But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

      Two years ago I had a dream about my uncle, who at the time, had just gotten into a very bad accident and barely made it out alive. I dreamt that I was watching a conversation about his life. The conversation was between a great angel that was charge over him and three beings who I could not see as clearly. The angel was standing in the room (or through the room because he was taller than the room) facing my uncle. I was watching and listening to conversations between the angel and three others. They were back and forth in discussions over my uncles life.  I could plainly see my uncle sitting on a couch in a living room (when I drew the dream out for my aunt with details like bookshelves, couches, doors, etc, she said it was exactly the picture of the living room of her house where he was staying after surgery) The angel was invisible but I could see it’s dimensions and understand what was said. Walls and doors made no difference- it’s as if they weren’t there at all. The angel was huge and it’s height reached over the roof, so I’d say the angel was over 12ft tall. Off (and higher up) to the right – almost in another dimension, I could see three others in discussion about my uncle’s life. The three were located just over the roof on the right, but also in the heavens- they were there, but not. There were three of them, I was more limited in what I saw with the three. With the angel, I could see an invisible shape, it’s height and it’s movements. With the three, I could only tell that there were three and from my limited allowance at the time, they seemed as if they were more like men, not angels- but not men – but not angels.

   The three were discussing, analyzing, reviewing my uncle’s life and I could hear them. They were making decisions and it seemed to take a while; they were discussing whether to allow my uncle to live or not. They went on in discussion, the three making a decision, telling the angel and the angel would respond to them. This went on for a while, back and forth, back and forth between the three and the angel -still discussing if my uncle should be allowed to live any longer.     Finally a decision was made. I could see a 17 over his head- the allowance for his life. The three and the angel finally came to an agreed decision – he could have 17 more years to live. At that moment I saw the angel lean forward bending toward my uncle who sat on the couch. I saw the angel put forth his hands the same way I would if I were trying to talk some sense into someone. I heard the angel say “Well, are you going to do what is right? ARE YOU FINALLY GOING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT? Everything you do from now on- good or bad will be written down and recorded –EVEN THE very MOTIVES FOR THE THINGS YOU DO” I could sense the angel was a bit…..annoyed.

 

The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. Isaiah 33:13-14

The Bible tells us : 1-The Lord watches us :  The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. Psalm 53:2  Psalm 14:2 Psalm 33:13   2- The Lord sees us : (everything)  :  Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.“For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do Job 34:21.Matthew 6:18 Matthew 6:6  Proverbs 5:21   3- He knows our motives :  But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”  He alone examines the motives of our hearts. So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives  Proverbs 16:2 Jeremiah 17:10 Matthew 22:18 1 Corinthians 4:5 Proverbs 20:27 1 Thessalonians 2:4 4- He hears us :  And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.For the LORD hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.Psalm 69:331 John 5:14Proverbs 15:29    5-Our Works (and life) are recorded in the books (and tested) : I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.  You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books Revelation 20:12 Psalm 56:8 Revelation 20:12  Psalm 139:16  6- Our life is tested and purified  : These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-5  1 Peter 1:7  1 Corinthians 3:13 

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire .Matthew 5:22 Matthew 12:36 Romans 14:12

 Three men? ( I thought this verse was interesting on the three men in the dream I had, but I really have no other explanation other that what I’ve shared above)Genesis 18:2 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. ² He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.³ “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. ⁴ Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. ⁵ And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.¹¹ And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.² He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Revelation 1:5    And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, 

       Hebrew 12:1:  Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us, So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.

          There are two important message in this verse.  First we know we are being watched, and second, we are warned to get rid of anything that could slow us in our walk. We also know from other scripture that we are accountable for all we do and every word we say. The things we do are written down and the bible says the Lord hears us, He see’s us and records our conversations.  I know that the Lord’s message today -to me -is that I have things in my life I need to eliminate. Things I need to crucify, things that slow my walk, and ways in my life where I could easily fall into the desires of the world making me lukewarm. What? You may ask…well a lot. My thoughts, my actions, my anger, my words, and things I do. I may have slacked a bit in protecting my heart, so it’s time to do some cleaning and get back on track. (getting 40 new free channels from directtv didn’t help- oh and an ipod4-with all kinds of fun apps- these things are new distractions   A Cloud of  Witness?????(Hebrews 12)           “You have not come to a place like Mount Sinai that can be seen and touched. There is no flaming fire or dark cloud or storm or trumpet sound. The people of Israel heard a voice speak. But they begged it to stop,  because they could not obey its commands. They were even told to kill any animal that touched the mountain.  The sight was so frightening that Moses said he shook with fear. What does this verse mean?  It’s telling us to remember the Israelites in the Wilderness and how terrifying it was for them to come close to the Lord. His Holiness left them trembling-“The sight was so frightening that Moses shook with fear” It could not be seen or touched. Read on……  “You have now come to Mount Zion and to the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the city of the living God, where thousands and thousands of angels have come to celebrate. Here you will find all of God’s dearest children, whose names are written in heaven. And you will find God himself, who judges everyone. Here also are the spirits of those good people who have been made perfect.  And Jesus is here! He is the one who makes God’s new agreement with us, and his sprinkled blood says much better things than the blood of Abel”  What is the message here?  We are told that we go to Mount Zion in the heavens.  You see, when we pray, we enter His gates- we are there before His throne. Jesus has now made a way for us to enter this Holy Place, that was impossible to enter without our Lord Jesus. If you only knew where you where when you are praying and honoring and worshipping Him – you would fall to your knees before the His Holy Presence. Sin cannot stand before Him, It runs from His Presence. He has a place for each of us there before His throne – but so many of those spaces remain empty. Go before His throne and enter His gates with Thanksgiving.  Who are the witnesses? There are many  theories, but I believe this scripture could answer this question for us. We are told that we are surrounded by witnesses. But where? And who? This verse tells us in the heavens- and when are we here? When we pray and worship. And who is there? God’s dearest children, God himself, spirits of those good people who have been made perfect, and Jesus.       So let’s break this down– when we go and pray or worship  the Lord in the name of Jesus, we enter into His Holy Place. This holy place is in the heavens before His throne. The Mount Zion from where the Lord roars.(look it up-Joel and Amos) It is here where we bow down in reverent fear and bring our requests before him, where we praise His name and give Him the honor He deserves. In these heavens there is a great cloud of witnesses- even Jesus! What a wonderful gift and privilege to be able to enter His gates. “Make sure that you obey the one who speaks to you. The people did not escape, when they refused to obey the one who spoke to them at Mount Sinai. Do you think you can possibly escape, if you refuse to obey the one who speaks to you from heaven?  When God spoke the first time, his voice shook only the earth. This time he has promised to shake the earth once again, and heaven too. The words “once again” mean that these created things will someday be shaken and removed. Then what cannot be shaken will last.  We should be grateful that we were given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in this kingdom we please God by worshiping him and by showing him great honor and respect.  Our God is like a destructive fire!  Revelation 3:16 : But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth. You are being prepared for God’s Holy Kingdom.  Our trials and tests here are preparing us and bettering us for the Kingdom of God. Remember to count it all joy when trials come our way. The Lord is preparing a place for us (I think it’s ready). He created us to be Holy like Him, but we have so much more learning to do. Let us keep running the race with all joy. Knowing that through all our tests and trials, the Lord is still with us. It’s like the song says “all I know is Im not home yet, this is not where I belong, Take this world, and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong”

        Lord,  Make me despise the things you despise.  Forgive me for my worldly ways and falling into a lukewarm state. How easily this happens- the current seems so strong. But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Because of your unfailing love,  I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. Lead me in the right path, O Lord or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow. Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love  your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord, you surround them with  your shield of love.   We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.   Pray for the lost (and salvation for my uncle) Related articles

• (Revised Nov. 2012) End Times Witnessing: Three in One Combination for Watchman (kzlam36.wordpress.com)
• I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES – Psalm 121 (ptl2010.com)
• A Thanksgiving Message Hebrews 12 , Psalm 100 (prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)