The Dream That Started It All

Some 20 years ago, when I was in my early 20’s, I had a very disturbing dream that stayed with me for long time before it faded into a memory in the back of my mind.

In the dream, I witnessed a murder of a woman in a community where, when I still lived with my parents, we attended church. There was a older couple that came up from Florida for the summers, M.H. and Rose Goins that attended also. They lived less that half a mile from the church, up on a hill, partially hidden by tall white pines. I had been in their house once, when I was a youngster, and barely remembered much about it. The dream took place in their house.

 

In the dream, a tall, thin, dark-complexioned man had his arms wrapped around a woman from behind, standing near a door that led outside. In his hand was a large kitchen knife, and he held it across the woman’s throat. He was speaking harshly to her, but it was just garble to me. Then, in the heat of anger, he cut her throat, and the blood ran down her body and pooled up on the floor. At that point the dream ‘went black’, and opened up with a new scene. In it, this man was tossing the woman’s body, wrapped in a sheet, over an embankment lined with rocks. I knew that it was a place on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Two years later, when visiting my parents, I went with them to church. I had not been in that area for about five years, since marrying and moving away. Just before we passed what would have been the Goins’ driveway, I noticed that a modular had been erected on the property adjacent to them. I made a comment to my mother about it, to which she replied that it was where ‘the woman had lived that had gone missing two years before.’

I felt my hands get clammy, and asked her to explain. She went on to say that the woman was a daughter of a member of the community who had married a man from South America, and they had put the modular on a parcel of land given to them by her parents. According to the locals, he was a man who was away a lot on business trip, and sometimes the daughter would go along, and sometimes not.

Two years before, the man had flown to Colombia, where he was from, and then returned a few days later, immediately asking her parents of her whereabouts. They were under the impression that she had gone with him, so a missing person’s report was filed. She never turned up.

I immediately remembered my dream two years earlier. All through the church service, I replayed it over and over in mind. When we got back home, I coaxed my mother into telling me all she knew, without revealing why I wanted to know.

To my surprise, the man was due in court the following week on drug charges stemming from being caught trafficking drugs from Colombia into the US, and the local news had been following the story thoroughly. Numerous questions had been asked of him about his wife, but he maintained ignorance of her whereabouts. Before I left going back home, I told my mother that they~the law enforcement~would find her body on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The next week, after all the court ordeal was over, my mother called me to tell me how the case had ended up. After getting nowhere with a confession, investigators were sent to the modular to search for anything that had been missed during previous searches. The house had stood empty for almost the whole of the two years, and nothing had been moved. While there, a chemical test on the carpet by the front door had revealed that a large amount of human blood had been shed there. Later tests revealed that the type was the same as the missing daughter. When confronted with the new evidence, the man confessed to her murder, and led the law enforcement to the pullover on the Parkway where he had thrown her over. While wild animals had mutilated most of her remains, there was enough to conclude that it indeed was her.

After telling me all this, she asked me how I knew about the body being on the Parkway. I told her about the dream. While we both blown away at the accuracy of what I dreamed, there was a question from my mom about the dream scenario taking place at the Goins’ residence, and not where it actually happened. Thinking about it for a moment, I told her that I had not been in that community since the modular had been put in, so I was given the next closest residence. It made sense to me.

In the days afterward, I realized God had given this dream as a ‘wake-up call’, for me to begin to pay attention to the dreams He gave me. So, I deem that the dream ‘the one that started it all’, because it made me ‘sit up and take notice’ of God’s messages to me.

　

Find Joash

(I drew the above picture the next morning after having the following dream.)

This dream began with me looking at what seemed to be a painting in its very beginning stages, where the scenery was lightly drawn out in pencil. The elements given the most detail were the two trees on either side of the rock wall, and the words 'FIND JOASH' written in all-caps on the top of the wall. The trees seemed to be silhouetted against the sky, with a hint of mountain tops drawn in the background.

At the same time I read the words 'Find Joash' in the dream, the words were spoken into my right ear. I got my bible and began searching for Joash. I found several: the boy king that was hidden away, then crowned at seven years old to be king of Judah.. Then, there was the king of Israel some years later that sat with Elisha on his deathbed. Gideon's father was named Joash, as well as the keeper of the oil for King David.

So, which Joash was I supposed to find? And, how would I know once I found him? And, what would I say?

Over the next few days, and after searching the scriptures continually with no success, I decided to let it rest awhile, then come back to it later.

Then, on Wednesday, September 4, we decided to go for a walk in Pisgah National Forest near Davidson River. As we approached the footbridge, we saw a tall, African American man standing in the middle, looking down at the water. He appeared to be in deep thought, as if something was weighing heavy on his mind.

We almost walked on by, but we felt the inclination to stop. We anointed the *bridge, and asked him if he minded if we took his picture to include on our website. He didn't, so we took the picture, talked to him about the love of Yeshua, and gave him a **card for our ministry.

We walked approximately a mile, then turned back. As we walked, we discussed the meeting we just had, and what it might have meant. When we questioned each other as to whether he might have been the Joash we had to find, the spirit came over us in a huge way. There was no mistake~he was the Joash!

We walked back, pleased with the fact that we had 'found' Joash. We pray Alonzo (aka Joash) also got something from us, so that he doesn't have to go look over a bridge to mull over the questions in his life.

(Did you notice how much the picture I took resembles the one I drew? God used the 'picture' to show me the location where we would meet this Joash!)

*https://plus.google.com/u/1/100202880263888261488?tab=mX&gpsrc=gplp0&partnerid=gplp0#communities/108920670148815214650

** www.philippiprospectministries.org



Given In Marriage

 

A few months ago, I had a wonderful dream about a young man we had gotten to know. He is in his early ‘20’s, and has a tremendous burden for other young adults in his community.

 

In this dream, there were eight young women lined up on a very narrow path on the side of a steep, rocky face. Each of these girls were wearing a beautiful purple dress, with a bouquet of white flowers in their hands.

 

They each moved in unison, one step at a time, on the narrow ledge. What they could not see was near the end of this ledge, where there should have been a step to safety, there was a wide chasm instead.

 

Standing there to help each one was Chris, dressed in a tuxedo. He gave each his arm, as if he were asking them to dance, and when she accepted, she stepped over the chasm as if it weren’t even there. He then led her a few steps further, where a minister awaited her arrival to perform a wedding ceremony.

 

This dream moved me considerably, as well as members of his family. When I told his mother about it, she informed me of the burden he had for some of the young women in his church who had not received salvation. He had led at least one of them to the Lord, and was counseling the rest about their lives thus far.

 

It was then that I understood my dream fully. Each of these young women were being wooed by the Holy Spirit, and were on their way to being ‘married’. That is, accepting Jesus as their Savior.

 

But, as we know, the enemy had them walking where they could easily fall. And, if they didn’t fall, he had a chasm waiting in front of them so that they could not cross on their own.

 

God had shown me Chris’ purpose in their lives: to help them across the difficulties that would keep them from their awaiting groom, Jesus Christ.

Out of the Whirlwind

In June of 2010, about two months before we gave up our house and set out on the road, God gave me a dream telling us how we were to go about our ministry.

In my dream, I was standing in our living room and, from the ceiling came a swirling wind that enveloped me. It continued to moved in a circular motion around me, resembling the funnel of a small tornado.

I was mesmerized by the movement of air around me, yet on the inside, it was peaceful and still. Then, out of the wind, I heard a voice speak:

“Your job is to tell those that already know.”

In the last three years, we have done exactly as were told. We have been sent to numerous people, all of which claim Christianity, but don’t live it. God has sent us to remind people of their commitment to Him. Some people pledge their lives to God at the time of salvation, or when God has brought them through some great trouble.

Just like the children of Israel in the Old Testament, when things were going good, they forgot their commitment to God, and He had to send a prophet to remind them that they were His people. Our mission, it turns out, has not been that different.

Since God spoke to me out of the whirlwind, I thought it would be interesting to see what else a *whirlwind was used for. (*In Hebrew, the word is translated as tempest.)

In 2 Kings, Elijah was taken up to heaven alive in a whirlwind.

In Job 37:9, we are told that the whirlwind comes out of the south. South, in Hebrew, is chamber. Does that mean that a whirlwind comes out of God’s chambers?

In Psalm 107:25, God commands a ‘stormy wind’ to come upon the people.

In Isaiah, there are three instance of ‘whirlwind’. In 5:28, Isaiah compares the turning of chariot wheels to that of a whirlwind. In 17:13, a mass of people running away from God are compared to a tumbleweed being blown by a wind storm. And 66:15 tells us that God uses a whirlwind ‘to render His anger in fury.’

In Jeremiah, there are two scriptures dealing with whirlwinds. In 23:19, God uses a whirlwind to show His fury against the wicked. 30:23 is a repeat of the same scripture.

Ezekiel uses some of the most symbolic imagery in Scripture to describe what the whirlwind was made of.

In Amos 1:14, God uses a whirlwind and fire to destroy palaces.

In Nahum 1:3, it says that ‘the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.’

It would seem that most of the Scripture about whirlwinds is about when God is about to pronounce a judgment upon someone. That has been our experience in our journey thus far. Everyone that has rejected what God had to offer very soon had many troubles enter their lives.

If God ever speaks to anyone from a whirlwind, take heed. If the Scriptures are anything to go by, God means business.

Attenborough Black

The above image was given to me in a dream on the morning of March 15, 2013. I drew this sketch as soon as I got up to try to capture the message it seemed to convey. It seemed that I was looking at a picture~a very old picture. The man in the picture seemed to have somewhat of a Johnny Depp in the character of Jack Sparrow look about him. His shirt seemed to be made out of burlap fabric, because the weave was very coarse and rough. Even though the clothing was very prominent, it was the eyes that seemed to stand out the most. As the image faded away, the words spoken into my ear was “Attenborough Black.”

All that morning, I struggled to figure out just what ‘Attenborough Black’ meant. The only ‘Attenborough’ I knew of was David, the English narrator of nature shows. So, I googled the name, to see what popped up. I ended reading all about David and his brothers, Richard and John, but nothing really jumped out at me, so I mulled it over for the next two days.

The one thing that I had watched that first day that kept coming into my mind was a video of David Attenborough narrating a segment about underwater thermal vents, and the role they play in the oceanic environment. I had watched several different videos, but nothing really ‘spoke’ to me. But, at that point, I knew I was on the right track, so I kept searching. After finding nothing in search after search, I typed ‘David Attenborough’ one last time and looked through the list of websites that came up. I realized there was one I had not previously clicked. Within the first few seconds of the less-than-3 minute video, I found what God was leading me to find. (follow link below)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/Hydrothermal_vent#p00fff1y



Mr. Attenborough explained how life was sustainable for certain oceanic animals, even at high temperatures, and with no light from the sun. Until these creatures were discovered, scientists thought that no life could sustain without sunlight. It was then that I knew what the dream meant.

My daughter had met, about four months prior, a young man named Johnny that was just checking himself into a drug rehabilitation center after 14 years of heroin use. He had tried several detox centers during those years, but this time he had a new attitude, because he had asked Jesus into his heart.

The Lord led us to minister to him, which we did for 3 months, and he has become a new person. While he still has ‘urges’, God is helping him overcome all the temptation thrown at him.

As David Attenborough pointed out, life can be found in even the deepest, darkest places, even if others never thought it was possible.

Stomping the Snake

Back in 1995, God gave me a peculiar dream; one that I won’t soon forget.

 

My dad was called to preach in the mid-’80’s, just before I graduated high school. About 18 months into pastoring a small church, some harsh words were spoken between him and his sister, and he resigned from the position.

After I married in 1986, I was not in church much, but in 1995, I attended a revival in that church. During the 3 weeks that it ran, I developed a burden for my dad. I could see that he was truly called, and he was letting some trivial words be a stumbling block. The Lord gave me a dream to go along with the burden, as well as Rev. 22:10 as a way of explaining that it was to be done as soon as possible.

The dream began with me walking along a paved road, wearing cowboy boots. Just a few feet away, in front of me, was a huge black snake, about 10 ft long. The odd thing about it was that instead of a normal snake’s head, it was my dad’s head--bald with big, brown eyes.

I walked up to the snake and, although it looked harmless, I knew it was actually dangerous. I lifted my right leg, and stomped on the head of the snake as hard as I could. It made an impact, so I did it again. It was stunned, but not dead yet, so I lifted my leg higher and put more force into the crushing blow. That time, the snake rolled over, belly up, and died.

The morning after I had this dream, I was sitting on the side of my bed, reading in Revelations, wondering what to do. I knew I had to tell him of my burden; I had to be obedient. Suddenly the words in chapter 22, verse 10, jumped out at me: ‘for the time is hand.’ So, in my spirit, I asked the Lord, ‘The next time I see him?’ The answer came back: ‘The next time you see him.’

Just a few days later, I had the opportunity to speak to him in private. I told him my burden, that the Lord had told me that he should return to preaching. He gave me a sly ‘that’s none of your business’ look, and that was that. About three months later, when I saw him again, I repeated the first message. Same result.

The third ‘stomp’ came almost four months later. I and my two daughters had gone with them to a singing in Tennessee, and I had left my car at the Burger King in the town where I lived. Upon returning, we all went in for a burger, as none of us had eaten that evening.

I knew this was my last opportunity. It was February, and very cold. He went out to start the car, to warm up before continuing on to their house, another hour away. I did the same. As we walked out of the building, with tears in my eyes, I told him once more that the Lord had called him to preach, and that he should be obedient to that calling.

He started to cry, and told me he knew it, and had known it all along. He said he was waiting for the Lord to give him the opportunity, and he would begin again.

I walked away relieved; I had done my part. I was obedient, even though it was hard for me to tell my dad the words told me to tell him. But, I could not let his disobedience cause mine.

　

Calf > Rabbit > Turtle > Chicken

About a year ago, I was questioning a period in my life, where I was not sure about my relationship with the Lord. I knew I had went to an altar at 14, and had invited Jesus into my heart. I knew at age 28, I had dedicated my life to him. By that time, I had married, had two children, and divorced. But, my question was: Where was Jesus in my life during all of this? Had I really received Him when I knelt at 14? So I prayed for God to reveal the answer to me, so I could look back on my life and see where I stood with Him during that time. In reply, He gave me a dream to explain it all.

Part 1: The Calf and the Rabbit

The dream began with me as a young girl in my teens, riding in the backseat of a car driven by my father, down a country lane. My great grandfather, his grandfather, was sitting in the passenger seat, and the two of them were talking. We came to a stop sign at an intersection, and while sitting there, I looked out into a field to my left and saw a just-born, black and white calf. I quietly opened the car door, hurried through the fence, scooped up the tiny calf, and returned to the car. It lay in my lap, but as the car began to move again, it turned into a fluffy, black and white rabbit.

As we drove along, the two men in the front continued to talk, while I focused all my attention into petting the rabbit. While I cuddled it, and moved my hand across its soft fur, it looked up at me with eyes so full of love that I could feel it permeating my being.

Part 2: The Turtle

At this point, the dream changed to me walking along a small stream, only about two feet wide, carrying a bucket. My rabbit had turned into a small turtle~the kind that lives in water~and it was inside the bucket. As I walked along, I saw another turtle, just slightly bigger. I thought it would be nice if my turtle had a friend to play with, so I picked up the turtle and put it into the bucket. Immediately, the larger turtle began attacking my turtle, trying to kill it. I was horrified.



Part 3: The Chicken

At this point, the scenery changed, and I was standing in Jim Phillips’ store, a little country store in the community where I grew up. I was behind the counter, lining a wooden crate with plastic. I planned to fill it with water, put the turtle into it, to give it a better home. I questioned myself on whether it would be a comfortable home for my turtle, and went around from behind the counter to get it. Sitting across the room on a bench was my husband, James.

I made eye-contact with him, then looked down to where I had placed the turtle in the bucket. Instead of the bucket stood a blood-red colored chicken, a hen, that looked up at me with the same loving eyes that the rabbit had. I stood staring at it, feeling the love expressed in the chicken’s eyes pour over me like warm water. It was at this point that I woke up.

I pondered the meaning of the dream for days; nothing I thought of seemed to make sense. Then, I realized that each part of the dream corresponded with a timeline in my life, beginning at salvation at 14, and ending with the introduction of a Godly husband into my life. It was a span of 27 years.

Interpretation: Part 1

At 14, I was still under my father’s authority, in his household, and that is why he was driving the car, with me in the backseat. He had just been called to preach around that time, and was greatly influenced by his grandfather, who was also a preacher, hence their conversation while driving.

The calf I took out of the field was my initial acceptance of Jesus when I went to the altar at 14. The rabbit represented my Christian walk as I grew and multiplied in the knowledge of Him. In reality, that was age 14 until I got married at age 20.

Interpretation: Part 2

My rabbit turned into a turtle when I got married.  After researching the type of turtle I saw in the dream, I realized what its symbolism meant. I learned that they dig themselves down to the muddy bottom of ponds, and hibernate there all winter.

My Christianity, as weak as it was, was never on the surface. It was always on the bottom, and only surfaced when everything was sunny in my life, which was seldom during that time.

After being married for over 8 years, I divorced my unfaithful husband, and soon after began a new relationaship with another man. He turned out to be very violent~even more violent than my ex had been.

He was the turtle that tried to kill my turtle. In 2004, after suffering at his hands for years, I attempted suicide. I spent 2 days in intensive care, and another week in a 'guest' in a psych hospital.


Interpretation: Part 3

Jim Phillip's little country store was a pillar in the small community in which I grew up. Even though it has long since been bulldozed, I still dream of it often. In every dream about it I have had in the last 4+ years, it has symbolized my present husband, James, who is also known as Jim to some.

The crate I was trying to put together for the turtle (as yet I didn't know it had turned into a chicken) represents the beginning of our relationship almost 5 years ago, when I was still in my 'old' frame of mind. The chicken reprsents Jesus, my Lord, Abba Father, and Healer, who is no longer hibernating unseen inside of me. Instead, He is shown on the outside, living and breathing through my testimony and obedience to Him.

I was satified that I had interpreted the dream well, except for the chicken. The loving eyes aside, why would Jesus choose to symbolize Himself in my life as a chicken, and a hen, at that?

The question perplexed me, and everything I researched about chickens made no sense to me. It was all associated with having no courage. I knew that wasn't right! Then, I began to think: What does a hen do?

It came to me clearly: a chicken, specifically a hen, can feed a person every day, through the natural process of laying an egg, without losing its own life in the  process.  The chicken then made perfect sense, especially it being the deep red color.  

He feeds me daily~the daily bread~keeping me alive spiritually, all the while, looking at me with love in His eyes.

God Has a Sense of Humor

We've all said it. "God has a sense of humor." And, most of us have probably had at least one  humorous event happen in our lives that we know only God could orchestrate. Take, for example, the following:

Back in the mid '90's, a cousin of mine was in her third trimester with her and her husband's second child. Janie's husband was an unbeliever, but everyone in the family could see that the Lord was dealing with him. But, Jamie had dug in his heels, saying he 'just wasn't ready'. But, the Lord had a plan to get his attention, and that He did when routine tests revealed that the unborn baby, which they knew was a boy, had Downs Syndrome.

Janie refused to entertain the doctors findings-she had gotten a word from the Lord that her baby was fine, and she stood on it. She knew that the Lord was working on her husband's heart. She had peace, but Jamie was  wreck. He was angry, confused, and just couldn't get the peace with it that his wife had. He spent his days at work, which was bulldozing a house site, in tears. As the delivery date approached, and every subsequent test revealed the same results, Jamie's heart was getting to the breaking point.

One night, just a few days before the anticipated delivery, the Lord gave me a dream, which made no sense to me at the time. But, it was soon revealed that, even in a serious matter, that God can bring out the humor in it.

In my dream, there were five doctors, all in white lab coats, encircling a dark substance in the middle of a  graveled road. As they walked around, they were chanting as they bowed to the substance. They would all raise up in unison, take a few steps, then bow again.

I was just an observer in the dream; I stepped forward to see  what they were worshiping, as it was apparent at that point that was what they were doing. As I peered between them, I saw a fresh pile of....what I will politely call 'road apples' just deposited by a horse. It was so fresh that there was still steam rising from it.

The dream had come early in the week, so I spent the rest of it contemplating what it could possibly mean. I got my answer on Sunday when another relative filled me in on what had happened on Friday's visit to the doctor. After the latest test came back positive, Jamie had stood up, expressed his anger, and walked out of the doctor's office. His last words to the doctor was 'it was all a bunch of horse sh**'.

Well, that certainly explained the dream! I was also told that the primary doctor had called in four specialists. They were all standing behind the tests results, even though Janie had told them that she had faith in God that they were wrong.

On that Monday, Jamie surrendered his heart to the Lord. Three days later, Stetson came into the world, completely healthy.

Jesus Is At the Top of Our Mountain of Grief

Several years ago, in '94 and '95, I went through some unexpected life-changes. Our children were 5 1/2 and 4 when my then-husband and I divorced.

There was a period of about 2 1/2 to 3 years leading up to the divorce that I was miserable. (I had a cheating husband that just would not stop.)  I had no real support group; no one in  my family or friends that 'gave me a shoulder to cry on', so to speak. For 2 years afterward, I slept with my Bible cuddled to me like a teddy bear. For those years, God looked out for me, and I wasn't even in a 'good' relationship with Him. But, one night, in a dream, He showed me how much He cared.

In my dream, my two little girls, my mother and I were climbing up the side of a rock cliff. Each one of us had a rope anchored at the top. We each held onto our rope, grasping hand over hand, walking up the rock.

I reached the top before the others. As soon as I was on flat ground, I turned loose of the rope and looked up. Standing just a few feet away was Jesus. He was very tall-about 15 to 16 feet. I ran the few steps between us and jumped into His arms, throwing my arms around His neck. I clung to Him.

I woke up at this point. Even though it has been about 17 years since I had the dream, thinking about it makes me feel just as loved by Him now as it made me feel then.

The symbolism speaks volumes. I had been climbing a mountain of misery, shame and humiliation for the five years previous. But, Jesus was waiting at the top to tell me that He would be there to help me out from then on.

Looking back, I can now see a deeper meaning behind the dream than I could see at the time. It was March of '95, a month before my divorce was final, that I turned my life completely over to Him. In the dream, He was just welcoming me back.

Joseph-The Master of Dreams

I realized a long time ago that God spoke to me through dreams. I have been dreaming prophetically since about the age of eight. I remember having the same recurring dream in my teens, every two years into my twenties. It puzzled me until I saw it fulfilled just before I turned 30. I've had many people ask me to interpret their dreams. I've had others ask if I am a psychic, to which I reply a resounding 'NO!" I consider it a gift, not of my own choice, but one that God Himself has bestowed upon me. Just as He did with Joseph, He still uses symbolism, to show me what He plans to do in the future.

The Scripture is very clear about dreams, and where they come from. In Gen. 37, we see Joseph given two similar dreams that, when told to his brothers, set in motion the actions that put him in the place God needed him to be for the dreams to come true.  I have found that the Lord still works this way; I have had similar experiences where my dreams caused me to react a certain way, which led to the fulfillment of them.

As we read the story of Joseph throughout Genesis 40, we are told some Godly truths about dreams. The first is Joseph's reply to the butler and baker. Do not interpretations belong to God? In other words, whatever the symbolism is, God will reveal in His time what certain things mean.

In Genesis 41, when Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream, he tells him, God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. So, when dreams trouble us, we can rest assured that God will reveal the answer, and in so doing, it will bring on a level of peace. God gave Joseph the wisdom to comprehend the dream, which led him to be second-in-command of the whole of Egypt. Only in the throne will I be higher than you, said Pharaoh.

Just a few verses later, we see Joseph's initial dream being fulfilled as his brothers kneel in front of him, not recognizing him. All those many years later, Joseph understood the dreams of his youth, even though they took several years to manifest. He tells his brothers that God sent him there, to preserve life. So, it was not you that sent me here, but God... (Gen. 45:5-8)  

Again, we see clearly that dreams come from God. (I will put in a 'disclaimer' here: Not every dream is a prophetic dream. Sometimes our subconscious [or whatever the experts would call it] gives us the visual Reader's Digest version of our life at that time. Also, I will stress this point here: there are those that believe that dreams can be 'of the devil', as I had someone tell me recently. But, there is no scriptural evidence to back that up. In fact, every reference, in scripture, other written sources, and the respected ministers I questioned, show no proof that the devil can cause a dream, or in any way have power over the dreaming process.)

In Job 33, the scripture states where dreams come from and why they come. For God speaks once, yes twice, yet man perceives it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumberings on the bed; Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, That he may withdraw man from wrongdoing, and hide pride from man. He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. (14-17)

Numbers holds perhaps one of the most insightful examples of God's purpose for dreams, and who He sends them to. And He said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold... (12:6-8)

Daniel (2:28) tells the king ...There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets and makes known to the king...what shall be in the latter days...

Joel and Peter both say the same thing: I will pour out my spirit on all flesh....your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17)

An angel came to Joseph telling him not to fear to take Mary as his wife, then again later, to tell him to take Mary and the baby Jesus and flee to Egypt. (Matt. 1:20, 2:12)

There are those that God calls false prophets, that claims to have God-given dreams. ....I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.  I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yes, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? said the LORD. (Jer. 23:21, 25-28) 

For thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the middle of you, deceive you, neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them, said the LORD. (Jer. 29:8-9)

It's obvious that the scripture is differentiating between those really having God-given dreams, and those making up their own dreams, and using them to lead people astray.

I hope this little snippet of information has helped someone. I take my God-given gift of prophetic dreams  seriously, and live my life accordingly. He has yet to lead me to a different place or down a different path that He has shown me in my dreams. If it comes via God, it has to be right, even if I have to go through 'prison', as Joseph did, to get to the place where God needs me to be to do His work. Blessings to all!