I saw in a dream a man’s house is somehow totally destroyed. There does not seem to be anything left, just a pile of rubble. I see the man sifting through it in despair. He is left with nothing but dust and ashes. Then the rain comes. The man is sifting through the rubble, and perhaps he is now trying to shield the ashes from the rain. He seems to be trying to somehow salvage something before it is now utterly beyond redemption. I think I see this from the sidewalk in front of his house. I have asked him to come with me to the church. He seems torn; leave his destruction behind and go with me, or stay and hope to salvage something from the ashes of his house.
He turns to go with me, and in what seems just an instant when he was not looking, there is life growing in his rubble! There, growing from the former rubble are the most wonderful plants. They are amazingly beautiful, robust and already almost knee high, with glossy broad green leaves. They are coming up all over his devastated yard, and surrounding the foundation of what was his house! He looks astounded. He is trying to understand what happened… I tell him to let them grow and come with me for now. I know even as I am saying this the Lord has completely destroyed this man and his former “house”, leaving absolutely nothing behind of the old man.
The Lord was making him a new creation! The Lord could not use anything from the old. Everything had to be destroyed, or it would have only been a make-over.
Like yeast that works its way through the whole loaf, nothing of the old flesh can remain in this new creation of the Lord. Everything must go and be let go. When the man finally turned from his destruction, the rains come. At first it seems to be even more destruction. But, rain washes away the last remnants of what the fire burned up, cleansing and purifying, and finally giving life. Just as the Lord brought forth Life from the void in the beginning, He alone can bring forth new life; a new creation with the rain of His Holy Spirit! The man must permit the Holy Spirit to have His way in him!
And when he sees that there is nothing but dust and ashes to what he has spent his life accumulating in the world, and nothing but muck and mire to himself, he can walk away from himself and allow the Spirit to do His miraculous work.
The new creation springs up gladly from the torched earth (the man), made new by the life-giving rains (Holy Spirit).
“11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds upon this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:
but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (KJV)
“20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby
he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Philippians 3:20-21 (KJV)
“49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Corinthians 15:49-52 (KJV)
[Originally composed: Saturday, February 26, 2005]