intercessor, pastor, counselor, or in a position of authority over people.

What is your Response to the Dream

What do with the dream once you receive it and understand its meaning? Remember that your dreams come from one of three sources, God, your soul, or Satan. Once you have determined the source of the dream, only then can you begin to know what to do with the dream.  Remember, God dreams are redemptive in nature, unlike soul dreams are things you either want to happen or are fearful of happening.  They originate from your emotions, mind, or will. Not that you shouldn’t listen to soul dreams, but be aware that soul dreams can deceive us and lead us away from God.  Soul dreams are motivated by our soul.  They are like when you hurt yourself and your body sends a message to the brain to feel pain and in turn when your soul is either in pain, expectation, or anxious about something, the soul sends a message to your brain and it comes out in your subconscious as a dream.  You need to listen to the dream because when you are awake you may feel fine but subconsciously are not fine. Something has either hurt you, caused you anxiety, or possibly you are desirous of something.  Until you can recognize the source you can’t take care of the root problem.  I once knew a very attractive single man who claimed several women had had dreams about marrying him.  Obviously these dreams were from these women’s souls.  One of them was actually married and said that she dreamed that when her husband died, she married this man.  That dream was more likely from Satan.  It didn’t line up with the word of God at all! When you know what things are causing you fear, anxiety, or pain, you can pray accordingly.  God told Paul, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7 

Common Dreams Final

Another common dream is one of being back in school. I frequently have dreams where I am at school and am sitting in class and someone says, “There is a test today,” which I am totally unprepared for.  The feeling of Oh My Gosh, if someone had told me at least I would have studied. The feeling of being unprepared is the key to this dream.  If there is a task that you are feeling unprepared for you can always pray that God will show His strength in your weakness. That dream may be alerting you that a test is coming up and you need to be prepared for it so it won’t catch you off guard.  Pray! Pray! Pray!

When you dream of getting peed or pooped on you, this is telling you that you have been offended by someone.  I know this is crazy but the spirit of offense is very real and hard to see, so God will show you this is a dream to help you see it.  Another dream that shows you have pride in your life is when you dream of smoking. Yikes! We cannot see pride in our own lives so God will show us in a dream.

God uses things in our everyday lives to speak His messages to us.  Let’s say you are an avid golfer or fisherman, God will give you dreams of golfing or fishing.  If you are a teacher, God may show you a classroom or grading papers.  He uses ordinary, familiar things to teach us.  My husband is in the floor covering business, so he will frequently have dreams of job sites, rolls of carpet, etc.  The message is in the action or “take away.” Say for instance my husband dreams of a job going smooth and problem-free, the feeling of peace or that of doing a job well is the main “take away.”  On the other hand, if he dreams of a job that has problems after problems, the main “take away” would be the sense of frustration.  I think you get the picture.  Sweet dreams

More Common Dreams

Other common dreams are winning the lottery or finding money.  These are very encouraging dreams as well.  Winning the lottery rarely means that you are going to win, but you will win in the game of life.  Wisdom, truth, friendships and a more intimate relationship with God are eternal riches that you can take with you when you leave this earth.  Finding money dreams represent learning things of value like knowing your value in Christ.  Many people battle low self-esteem and when they finally grasp the concept that Jesus values them more than anything on this earth that is like finding true riches that can’t be taken away. There is a scripture that says, “Store up your treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:20 On the other hand, if you dream of someone stealing your car or purse or some other personal item that usually represents that the enemy is stealing something from you.  “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.  My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 The way the devil steals from us is to get us to believe his lies about us.  He is the father of lies and the only real power he has is deception.  When we know the authority we have in Christ, he is defeated and can no longer steal from us. I will post on common dreams one more day as I feel like there is more information on this topic.

Common Dreams

Common Dreams are the subject I want to talk about next.  It took me a while to realize that a lot of people have the same dream just different variations.  There is the naked dream. You realize that you have no clothes on and try to hide. That dream usually means that feel vulnerable and insecure. The good meaning of having no clothes on can represent that you are transparent.  Usually the first meaning is the case.  Then we have the dream where your teeth are falling out or some variation (false teeth, baby teeth, tooth ache) They all have different meanings but essentially the same root meaning.  Teeth represent wisdom. So, in the case of teeth falling out, you’re losing your “bite” on something.  No pun intended. False teeth represent you are trading truth for falsehood.  Baby teeth mean you need to grow up and start eating meat.  (Hebrews 5 and 6) Being pregnant or having a baby dreams represent expectations or hope and dreams that are deep within you. (Possibly a ministry) Then there is the dream that you are flying or dancing. Other variations could be riding a bike, with the wind blowing in your hair or swinging like a little child.  These dreams mean carefree and innocent.  These are very encouraging dreams. Pay close attention to your emotions in the dream which are a clue to the interpretation.  A lot of people have the alligator dream.  Alligators are old world animals and almost always represent generational curses.   Tomorrow I will continue with this subject.  Until then, Sweet Dreams!

When God Just Shows You Something

There have been many times throughout my life where I have had a prophetic dream that in months to come has happened.  Maybe not exactly like in my dream but close enough that I knew it was a prophetic dream.  Sometimes this happens because we are prophetic people and God's gift in us is working.  He lets us know that we have a gift from Him, and it is a sign to let us know that He loves us. Isn't that cool?!  Just because!!! When this occurs, the just because, it is to encourage us that we do indeed hear from God.  This very thing happened to me when I was sixteen.  I had just gotten saved and was in high school.  I was an alternate with seven other girls on our drill team.  When one of the regulars missed 5 days of school, they would get taken out of the routine and on of us alternates would get to go in.  Several days before this happened I had a dream that on of the regulars had missed five days so they drew x's on a piece of paper to see which one of the eight alternates would be placed in the routine. As I opened up my little white square of paper, it had an x on it.  Then in real life when that scenario played out just like I dreamt it, well I jumped up and down and said out loud that I had dreamt it just a few nights before.  I did the math on that one and there was only a twelve and a half percent that the outcome would be in my favor.  But I do walk in the favor on the Lord!  So do you if you are reading this blog and know my sweet savior as the Lord of your life. He is a good, good Father.

Puns in Dreams

Sometimes you have to read back, out loud your dream after you have written it down to understand puns in your dream. Puns can be very subtle and you can miss them if you are not careful.  For example, when you see a snake in the grass that usually means there is a person hiding that does not have your best interest in mind. Thus a snake in the grass.  Another example of this could be dreaming of playing board games and when you read the dream out loud you realize that the meaning of the picture you saw means that you are not being sincere in your relationships.  (playing games) Pretending to be something you are not. If you dream of being stabbed in the back that means that someone you put trust in is betraying you. That is just another example of a pun in a dream. Idioms that we use every day in the English language that can have a totally different meaning. Once you read your dream out loud look for these subtle little puns that you may have missed.  They can help you in determing the interpretation of the dream. 

Names in Dreams

Often in a dream when you dream of someone with certain initials like JC or some other name, think of another person that you know with the same initials. I recently had a dream where the person was named JC and when I woke up I knew that person was Jesus Christ. John Connors could also stand for Jesus Christ because the initials are the same.  Get the point?  If the name stands out as a symbol in the dream, it has relevance.  You may see someone in your dream named Harry which doesn’t look like someone you know in real life, but you do know another person named Harry in real life. Whatever you think of when you hear the name Harry is probably what God is showing you. It could be a pun that things are about to get “Hairy.”(Complicated) What I am saying is the person in your dream may not look like the person you know, but the dream is still talking about the characteristics of that person.  I often dream of an aunt of mine.  I have to ask myself, “what she reminds me of?”, and this particular aunt is very wise and so when God uses her in my dream, I believe He is speaking about wisdom.   Until next time, sweet dreams.

Dreams are for the Dreamer

Dreams are usually for the dreamer unless you are an intercessor, or in a position of authority over people. (e.g., pastor, counselor, etc.) So when you dream of a friend doing something in a dream, take the message for yourself. God is speaking to you because you are the one having the dream.  This was the hardest thing for me to learn because I am an intercessor. When I have a dream I have to examine every area of my life that God could be speaking to me about.  If it doesn’t fit any area of my life, only then can I assume that it was for the person I saw in the dream.  So, I pray for that person and rarely tell them what the dream was.  I have learned from experience. I once dreamed that I saw my best friend at the time driving in a Volkswagon. She drove into the garage and kept hitting the car into the wall.  I thought it was funny at the time.  I then realized that I have a German heritage (Volkswagon) and was hitting into a concrete wall and not going anywhere.  The thing about a Volkswagon is that it is small and air powered. (Spirit powered) If you know me, I am small in stature and very much a spirit empowered saint.  At this time in my life I was stuck in a situation that was not changing for the better.  The dream was an accurate assessment of how I was feeling. Another time I dreamed I was prophesying over this woman about her three children.  I told her the first one was going to go into the family business.  I saw that the second one was going to be a teacher. I could not see what the third one would be doing though. About a month later, my older daughter came to her father and me and told us she wanted to work for us.  It then hit me that the dream I had of prophesying to the lady was for me and I was the lady I had prophesied to. My second child did get her teaching degree and the future of our youngest has yet to be determined.  

The ways symbols get their meaning continued

    The second way a symbol can get its meaning is the word of God or the bible.  Many times we see in the bible can find the meaning of a symbol from the God who created it.  Proverbs has a lot of symbols.  In Proverbs 6:6-8 it reads, “Go to the ant, though sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which have no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her meat in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.” From this we can clearly see that the meaning for an ant could be wise; diligent; prepared for future. That is the positive meaning for ant.  Remember, I said that symbols can be either positive or negative. The negative meaning could be nuisance; stinging or angry words. You have to decide. If you dream of ants and they are biting you, or in your house where they are not supposed to be, then you can take the meaning as a negative thing.  When you have a symbol that you don’t know the meaning of, the bible is the first place you should go to see if God has something to say about that particular symbol.

     A third way that symbols get their meaning is from our culture.  Traditionally if you have a dream where the people are all dressed in black, we can assume that there is a funeral going on.  If you lived in Israel and you dreamed of people all being dressed in black it would have a totally different meaning. In Israel people wear black to a wedding which is totally different than a funeral.  Also, in our culture we know that if you see a yellow ribbon tied around a tree that means that someone is coming home soon. In addition to these examples, if you dream of something being red, white and blue, you could assume it represents America because those are the colors of America.  Many times God will show you two symbols that represent the same thing.  If you saw a red, white and blue eagle you can be sure God is talking about America because both of those symbols represent the same thing.

    The final way that symbols get their meaning is from personal experience.  What I mean by this is what the symbol represents to you.  I had a friend once who explained to me that whenever God showed her the color corn silk blue, it meant that she had done well at something.  When she was younger she took dance lessons and whenever they had a competition she would receive a corn silk blue first place ribbon if she had come in first. Therefore, the color of corn silk blue represented to her that she had done her best.  If you are not sure what a person, place or thing means to you, ask yourself what does this particular symbol represent to me. What happened when you were there or with that person?  How did that person, place or thing make you feel?  In essence, what does that symbol make you think of?  If it is something from the past, it could be talking about something that happened in that particular time.  If it is in the now, it may be telling you of something that is happening now.   

Symbols Good or Bad

    Now symbols can have either a good or bad meaning depending on how you feel about it in the dream.  For instance, if you dream about a tornado in a dream, it could mean destruction depending on the color of the tornado and the feeling you had while having the dream, or on the other hand, if the tornado is white and you are not sensing anything fearful but rather an awe at the majesty and greatness of the power of the wind, it might just represent the power of God coming to turn the situation around.  Colors of symbols are almost as important as the symbol itself.  Colors too can have both a positive or negative connotation. For instance, the color green can represent life because when things are green they are thought to be growing and alive, but on the negative side green can represent envy or greed.  Another meaning for green can be naive because in our culture when someone is thought to be naive, they are often called green.  This brings us to the next topic which is how symbols get their meaning.

     The first way that symbols get their meaning is from the inherent characteristic of the symbol; you can use that for the meaning.  For example, if I dream of an owl I know that owls are nocturnal creatures. They have very keen eyesight and feed on small animals. Sometimes I do a google search if I am not sure what the characteristics are. One night I dreamed of a hippopotamus carry a baby in its mouth and it was bringing it up out of the water.  After I googled searched it, I read (to my surprise) that when hippopotamuses give birth underwater they only have about 40 seconds to bring their babies to breathe before they die. I did not know that hippopotamuses ever gave birth underwater much less that they only had a short amount of time to get their babies to land. There was a situation going on in my life that I realized must be dealt with quickly or the baby (which in this case represented a ministry) would die.  As a result, it was dealt with quickly and lives on today.   

How to Understand Symbols

   Let’s begin with God dreams because God is frequently trying to speak to us about something and unless we understand the symbols He uses we will never get the message He wants to give us. When God gives you a dream He is either warning you of something, giving you a direction, correcting you about something, or encouraging you about something. The first thing you need to ask yourself is “have I been praying about something that God could be talking to me about. You will most likely answer that question with a “Yes.” If not, try to think of what area of your life could it possibly speaking to you about? Your work? Your family? Your church? Your health? You get the idea. If a dream could happen exactly as you dreamed it, then it is probably not a symbolic dream. Take the dream for what it is and listen to what God is telling you in the dream.  But on the other hand if there is one symbol in the dream, it is a symbolic dream and needs to be interpreted.  I recommend writing out the dream double spaced so you will have room to write the meaning of the symbols in the room provided. In the gospel of Mark, when Jesus teaches about the parable of the different types of soil, He says, “Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables?” Jesus goes on to explain that each symbol has a meaning and that we must make the substitutions of the meaning for the symbol. (Mark 4: 13-25) Jesus tells us exactly how we are to interpret our dreams in this passage.  Once you understand symbols you are well on your way to interpreting your dreams.

Prophetic Dreams

Prophetic dreams are dreams that have not yet happened; therefore, they are hard to interpret or next to impossible to interpret.  I suggest that you write them down and when something happens that triggers your memory of a past dream, you go back and reread the dream and try to interpret it then.  You may recognize the symbols but not be able to fully understand the dream and its meaning until it has happened.  To fully interpret a dream, you have to recognize which area of your life it is speaking about. Prophetic dreams can be tricky because they speak of future events, which do not necessarily have to happen. If God shows you a calamity that is going to happen, you can pray and it may never happen or possibly not as bad as if you had not prayed. You can store up prayer for dreams!  On the other hand, if it is a good thing that God is showing you and you do not keep seeking Him, it may not happen.  I once dreamed of winning the lottery but that has not happened.  I suppose true riches of friends and family was what the dream really meant. In the bible when Joseph had a dream and shared it with his brothers it made them mad because they knew what it was saying even though it was many years from happening. (Genesis 37:5-11) The dream made them even more jealous than they already were towards Joseph.  It is my opinion that he should have kept that dream to himself!  There were symbols in Joseph’s dream to indicate that it had something to do with him ruling over them and that grain was involved, but who would know that a famine was coming and all Israel would have to come to Egypt to buy grain.  (Genesis 42:6)    

Why are symbols exaggerated in dreams

Have you ever wondered why your dreams are so real or exaggerated? Why does everything in your dream seem to be intensified?  It is my opinion that God is trying to make a point and get your attention. The other night I dreamed of this big dark tornado (a common dream) and it was about to touch down.  In the dream I began speaking to the storm and rebuking it in Jesus name. As a result of my action, the tornado changed the direction of turning and began screwing back up into the sky.  God was telling me that there was a trial coming that would turn around as I began speaking to it with positive words. The storms obeyed Jesus. Luke 8:24 The same Holy Spirit lives in me and when I speak to the storms in my life they have to obey or God changes my attitude towards the storm. This dream was intense and the tornado was very dark and ominous. I believe this was given to me to make me aware of a situation I would be facing in the near future and how I am to handle it.  I will remember this dream when the time comes because it made such an impact on my mind.  I believe this was a prophetic dream which means it has not happened yet.  By writing this dream down, I can go back and read it when I see the storm coming and remember that all I need to do is speak to it and rebuke it and God will cause it to go back to where it came.  That brings me to the next area of dreams I want to write about, prophetic dreams.  You will need to watch for it in my next blog post.

Emotions in dreams

Pay close attention to your emotions in a dream because they could reveal the spirit behind the dream.  For example, I was just given a dream to interpret where a person dreamed that an alligator was chasing them and making them feel very fearful.  The alligator came into the house from an open door to the back yard.  I immediately knew that this was from the past because it came from the back (past) door. Alligators are old world animals that are harmful to humans.  They can represent generational spirits coming down from a person’s family line which are inherited. Because this dream made them feel fearful I suggested it might represent a spirit of fear.  I told the person that they needed to break a generational curse of fear and repent for not trusting God to take care of them.  Fear is the opposite of faith. You can always battle this spirit with the word of God which says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:17 “Such love has no fear, because perfect love casts out all fear” 1 John 4:18 There was more in the dream which suggested which side of the family it came through. God always tells you what you need to know when He is reveal something of this nature.  He is conforming us into His image, and our faith is being perfected!

A Personal Dream

I recently had a dream where I was yearning (hunger) for revival again.  I was feeling like God was going to open up a door for me and anoint me to preach. (God is going to fill my hunger with His presence) I thought to myself that there are too many distractions in America.  People are not hungry enough with social media consuming so much of their time.  Then I remembered just one touch from the Lord can make you want more. Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalms 34:8) The scene changed to a truck pulling a trailer behind with lawn equipment.  The truck was pulling around in a cul-de-sac and needed space, so I moved over into the grass.  (Getting out of the way so that God can do the needed work) Our grass was really long and in desperate need of being mowed. (mowing grass means needing repentance) This young woman jumps out of the truck and begins mowing our grass.  Someone else usually mows the grass, but he had gotten hurt and she was doing it for him.  I asked if she could trim the bushes by the house which were encroaching on the sidewalk.  She wrapped a string around the bush to show me where she would trim it back to.  I said that I wanted a little green left but where she had wrapped the string was okay.  (Again representing pruning) This woman then pulled the plant out of the ground and broke the roots.  There was only a small piece of root attached to the bush.  (pulling things out by the root represent all the things that I have been taught up to this point in my life need to be pruned) There will be enough left to sustain the growth of the plant.  She went over to the garage and my husband had straightened it. (God is my husband and He is in charge of getting things in order)  He had hung all the yard tools up high on the wall.  I would need to get a ladder to reach them. (I need to find the steps to reach higher. Fasting? More time reading my bible?)

So you can see the first part showed me that I have a hunger to be revived again. The scene change told me how to go about it. Repentance is something I do whenever God shows me that I have been neglecting my relationship with Him.  Pruning is a good thing although it is never fun.  I am in a process of being conformed into His image and this will take a lifetime, I am sure.

Sequential Dreams

If you have several dreams in one night, look for the common theme in the dreams.  If you have one dream in the night and the scene changes, the first scene may indicate what the dream is dealing with. Pay close attention to the action that is going on. The next scene may give you more details of what or who it is telling you about.  As the dream progresses you may get even more clarity.  Reoccurring dreams are another area that you should be aware of.  When you have the same dream over and over, this might indicate that something is not getting through to you.  If it is a God dream, He will keep sending the message over and over until you respond to what He is telling you. Over the course of several years, I kept having dreams that I was missing a cruise ship.  Sometimes it would be a school bus that was pulling off as I was running after it.  I earnestly sought the Lord as to what this might be.  I had my thoughts on it, but it wasn’t until I started writing this book that the dreams stopped.  The school bus represents teaching.  So as I educate the readers of this book on the subject of dream interpretation, I no longer have the reoccurring dreams. The cruise boat represented a large task that the Lord was asking me to do.  Thankfully I obeyed. If the reoccurring dream is from your soul, it will go away once you have resolved the issue.  Sometimes the issue is our attitude towards someone or something.  Reoccurring dreams will keep “bugging” you until you seek out their meaning and resolve the issue.  In the bible when Pharaoh had the dream about the seven fat cows and the seven skinny cows that came out of the Nile and ate the seven fat cows and then he had a second dream about seven ears of fat corn and the seven ears of skinny, withered corn came and choked out the fat corn, the dreams were one in the same. Two dreams that both spoke about the future.  Both dreams were telling about the same fourteen years.  Both dreams spoke of the same seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.  (Genesis 41:25) Many times a symbol will be repeated within the dream just in case you miss it the first time.  

numbers in dreams continued

I use Ira Milligan’s book Understanding the Dreams you Dream for the meaning of numbers, but I have found that they can be a time frame.  What I mean by that is say you have a dream of a baby that is thirteen months old that could represent something you started thirteen months ago.  In the bible when Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, the seven cows that Pharaoh dreamt about represented seven years. (Genesis 41:1-32) Numbers frequently represent time frames (i.e., days, months, or years.) I have even had a dream where numbers represented chapters and verses in the bible.  I dreamed I was back in school trying to get my locker opened and could not remember the combination to open it.  I went to the front desk to get the combination to my locker and got three numbers.  Turns out when I woke up that the three numbers were three psalms which I read that helped me with a situation I was dealing with at the time.  God is such a personal God that if He gives you a symbolic dream, He will help you figure out the meaning of the dream.  Sometimes it doesn’t come right away. Remember Daniel had to fast and pray for twenty-one days. (Daniel 10:13) If you know a dream has significance, keep pressing in until you get an answer. 

Numbers in a dream

Numbers are particularly tricky because they can have several different meanings.  When we look at creation in Genesis we can derive the numbers meaning based on that. For instance on day one the bible says God created the heavens and the earth.  Therefore one means the beginning of something or the start of something new.  On day two God separated the land from the waters giving us the meaning of the number two which is to divide and separate.  On day three all creation is obeying and conforming to God’s command.  Therefore the number three means to conform and obey.  On day four God made the light to govern the day (the sun) and a light to govern the night (the moon). So the number four means to govern or rule.  On the fifth day God made the birds and fish and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Therefore the number five means fruitfulness and multiplication.  On the sixth day God made man in His image. Consequently, the meaning of the number six is man.  Finally, God rested on the seventh day.  So the meaning of the number seven is rest. For the number eight we must go to Genesis 17:12a. From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. The number eight means to put off (as in putting off “the old man,” i.e., the works of the flesh or new beginnings.)I will continue the post on numbers tomorrow. 

Dreams in Scripture

I was amazed at how many times dreams were given to people in the bible. Not only around the birth of Jesus but in the old testament also.  Clearly God speaks through dreams. In Job 33:14-18 it says, "For God speaks again, though people do not recognize it.  He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as the lie in their beds. He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings.  He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.  He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death."  It is as if God seals instruction through dreams.  Even as far back as Genesis God gave Joseph that incredible dream that told him what was in his future. Genesis 37:5-11 He made the mistake of telling the dream to his brothers which invoked jealousy. Maybe that was supposed to happen. Why else would God give a dream like that to a young boy who lacked the wisdom or life experiences?  Later on in Genesis God would give Pharaoh a dream and Joseph would interpret it. Genesis 41:1-33.

In the new testament there are many accounts of people having dreams like Joseph (Matthew 1:20-21), the wise men (Matthew 2:12), Pilate's wife (Matthew 27:19), and many more. So as you can clearly see, God speaks in dreams quite frequently.  

How to tell the source of a dream

   All dreams come from one of three sources.  The trick is being able to tell which one of the sources it is from.  The first source is your soul. Your soul is usually the culprit of an accumulation of feelings that have been deeply suppressed and therefore show up in your subconscious when your body is asleep. The dreams from your soul may not have a resolve therefore, there is no ending.  For example, when you dream you are looking for something and never find it or, when you are running from something and keep running because something or someone is chasing you. Those dreams are very frustrating, as a result these dreams may indicate that someone or something is frustrating you and you have not figured out how to deal with it properly. If you have a soulish dream, ask yourself what area of your life this could be coming from. For example your business or work, family, friends, or spiritual life. More than likely you will figure it out. 

   Another source that dreams can be from is God. Have you ever wondered why He created us to dream at night when we are asleep?  He could have created us not to dream but, He didn't. That is one of the ways He speaks to us. How awesome our God is that He uses dreams to communicate with us.  The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words hold true because when we are awake we possibly might miss something, but when we see it show up in a dream, we listen.  God uses dreams to encourage us many times by sending us a message while we are asleep.  Another reason God gives us a dream is to warn us of an impending danger. While awake we may think something is no big deal but to God it is very serious and we need to be warned that if we keep going in the direction we are going there could be serious consequences.  Many times God gives us directions that we are to take through our dreams. I remember one time I was asking God about a job opportunity I was given and had this dream: I was climbing up this mountain literally sweating as I grabbed pieces of the ground and pulling myself up. (representing doing it in my own strength) When I got to the top I saw this beautiful lake on the other side. I said that I was going to drop a rock in and if it splashed up cold I would know that it was not good to go into. At that very moment someone jumped over me and dove into the water.  It all seemed good at first but the guy that had jumped in was yelling for help because there was a shark in the water attacking him. I got the message that although this opportunity looked good, I was not to take this position. the final reason that God might give us a dream is to chastise us. I would rather be chastised by God than by man. I have had many a dream about my mouth where I saw something I had said that had wounded someone and upon waking I repented and apologized to the person I had hurt. 

 The final source is the enemy of our soul, Satan.  These type of dreams are referred to as nightmares. I don't try to interpret these because I know they are not from my heavenly Father. I rebuke the enemy in the name of Jesus and I plead the blood of Jesus over my mind.  I very rarely have one of these kind of dreams but I recognize them right away. If you have repeated nightmares it could be a sign that you need to go through some inner healing because deep wounds can open you up to unforgiveness which can result in demonic torture of the mind. So, the three sources of dreams are your soul, God, or the devil. It's that simple.  By figuring out the source you will know what to do with the dream.