Curt cried out in the middle of the night,
“Vicki, pray over me. The devil is trying to get me!”
I knelt beside him at once, praying the Full Armor of God over him. I reminded Curt that he was in Christ and belonged to God. And, that the devil was a liar and a murder from the beginning, and there is no truth in him. We continued to wield the Sword of the Spirit (praying scripture over Curt) throughout the night. We thanked Jesus for His presence and protection, sheltered by the Shield of Faith.
(Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Corinthians 3:23, 1 John 2:23-25, John 8:44, Jude 9, James 4:7, Matthew 18:20, Hebrews 4:12)
“Did you hear me screaming?”
“It was so real!”
Curt’s Dream:
“Are you watching this on TV?! Are you watching this?!” Mom shouts through my phone.
I am living it ... I am scared to death ...
I am in the abandoned lot across the street from my childhood home.
I am terrified ... Cars and debris of all sizes fly through the air by tremendous force ...
Everything airborne is yellow or white.
What’s happening?
I am horrified by the chaos, and by the knowledge that nothing can control it ...
Not a single thing whizzing around me, touches me ...
It’s going to kill me … I’m going to die …
I do not see him, but, I am fully aware of his evil presence - and, of his intention ...
I'm scared!
I scream, “satan is trying to take me …”
Vicki prays, but she quickly loses interest and drifts back to sleep.
I am alone - again!
Panicked, I cry out to God! But, the words that pass my lips defy my heart, and come out ...
“Satan give me strength ... Satan help me …”
I cry out to Vicki for prayer ...
I prayed fervently over Curt.
Fear gripped him throughout the remainder of the night ...
Curt added later, how strange he thought it was, that in the midst of the chaotic atmosphere and colors he saw in his dream, there was no blood.
When he recounts his dream, he relives the fear and how real his vivid dream had been - including my nonchalant prayer, of which I have no memory.
David, a close friend, stopped by a couple days before Curt’s dream. He shared a story about Mr. Rogers (of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood).
David's story came to mind the morning after Curt's dream.
I looked it up:
Mr. Rogers spoke with a fan of his, a teenage boy severely afflicted with cerebral palsy and terrible anger.
Mr. Rogers asked him, 'I would like you to do something for me. Would you do something for me?' On his computer, the boy answered yes, of course, he would do anything for Mister Rogers, so then Mister Rogers said: I would like you to pray for me. Will you pray for me?”'
When asked about this at a later time, Mr. Rogers said, “I didn't ask him for his prayers for him; I asked for me. I asked him because I think that anyone who has gone through challenges like that must be very close to God. I asked him because I wanted his intercession.”
― Tim Madigan
Curt has gone through many challenges these last two years. After enduring months of grueling chemotherapy, radiation and radical surgery, he enjoyed only a brief remission. He recently suffered a minor stroke and just completed radiation on a tumor that had fractured a vertebrae in his neck (which has caused him excruciating pain). He will resume chemo in a couple days.
I have witnessed Curt’s love for the Lord intensify over these last months. His trust in God has magnified, and, despite his afflictions, he constantly blesses Jesus with his faith, prayers and thanksgiving …
“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”
Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17-18
The significance of yellow in the bible:
Yellow is one of the colors of the rainbow - which represents God’s everlasting covenant between Him and all living creatures. (Genesis 9:14-16) But, in Revelation, yellow is used to describe the breastplate of one of the four released bound angels whose horses breathe fire, smoke and sulfur, killing a third of mankind by plagues during the second woe. (Revelation 9:17-18).
Yellow is also used in the Old Testament to reveal a defiling skin disease on the head and chin. (Leviticus 13:30)
The significance of white in the Bible:
While white represents righteousness and victory in Revelation (Revelation 19:11-16, Revelation 3:5 & 21, Revelation 21:7), the first rider of the apocalypse appears on the scene riding a white horse. After Jesus opens the first seal, this rider is seen carrying a bow (Christ’s weapon is a sword). This is the counterfeit or anti-Christ. He wears a crown, because he is given authority (by God) to rule for a time (specified by God). He carries with him no arrows — so, he will seize control with intrigue, false peace and deceit. This rider comes in his own name and the world will receive him (whereas Christ came in His Father’s name, and the world did not receive Him).
(Revelation 6:2, Daniel 11:21-23, Daniel 7:27, John 5:43, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Matthew 24:4-5 & 15)
In the Old Testament, a white sore revealed skin disease. (Leviticus 13:3)
“The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths …
The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood — idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
(Revelation 9:17-21)
“I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” (Revelation 6:2)
“… a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.” (Daniel 11:21-23)
“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27)
Jesus said, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.” (John 5:43)
Jesus also said: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many …
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel — let the reader understand …”
(Matthew 24:4-5 & 15)
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
“The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast — all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
(Revelation 13:5-9)
“… God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.” (Isaiah 34:8-11)
Warnings Against Denying the Son
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”
(1 John 2:18)
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.” (1 John 4)
“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)
“Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
The Armor of God
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.”
(1 John 2:23-25)
“… and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.”
(1 Corinthians 3:23)
“The devil was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)
“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
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