Wake Up! Wake Up!

Does GOD speak through Art? You decide!
As I drew this picture I had no idea what it would say to me. Frankly I thought it would become an illustration for a Children's Story.
The next day I realized this was a "pictorial vision", speaking about the condition of the church today in America.
1 - The large sphere represents the World.
2 - The furry animal asleep on top of the sphere represents most of the Christian Church.
3 - The small, agitated Bird is shouting, "What are you doing up there?-Wake up! Wake up! Before you fall off.!"
4 - The small ugly Creature with a party hat on is hiding in the shadow of the Cube,- the enemy waiting to attack.
5 - The two trees are significant; one is crooked and twisted; the other, Tall and straight, They are planted side by side, one on is useable. 

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season
Psalm 1:1-3

A VISION OF AN OPEN WINDOW~
Sunday morning, June 26, our Pastor David talked about God's Open Doors.  I nodded "Yes, yes!" as visions and words flooded my mind. I resisted an urge to get up, go to the podium and tell others about what I was hearing and seeing.  The vision kept coming and I didn't want do this until I had the whole vision.  So I missed God's timing, but He's having me write it out out for you now.
The vision began with what God has been saying about sending us "Open Windows", windows that will allow us to see what is going on in heaven, in our own lives and on earth these days. Look up and you will see mysteries made clear that you haven't seen or understood before.
When I looked I saw a plain, rectangular window in an almost empty room, except I was standing there.  I also saw a storm was taking place outside the closed window.  Lightening flashed, there were deep rolls of thunder, and rain pelted the glass.  Even so, I opened the window and some of the storm came into my room.  I slammed the window shut, thinking, surely I'm not supposed to open this window while the storm is raging!
Then I heard His voice. "I want you to trust me and open the window. I'm in control of the storm. You may get a little wet, but it will not harm you." - So I opened the window again and stood observing the drama in the heavens.  Next I saw great shafts of light coming down from above and piercing through thick black mountains of clouds.  They came like swiftly moving javelins of pure light that split the clouds apart, moving them back. Light entered my room and with it came a fresh, after the rain fragrance. I stood in front of the window, head thrown back, breathing in great gulps of clean, life giving air.  Then the vision faded.
Note: God's dreams and visions come with His authority. So look for windows in your life and don't be afraid to open them, even in the middle of a storm. God is with you. You will begin to see and understand what is happening to you and to people all around this planet. Mysteries may be explained and happenings may begin to make better sense.

This dream began with singing.  I was in a large room glowing with suffused sunlight streaming in through wide open windows.  Gentle breezes filled the room and there was the fragrance of flowers from a visible garden outside.  People spontaneously gathered together to sing.  The mood was informal and joyous.

I stood on a small platform, encouraging and leading the group.  Individuals would sing out a familiar song and all of us joined in and filled the room with music.  Many songs were old hymns, others contemporary, but familiar to everyone.  Then we began singing the patriotic songs.  "America the Beautiful". "Oh Say Can You See By the Dawn's Early Light", "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "God Bless America".  These were followed by a few minutes of silence.  I searched my heart for another song and remembered, "My Country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing! Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside let ____________ ?????? ring." To my shock I couldn't remember the right word in the last line of the verse. - "let WHAT ring?" - Let victory ring?" No that wasn't the right word. "Let our voices ring?" That wasn't right either. "Let liberty ring?" Well that made more sense, but still wasn't right! Then I asked, "Do any of you know the right word?" Some offered words but none seemed to fit. I was dismayed. This familiar song hung there unfinished. People were confused and disappointed.  The group quickly dispersed.  Dark shadows filled the room. As I woke up I was still searching for the "right word". While in bed, I went over and over the verses.  No word appeared. Yet I felt it was very important not to forget this dream and to continue to look for the elusive word.

After breakfast I prayed, "Please, Please God help me find the right word that for some unknown reason is missing." Later that day after looking through books and files (all to no avail) disappointment turned to excitement. In my mind I saw a blue paper collection of songs I'd considered discarding months ago, but didn't.  There it was! The song of my dream, "AMERICA". In the last line of the first verse was the missing word!

"My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing! Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom (FREEDOM) ring."

FREEDOM! FREEDOM! LORD ARE YOU TELLING US WE HAVE LOST OUR FREEDOM? Or are we in the process of losing it? A scripture immediately came to mind. "He who the Son has set free is free indeed (John 8:36)." Unlike all other religions beliefs, as Christians you can't work your way to God no matter how many good deeds you do.  You are invited to come to Him.  You are free to choose; good or evil, heaven or hell, eternal life or eternal death, freedom or enslavement. In jail Saint Paul was still free. Are you? It's a choice. It's a gift of God. Please remember this and don't let it be taken away, from America, from you, from your children and children's children!!
What does freedom mean to you?

IS GOD SPEAKING TO YOU?

Just as He did with the prophets of old, God speaks to people through dreams and visions. In this present day our need to hear from God who is the source of all life is greater than ever. Our dreams when interpreted often provide answers to what is happening today. Our dreams can give wisdom for a personal problem. Sincerely ask for "eyes to see and ears to hear" and understanding will come.
For example:
A couple of mornings ago I woke up with a distinct sensation that I was rising up out of a deep pool of crystal clear water.  I knew I had been dreaming.  There were pictures and sounds of that dream all around me.  Once I broke through the water's surface, still half dreaming, half awake. I heard the word: "Recall and Write" "Recall and Write". I wasn't sure I could recall the dream as it was fading quickly. I grabbed a pen and tablet and began to write.
The dream:
I was in a large airport. People were wheeling baggage by or were waiting impatiently in ticket lines. Carts piled high with luggage were weaving through the travelers on foot. Escalators loaded with people were going up and down in constant waves. Fear, frustration, confusion were felt. Obviously something had happened that created an anxious, harassed environment.
I stood in a group of people, right in the middle of the flow of traffic. About 15 of us had stopped rushing about and gathered together. The object was to try and figure out what had happened and what we needed to do.  Each one shared information even as constant announcements kept coming over a loudspeaker.  It was difficult to understand what officially was said.  Outside of our group there was obvious confusion. Inside was tangible peace. Children were reassured "You will be OK."  A couple of old people sitting close together in their wheelchairs were holding blue veined hands. Someone leaned over them and said, "Don't worry. We will help you."  Both relaxed and smiled. I myself had become a kind of spokes person, leading the group discussions and encouraging calmness and peace despite our situation. I made some light-hearted comments, repeatedly using humor to release tensions. A baby in his daddy's arms stopped crying. A grey haired man in an overcoat pointed his finger and said, "Madame this is no joking matter!" Then he burst out laughing. His laughter became contagious.  People applauded, nodded heads, laughed. Two little girls danced a jig as the group made room for them and clapped hands. I shouted, "THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!" and many in the group repeated the words. A fearful situation took on the character of a REVIVAL. We began singing familiar hymns and a few patriotic songs. People hurrying by on either side of our group stopped to listen in amazement. Some laughed and smiled with us. Some clapped their hands. Others hurried by, ignoring what was happening.
That was the end of my dream and it came as I was moving up through that crystal clear water mentioned at the beginning of this dream. As I neared the surface, all pictures and sounds quickly faded. I found myself back in my own bed, with the clock showing it was now 4:00 am.  I cried out to the Maker of Dreams, "Father, help me remember all I heard and saw." And as you read this account, you can see He did. 

This is Evelyn’s true testimony

How I Met Jesus

            My 11^th birthday was in the middle of July, 1937.  It was summer, before school reopened, when Jesus appeared and spoke to me “face to face”.  Although I am now 88 years old, I have never forgotten this meeting. I have reexamined it many times throughout my life.  I believe something supernatural occurred when Jesus entered my personal space and touched me both physically and spiritually.

            Strangely, I didn’t recognize who He was at that time.  It wouldn’t be until many years later, when I was 48, that I would understand the Son of God had visited me and claimed me for his own.  Whether I realized it or not, He would watch over me, direct my paths and protect me all the rest of my life on earth.

            It happened this way.  I was propped up on my bed, watching huge white clouds drifting across a very blue sky.  The book I’d been reading had fallen on the bed beside me as I looked delightedly at the golden light and rich, pure colors of sky above the darker forms of trees, lawns, streets and houses that were framed like a picture outside my bedside window.

            Quite suddenly, in less than a millisecond, I found myself standing on the wooden deck of a large sailing vessel in the middle of a great, peaceful ocean.  Amazingly I was NOT frightened, but amazed and curious. What is going on?  Why am I here?  I didn’t move, but stood wondering on the deck about what might happen next.  I felt very alone as I could see no other person on the ship, not even a seabird flying across the blue sky and white clouds.

Then I saw someone in a luminous white robe that covered him from his shoulders down to the sandals on his feet.  He wore a gold belt, and a narrow gold sash was across his chest.  He walked toward me and I felt great expectation, joy, curiosity, and no fear.  When he reached me he stood quietly, arms extended toward me, and a smile on his face.  Such a smile it was!  It reflected the love of my mother, the grin of my best friend, the approval of a favorite teacher, and much more than I can describe.  Without hesitation I threw myself into his arms.  He hugged me and it was as though I became part of him and he was part of me.  I knew that I would never want to leave, not ever. 

            Then He spoke to me.  But I don’t think it was with audible words like you and I speak to each other.  With firm hands He gently moved me out from his all-encompassing hug, looked down at me with such love in His eyes, and said these words that I have never forgotten: “You have a long voyage to take.  You don’t know who I am now, but you will know later on.  You will not be alone for I will never leave you or forsake you.  When you are much older you will know me in a Big Way and I will be with you forever.”

            Again He hugged me and I clung to Him.  Yet somehow I knew I must let go.  “Please, please don’t leave me.  I want to stay with you. Let me stay with you.  Please?”  I was crying as I realized He was really going away and I couldn’t go with him.  My tears kept coming even as I watched him move to the rail at the side of the deck.  Facing me, now many feet away, He was looking intently at me.  Even at this distance I was aware of his tremendous love for me.  I stood still knowing I couldn’t run to him even though I wanted to do so.  Then the white clouds like the ones I’d admired outside my bedroom window moved down to the ship and surrounded Him.  The man in the white robe was carried up from the ship’s deck by those clouds as he quickly disappeared from my sight.  I stood crying even thought I remembered He had told me I would see Him again.  A deep grief and longing was lodged in my eleven year old heart.

            In a moment of time I was back, sitting on my bed, my story book by my side, tears running down my cheeks.  Feeling a great loss, I ran to find Mama.  She was across the hall in her bedroom, taking a nap.  When I sat on her bed, she woke up, alarmed when she saw I was crying. “What is it, Evelyn?  What’s happened?”

            I told her about how I had been on the ship.  How I was hugged by a man in a beautiful white robe.  I told her, as best as I could, about Him and how much he loved me.  I told her how I wanted to stay with Him forever and how awful it was when I knew he had to leave.  But he promised me “he’d come back when I was a whole lot older and be with me forever!”  Even so, I told Mama “I wish I could be with him right now.  I wish he could come live with us NOW!”

            My mother hugged me, kissed me, handed me a handkerchief, and said, “Evelyn, you just had a beautiful dream.  A wonderful dream, but that’s all it was, a dream.  Don’t keep crying for someone who isn’t real.  He’s like the character in a book you’ve read.  Maybe you’ll write about him someday.  You love to write.  Now dry your eyes and help me plan what we’ll have for dinner tonight.”

            So I did what my mother said but I didn’t forget about the dream and the man in the white robe who talked to me and loved me beyond anything I ever imagined. 

            Three years later mother and I were back in Philadelphia at the big three story brick home on Broad Street where my Grandmother and Grandfather, Pop Pop had spent most of their married life.  My beloved Pop Pop was dying.  He was sitting in his big Morris Chair in the little sitting room off his and grannie’s bedroom.  He was quietly talking, asking me a few questions about school, about my friends and my beloved dog, Shep.  Suddenly he looked straight into my eyes and asked, “Ev, Pop Pop’s little sweetheart, do you know Jesus?”

            “What do you mean, Pop Pop, “Do I know Jesus?”  I guess I know that he was one of the smartest men who ever lived.  Some say he was a very good man.  He did some miracles like magicians do.  Sometimes I go to Sunday School with my girlfriends.  The teacher talks about Jesus and how it was to live in those days.”  I watched two big tears roll down my grandpa’s cheeks.  I felt terrible, but didn’t know what to say.  I knew I had hurt him deeply because somehow I hadn’t given the right answer to his question.  He turned away from me as I sat miserable on the foot stool beside him, not knowing what else to do.  He looked out the window and was very quiet.  What can I do to make him happy again?  We all knew he was dying and this might be the last time we were together.

            Pop Pop turned back to me.  I saw that the sunlight outside was gathered all around his head in a luminous circle.  He smiled.  He patted my hand several times and said these words:  “Evelyn, you don’t know Jesus now.  But you will.  You have a long voyage to take, but when you are much older, Jesus will come back to you.  You will know Him then and he will be with you always!”

            When I was 48 years old, I knelt beside my bed, my Bible opened, my tears staining its pages.  Lord God I cried, “I want to believe in your Jesus.  Please, please, come into my life and take it over.  I’ve taught Sunday school to all ages, have had teenagers saved at Release Time teaching classes, spoken at Christian Women’s lunches, yet I don’t really know your Jesus. Please, Jesus come into my heart and live in me.  You promised long ago you’d never leave me or forsake me.  At last I know you are not just a dream and I need you desperately to be with me always.  My life is falling apart without you.

            He came.  He told me he had always been near, I just didn’t see him.  Sometimes now when I don’t recognize Him but I still know He’s here, - loving me, guiding me, whispering to me in my heart, shouting at me through His word, holding me in his arms whenever I need to be loved and lifted up – always here.  So no matter what is happening I remember the “dream” and feel His presence surround me.  He is SO REAL and if my prayers are answered he will be real to you too.