Attack your Faith

Attack your Faith At the beginning of summer, before my friend Paige left for Germany, she told me of the church she attended near Northwestern. It is led by one of NWC’s chapel coordinator’s/pastors (Drew Shepp)’s wife’s father, Paul. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I already was attending another house church with some college friends. 7/6/12 I received a vision/dream that was later revealed to be prophesy. In the dream part, I saw that at my house my family, my friend Paige and I just ate a home-cooked meal. (She had just come back from Germany working with Steiger for missions over the summer). She talked about her experience as we ate. Then, as we were cleaning the dishes, she talked to me about finding a certain people group near where she lived in Germany and she had the desire to go back there and spend the rest of her life with them. This was a marvelous discovery for her and she was very excited. Next I told her that I received a picture from God and didn’t quite figure out what it meant. I could describe it perfectly because I have a pictographic memory. It was a field somewhere in a dry place with mountains in the background. There are some types of valley flowers and lots of tall grass. Also, I can see this cloud in the upper-left corner of the picture that looks calm and fluffy, but in distance towards the mountains it twists into a funnel cloud as if there are storms forming ahead. There is a dirt road with wheel tracks in the opposite, lower-right corner. The tracks lead around a small hill in the foreground of the picture. Paige interpreted the picture and told me not to focus on the flowers, grasses, and the cloud, but to focus on the road. 8/17/12, 5 AM God called to me in a dream. He called me back as a warrior for His sake. He said to me, “Attack your faith.” I saw before me a bookshelf as if everything in my life was a book, and each thing was being tested by fire. This is just like the end times with the final judgment. It was like God’s hand was hovering over the books and the ones that were not worthy, He called some by name, would fall from the shelf. Others would remain, which reminded me of the sturdy rocks at the end of a waterfall. He said to me to claim men for Him. I have called and prayed to Him to be Lord of my life again. He will surely lead me. I feel a fire inside me. It feels like I have been put into action, ready to do anything. He told me to put on the full armor of God each morning. He asked me again to memorize Scripture and He would place me in a church soon. This is because I felt lost in my house church and felt I wasn’t getting fed in more essential ways. 8/31/12 Friday Driving the shuttle around 4pm, I got a text from Paige that she wanted to ride in the van and chat. We caught up with each other briefly, and she also told me an amazing story. While she was over in Germany at the time I had received the vision/dream, that week her team was dedicated to listening and giving prophesies. Since she was on a media fast, she could not get back to me until the end of the week to reply to me what happened over there. She told me that she had told her teammates of my vision and they were all excited at what God had done in multiple places. What is also amazing is that she told me that she actually has the ability to interpret pictures sent by God. 9/1/12 Saturday Working at ACE Hardware in Arden Hills, a man came in and talked to my coworker. I approached them and caught some of the end of their conversation. I overhead some words like “Northwestern College” and “house church.” It seemed like the man had invited my friend to something, and I saw him hand my coworker a business card. He started talking to me, and we each realized something unique. I said I attend Northwestern, and he also gave me a card. I now knew that this was the pastor of Paige’s church, the house church near school. I was excited to find out exactly when and where it met. I told him quickly before he left that I knew Paige and that we had talked in the shuttle van to briefly share her experience.

Don’t play “Deer in the Headlights” with the Devil’s Schemes

The enemy—-Satan and his demonic allies and authorities—- “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He is like a hunter that has his bait and weapon set on you. A dedicated hunter uses the best tools for the destruction of his target. This includes crafting weapons, laying traps, using bait (which may even be the scent of desire), and he plans his attack very thoroughly. Unlike real hunters that usually go for a “kill shot,” where only the minimum use of ammunition is used, the Devil may kill you slowly over your life like a poison weakening your might. He is crafty, no matter how he comes at you. These schemes are not in the physical realm, although illness is certainly a tool against you, but “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Do not be surprised by this deadliness, as an unaware deer’s expression (“caught in the headlights”). Learn your weaknesses, which are the key points the Devil will attack you from. Live in the Spirit, which is not only where the “spiritual forces” live but also where God lives. This means dying to the flesh and putting on the Armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Also, you are not alone. Everyone is in the war, and your brothers and sisters need as much support as you do. Come at each other’s side and aid, to whatever weaknesses (targets) they wear, understanding that we are all wounded by others and ourselves. In the fight, Brian