Dream Warriors – Dealing With Nightmares By Faith – Purity 1407
Purity 1407 07/22/2024 Purity 1407 Audio Podcast
Purity 1407 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the sun setting into the horizon near the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” from the vantage point of “Freedom Road” comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene Friday Afternoon after a long day of “lumbering”. After spending a “day off” removing a massive tree from my property “down by the River”, I didn’t have a lot of energy but with views like this and my canine friend, Harley, whining to go, you go for a walk anyway. It is what you do, and in a way, it’s who you are.
Well, it is just another manic Monday, and although I did have time for sufficient rest yesterday, my sleep was disturbed by a nightmare of sorts and as distressing as it was, I am proud to say that I have become so accustomed to “walking in the Spirit” that even the demonically created deceptive dreamscapes that I encounter are traversed with the same skill sets that I try to bring to the distressing moments of life when I am awake.
While I won’t go into the nightmare’s specific details, the situation involved me being promised something only to have that something be given to someone else or taken away from me by somebody else and discovering that beyond the disappointment of what felt like the injustice of the loss, the dream’s narrative revealed that the loss of what seemed to be promised to me was the result of a conspiracy among people who I trusted. It was your basic betrayal nightmare –paraphrasing that creepy line from the horror classic – The Night of the Living Dead” “They’re all working and plotting against you, Barbara…Look out here they come now!”
Ironically, a google of “betrayal nightmare” search reveals that “Nightmares are a symptom of betrayal trauma, which is a type of trauma that can occur when someone’s trust is violated by a loved one, institution, or intimate relationship. Other symptoms include intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and reliving memories of the betrayal. Betrayal trauma can also cause other effects on the brain, such as anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.” (https://www.google.com/search?q=betrayal+nightmare&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1070US1071&oq=betrayal+nightmare&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBBAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBRAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgoIBhAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBxAAGKIEGIkFMgoICBAAGIAEGKIE0gEIOTUwN2owajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) )
All of these themes were at play in the dream I had last night, but the thing is that I have learned a little about having to navigate unjust situations and dealing with betrayal in my past and in the midst of the distressing situation of my dream, I became a dream warrior of sorts by bringing everything into the context of who I am in Christ, radically accepting the situation for what it was, letting go of my sense of entitlement, releasing the expectation of fulfillment, forgiving those who hurt me, and finally exposing the lie – “This isn’t true…” which immediately freed me from the dreams demonically woven deception and caused me to wake up.
The situation that the spiritual forces of darkness or my subconscious built had a weakness – it wasn’t true – and when I got past dealing with all the distressing emotions by accepting the worst-case scenario of what was happening in the dream, “Well, that’s too bad, good for you, oh well… I release it to you and forgive you.” The lie became clear. “This isn’t real. This situation doesn’t really exist.” And I woke – a little shaken but not stirred and went back to sleep.
This little scenario demonstrates the extreme importance of renewing our minds with the word of God and learning how to walk through life and its very real distressing situations by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. So much of our pain and suffering comes from our expectations and our sense of what is rightfully ours. When we release them, give them away, or surrender ourselves to God’s way and putting others above ourselves through a sense of love, forgiveness, compassion, and sacrifice, and we realize that we have everything we need in Christ, we can accept losses and put the distress of life in their proper context. When we soften our hearts by letting go of our normal concepts for life, life isn’t so hard.
Today’s In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional shares some teaching that touches on the spirit of this and so I am sharing it today on the Blog:
Dr Charles Stanley writes:
“Softening Your Heart”
When we continually spend time with God in His Word, His presence will saturate our heart, making us sensitive and teachable. But just as human relationship can grow cold unless we intentionally nurture it, the heart can gradually harden when we aren’t seeking intimacy with God. For our heart to stay soft and receptive, we must obediently- and promptly- respond to whatever the Lord tells us to do.
If you believe that God might be leading you in a certain direction, take the time to earnestly seek His mind on the matter and intentionally listen for His response. Then avoid getting busy with a substitute for what He originally called you to do. It would be tragic to work hard doing what you and others consider good, only to discover that you accomplished something that was not God’s intention.
Resisting the Lord often amounts to setting His purposes for your life on a shelf. And that will likely leave you feeling something is missing. There’s no substitute for God’s will, even when His plan might seem difficult or impossible. But when you trustfully approach God with a cooperative heart, there’s no limit to what He can accomplish through your life. So step out in obedience today and say,” Lord, I want your will no matter what.”
Amen, when we seek the Lord’s will for our lives and do what we feel He is calling us to do, even if it is hard, we will not only have the peace and harmony of knowing that we are being obedient to what He is calling us to do, we will also develop new skills to live our lives in the way that He would have us to. When we listen and follow the Lord, He changes our character and we learn to respond to situations according to who we are in Christ rather than by our old selfish, and foolish ways of living.
So keep walking and talking with God, He will show you the way to go and you can be a warrior for his kingdom, even in your sleep.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on False Prophets, Teachers.
Acts 17:11 (NIV2011)
11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Today’s verse falls under the eleventh point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on False Prophets, Teachers.
11. Be like the Berean Christians.
Today’s verse gives us an example of how we are supposed to live as Christians. We are to examine the scriptures continually with eagerness so that we can not only know the truth but so that our characters will be “more noble” than they once were. God’s word renews our minds, softens our hearts, and makes us into the people God created us to be, so we should be like a Berean and study it to live it.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.
EVENING READING: GALATIANS 4
“Cast out the bondwoman and her son.”
– Galatians 4:30
Paul brings the story of Hagar into this portion of his argument as an allegory. He proves that even from that picture, the flesh must be cast out or done away with if true liberty is to be experienced. Paul says, “He who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit” (v. 29).
Thus, he amplifies this same truth in Romans when he says, “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). If that has been done, “then … we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free” (Gal. 4:31).
Blessed Lord, I do pray that I may know
experientially this liberty in the Lord.[1]
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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