Haggai 2:12-14
(12) If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.
(13) Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
(14) Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
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If your work is holy, you may brush up against (ie, have an effect upon) other associated works, but that does not also make those works holy.
If your work is NOT holy, but is instead UNCLEAN – then every associated work (and every affected work) is likewise rendered UNCLEAN. No exceptions.
If every work is unclean, then every offering is unclean, because it is sourced from the labour of unclean hands.
I dreamed recently about a mailbox assigned to me..
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The Mailbox
I was at a school, like high school. I had a mail box and a key. The key I had went to my regular mailbox. I routinely picked up my regular mail. I continually noticed that I had a second mailbox. It was directly on the right side of my regular mailbox.
There was a cluster of five mailboxes built-in to this wall. They were low on the wall, almost to the floor. They were like traditional apartment building style mailboxes, brushed/grooved brass finish and all. Three were on the top row, two were on the bottom row. The bottom two belonged to me.
The bottom two.
The one on the left side was my regular mailbox, to which I had the key and regularly received my daily mail. It had no particularly distinctive marks, other than an identifying unit number sticker or something.
The one on the right side was plain, classic, unmarked.. but beside it, in the wall (which was a pretty, multi-earth-toned marble) was engraved a message, then my name, then the word “warrioress”, all in CAPS. I did not catch on until about the thrid or fourth time I went to check for my mail that I had a dedicated mailbox carved into the wall of this school building.
It then hit me that this was something prophetic and I should make note of it. Duh.
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The Funeral
Soon after that, in the dream, we, the students and instructors, were preparing for graduation and were informed that an instructor had died during the school year. I don’t recall if I knew the instructor at all, it seems likely that I had him as a teacher for a class(es) some years before, but had not associated with him for a long while, not even seeing him that often in the hallways. The security supervisor (?) assigned me to carry him to the funeral. I’ll explain in a bit.
It seemed odd that I was assigned to carry this man to his memorial service, seeing that the man’s son was right there. The son was not to carry his father, however, and it seemed he was little affected by the slight as well. In fact, he hardly seemed affected by his own father’s death at all. I found that beyond odd, but I did not show any reaction to it.
After our ‘meeting’, we all got ready for the funeral. We were suddenly donned in uniforms (burgundy, black and, I think, white) and were in a sort of school auditorium. The ceremony was like our graduation, we were given our ‘deceased’, which, oddly enough, were open memorial bibles. Each person carried one, two or three open memorial bibles. Each bible was the person who had just died (there were several people being memorialized that day). I carried two people, one in my left hand I did not know, the other in my right was this now-deceased school teacher who was well beloved by the school. I was walking right in front of the man’s son, who was also in my graduating class, and was also carrying two or three open memorial bibles.
We walked single-file out of the solemn graduation ceremony (which was our graduation ceremony) carrying the bibles out of the auditorium, through the hall and into the second meeting space, which looked, and was arranged just like, a church. We all had to place our bibles on a back table to be prepared for the funeral ceremony. As I approached, I remember this security supervisor yelling at me “Catrise Paige! Move!”. I thought to myself, I’m walking at the exact same pace as the person in front of me, does he want me to overtake the person in front of me and break formation before the crowd?
I got a little anxious to get out of line at that point, but I placed both books down on the table, the one in my right hand, the bible of the deceased school teacher, I placed down a wee bit more hastily and casually than the other one. I deeply regretted having done that, seeing that the man’s son was right behind me and would have seen everything, but I had no time to be gentle or delicate, nor to slow down, because I had to hurry and get in position to be an usher in the church for the funeral service in the sanctuary, which was slowly filling with patrons.
I walked to the front of the aisle on my left and got a program from a seated usher. I then proceeded to get in position to usher from the front, and the usher who handed me my program whispered to me “you have to put on the white gloves”. I had no idea that this was a requirement, nobody had told me I needed to have these gloves. The seated usher woman told me to go back to the table to get them. I then went back to the back table and found a lone pair of white gloves, never before worn, still in plastic. They were made of white cotton and trimmed in white leather. I put them on and immediately realized I would need to go to the rest room soon and contemplated going now or later.
I decided now would be the better time, so I took the gloves off, placed them in my pocket, went out into the hall to the ladies room, hoping to make a quick work of relieving myself.
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The Bathroom
Much to my dismay, the restroom was filthy, to the point that I contemplated just waiting until after the day’s events when I could go home, but I was desperate at that point. I entered a stall, the cleanest one I could find, and automatic flushing took place until I felt comfortable enough to do my business. I took off my uniform, careful to not let it touch the floor or anything (although the hem of one pant leg did brush the floor, but I thought that was negligible).
Among the things flushed: clumps of blood, a feather, and a floating brown dot. They were clearly not mine, but seemed to be left for me, to either disgust me, discourage me, or force me to withhold relieving myself in order to wait for a cleaner environment. I awakened before I began the process.
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There’s a lot to this dream. I have not really dug into it yet, with all its symbols, but I want to say that part of it is the teaching of man vs. the Word of God. It would also seem to refer to traditional church vs. the Word of God.
Gloves refer to works, and white refers to purity = pure work. We’ll get to that in a bit.
The restroom bit refers to cleansing and purification, getting clean. Toilet refers to mischief, as in ill-intended plans. Its best to have a clean place wherein to get clean. If the place you are is not clean, then you cannot get truly clean, as the things you touch would also be unclean. Cleansing would happen up to a certain leverl, and it may be the most necessary levels of clean for the time-being under the circumstances, but true cleansing would have to take place at a truly clean place. I think I’m getting that now. I need a truly clean place. It could be that God is preparing me for that place in having me carry the dead instructor to his final resting place on the day of my own graduation.
Time and time again, throughout these recent years, I have had different people, not every person, but select people, seem to try to encourage some sort of work, or ministry, or talent, or career or whatever to come forth out of me – all when I knew that I knew in my knower that it was not time, or just not for me.
You know that you know that you know when God does NOT want you to do something, even if you know you’d be GREAT at it. Obedience is greater than sacrifice.
And these were good people, many of them. They seemed to be men and women of The Book, devout followers of Christ. They saw something in me, they encouraged it, they promoted it, they believed they were doing the right thing, many of them, I believe.
I just knew that I knew that I knew in my knower that it was NOT God.
It was good, but it was not God, not what HE had said directly to ME to do.
And I agonized over these things, I mean, I did NOT want to miss God on something, no way. If GOD wanted me to pursue something or other, then by all means, I MUST do it, with my all!
But, nope, nada, nothing, it would always fall flat. It was not meant to be.
I realized back then, and I must acknowledge it for very recently, even right now, there is a spirit behind this seemingly incessant pushing and prodding and almost downright instigating of a “gift” or a “calling” or an “office appointment” I may have. (There is scriptural reference to this type of spirit, too, in I don’t know how many times I have been before the Lord about somebody else’s insistence that I start a ministry, or go on youtube and do videos, or write a book or screenplay, or start a business, or launch a new company/build an empire, or pursue stardom in tinsel-town, or… fill-in-the-blank.
Endeavouring to be faithful to God, I take these before Him all the time. I ask Him over and over again, sometimes, just so I can be sure I have not missed Him. He doesn’t miss anything, so it must be me, right? “God, show me if I have missed something here in being led by You, Almighty God!”
The continual answer (and others like it): “Nope, you’re fine. Stay with Me.”
OK, God. And then He opens some other door for me to grow, some other pearls of wise-revelation. And then He shows me more and more aspects of His Faithfulness to perform what He promised to perform for me. And then He shows me how I may have jsut narrowly missed disaster.. because I obeyed His Voice, and not my own, and not any other’s voice..
So that brings me back to the gloves.
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The White Gloves
Pure works. Hmm.
Considering that the Word in Haggai admonishes that all works of that nation were unclean, referring to both spiritual and natural works, it would appear that there is purity in letting something die, putting something to rest, especially if it represents traditional teachings of mankind or false religious ways/doctrines.
My role as usher in the dream seems to say to me that God is having me usher out mankind’s false ways and usher in God’s Truth and Light. Biblically, the prophet has performed as a sort of usher or sorts. God’w Word says that He does nothing except He first reveals it to His prophets. Have you noticed God declares the end of a thing from the beginning? He puts His plans into the mouth (or pen, or hands) of His prophets, so they may declare, decree, perform a foreshadowing of, inscribe, proclaim and establish what God will do. (They also offer insight into what God has done previously, but that is another show.)
Ushers assist the people, they show them, welcome them, caution them, inform them, provide information, halt/pause and watch over the people gathered together. This is true of an usher at church or at the movies or at a concert. Ushers keep us in order and keep us secured. Ushers comfort us with their presence, but also warn us if we begin to cross the line for the event or facility.
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The Wind of The LORD
I just felt the wind of the Lord at the word “comfort”. Here is what just came to me:
Isaiah 40
(1) Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
(2) Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.
(3) The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
(4) Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
(5) And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
(6) The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
(7) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
(8) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
(9) O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
(10) Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
(11) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
(12) Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
(13) Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
(14) With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
(15) Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
(16) And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
(17) All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
(18) To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
(19) The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
(20) He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
(21) Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
(22) It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
(23) That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
(24) Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
(25) To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
(26) Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
(27) Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
(28) Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
(29) He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
(30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
(31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
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This is the desire of all nations.. (to be continued).
~cat~
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