The night before last I had a dream about a group of people who were very upset with a man because he would not run an errand for them. They did not believe the reason he gave for refusing to carry out his assignment. He said to them, "There is a lion in the street!" And they said, "He's crazy!" But I looked out onto the street and there, indeed, was a big lion. So I began to shout to people who were outside in their cars, "There is a lion in the street! Don't get out of your vehicles!" The big lion was just slowly walking around; then he would lie down, almost as if he were tame. But I got pretty emotional as I shouted that warning to the people.

I was reminded of the dream the next day when I happened to open a magazine and saw a full page, colored picture of a big lion. The Bible describes Satan as a lion that we should "resist steadfast in the faith." It says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (IPet.5:8). In my dream, the lion was not roaring; he seemed almost tame. But that could symbolize that our adversary wants us to think he will not harm us so that we will not be on guard against his tactics.

It is understandable why people would think someone was crazy (as they did in my dream) if he said there was a lion in the street. We have lions in zoos in this country but not in the streets. But this lion who is our adversary is invisible. The Bible says, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph.6:11,12).

In my dream, I warned the people not to get out of their vehicles because of the lion. God has given us a vehicle for protection; it is the whole armor of God, which is what we are to stay within (Eph.6:14-17). It is essential in warfare to know your weapons and how to use them, and to know what weapons the enemy has and how to set up a defense against them. We really should be more knowledgeable of the weaponry of the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged. Of course, if we are not even aware that a war is going on in the spiritual realm, we will not bother setting up a defense.

Paul the apostle said, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imag- inations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor.10:4, 5). The mind is the battlefield; it is the first place the enemy will attack. Evil imaginations are Satan's main weapon that comes against our minds like ballistic missiles, and our defense to counter attack these evil imaginations and destroy them--even before they can hit us--is to bring "every thought to the obedience of Christ."

It is important to realize that this scripture verse does not say "obedience TO Christ" but rather "the obedience OF Christ." Many scripture verses tell us to be obedient to the Lord, but this one speaks about His obedience to His Father; and when we bring our thoughts to think of His obedience, it casts down evil imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God (knowing what God is really like).

And this is the obedience OF Christ: "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil.2:7, 8). That is what we should keep our minds on: the obedience OF Christ to death on the cross.

The evil imagination that Satan attacks our mind with is a false concept of God. He used it on Eve and he will use it on you and me. Anyone who has a false image of God lodged in their mind is not in a position to receive the benefits of their inheritance in the estate that Christ left us when He died on the cross.

I remember a teenage girl in a wheelchair telling me that she would not pray for a healing because she felt that if she could walk, she would go into sin. This implied that it was not God's will for her to be healed or that His grace was not sufficient to keep her from sinning if she were healed. Satan had lodged in her mind an evil imagination (false concept of God) which crippled her spiritual walk, and that was more of a handicap to her than her physical ailment. She was like the people in my dream who were not aware of the "lion."

I meet many people who are carrying false concepts of God in their minds. Another man was talking to me about his father who had gone home to be with the Lord. He described to me what great faith his father had, because for several years before he died he had suffered terribly with cancer, yet had never asked the Lord to heal him. (Such a statement startled me. It is difficult for me to comprehend how a believer could be sick and not ask the Lord for a healing.) He went on to explain to me that it was the Lord's will that his father had cancer, that it was his cross to bear.

It amazed me that a child of God could believe that his Heavenly Father would inflict a terrible disease upon one of His children! This man has two young sons and he would never, in his wildest imagination, ever think of placing something upon them that would make them suffer; yet he thinks that God will give a child of His the gift of cancer! Jesus said, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Mat.7:11).

Some people really believe God would afflict one of His children with a terrible disease to teach him a lesson, that the Good Shepherd would "break the leg" of one of His sheep to keep it from running astray; but He is not like that--not one bit like that! I simply cannot believe that old traditional teaching that God wants us to carry a heavy burden on our journey through life to show how spiritual we are, and to demonstrate what great faith we have to endure it. That type of mentality creates a false concept of God as being a hard taskmaster over His children. It is understandable why many Christians are frightened to spend time alone with the Lord to get to know Him better if they think He is like that!

Because God has given us freedom of choice, a lot of terrible things take place in this world. The Lord does not cause them. Man does. But He allows them, and will use bad events to eventually work for good in the lives of all who love Him and are the called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28). Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Mat.6:10), which reminds us that God's will is not always done on earth. It was not the will of God for the man's father to suffer with cancer. The Great Physician came to heal us, not to afflict us.

We break the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex.20:3), every time we harbor a false concept of God. That is the terrible plague that vexes mankind! Satan has deceived so many into accepting a false image of God that the world has become like a crowded highway of people, running in a marathon--away from the Lord.

I remember when I used to carry in my heart a false image of God, which filled my life with fear and guilt and caused me to be afraid of Him. That was about thirty years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was about thirty years old at the time and had been carrying that false image of God for many years; then one night the Lord spoke just five words to me that smashed that image to bits!

How well I recall laying in bed that night, praying for my infant son who was afflicted with cancer. I cried, "O God, I've had nearly thirty years of life and my son has only had three months; take that off from him and place it on me!" Then, immediately, for the first time in my life, I became aware of hearing the voice of God. It was not an audible voice that I heard with my ears; it went straight to my spirit. He said to me, "I AM NOT LIKE THAT!" Then I prayed, "O God, please heal him!" and fell asleep. The next morning I awoke with a peace like I had never before experienced in my life. The doctors went ahead with a scheduled operation on the child and found not a trace of cancer.

My concept of God had received a dramatic change: I was beginning to believe that He is good. It was the goodness of God that caused me to want to know Him better. God had been drawing me to Himself for years, and I had been resisting Him; now I wanted to change my ways and do His will. I wanted to learn more about the goodness of God, and He gave me a clear understanding of the sacrifice of His Son. It was then that I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and have since been growing in His love. I still want and need to know Him better--there is no end to His goodness.

I once thought the Lord looked upon me with anger, but after having the revelation of what He did on the cross for me, my thinking has changed drastically. Now I can say as the Psalmist did, "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!" (Ps.139:17).

In all the years I have been walking with the Lord, I have never heard Him say an unkind word to me. I have been called a lot of bad names by the devil, by the world, and by my own flesh, but never by the Lord. If I really heard Jesus call me (I mean the real me, not my image, but the new creation) a bad name, I would be crushed! I can assure you that the Lord will never call a child of His a bad name!

The devil will, directly and indirectly through others, have some awful names to lay upon you, but don't give any heed to them. Jesus said, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?" (Mat.10:24, 25). It was the Pharisees who called Jesus that wicked name.

Beelzebub was a heathen deity believed to be the prince of evil spirits. He was the Philistine god of the flies, also referred to as Baalzebel, the dung god. Calling someone Beelzebub is labeling them with the most evil name that can be spoken. It is more than the name of a heathen god; it is a title of Satan.

Do you think Jesus would ever call a precious child of His, whom He loves enough to be crucified for, a name like Beelzebub?! Do you really believe Jesus called His disciple, Peter, Satan?! It appears that He did; that is, if you read Matthew 16:23 with the understanding of the natural mind. That scripture verse has always troubled me; at least, until now, for the Lord recently opened that portion of His word to my heart, and it brings me great joy.

One day Jesus asked His disciples, "Whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." Then Jesus went on to tell Peter he was blessed by receiving the revelation that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that it was not revealed to him by man, but rather by His Father in Heaven. And that the revelation (not Peter) is the rock He would build His Church upon (Mat.16:15-18).

From that time forth, Jesus began to show His disciples how He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and then be raised again on the third day. That is when Peter took Him aside and said, "This shall not be unto thee" (Mat.16:22). Little did Peter realize the satanic attack he was under at the time. Satan was invading his human intellect to deceive his mind and blind him to the truth of the word of God.

Two of the greatest revelations ever given to mankind had been revealed to Peter. One, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and the other, that He must be crucified for the sins of the world. Peter, at the time, was unaware of what was happening in the spiritual realm as the Father Himself revealed who Jesus is and how He was going to save mankind. At a time like this, you can be sure that the Prince of Darkness, the enemy of God, was not going to sit back and do nothing! Satan went on the attack against Peter!

But Jesus, our Great Protector, said to Peter, "Get thee behind me." Then, with His child Peter safely behind Him, our Lord stepped forth to deal with the mighty dragon enemy. He said to that monster, "Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men" (Mat.16:23).

The devil does not care for the things of God, such as, a heart that is open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, but he does place a great value on the intellect of man, because that is where he can use his deception to create a false image of God.

When the Lord said to Peter "Get thee behind me," it was not to rebuke him but to protect him. It is not our place to be in front of Jesus in the battle against Satan, but to be behind Him where there is safety, lest we be consumed. The Lord is the One to battle the evil one. Ahead is coming the greatest battle of all time where we, the children of God, will be safe and secure behind Jesus. It is the battle of Armageddon where all the evil powers will combine to make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them (Rev.17:14). Yes, we shall be behind our Lord, riding on white horses, "clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Rev.19:14). Have you ever heard of such a battle? Where the Commander rides ahead on a white horse and defeats the enemy while His army rides safely behind Him in victory?!

Some Christians say, after doing a terrible deed, "The devil made me do it; something just came over me and I couldn't help it." They make it seem as if the Lord will not protect His children, which is simply not true. If we CHOOSE, by faith, to put on the armor of God and stay close to the Lord, we will have ample protection from the evil one. The Bible says, ". . . for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God" (Josh.23:10, 11).

After Jesus dealt with the devil, He then continued to teach His disciples, saying unto them, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Mat.16:24). It is not difficult for most of us to understand what it means to deny self, but what is our "cross" that we are to take up and carry as we follow Jesus?

Our cross is not some sin that we think we cannot overcome, because Jesus bore all of our sins on the cross of Calvary.

Our cross is not guilt, for the Bible says that we who hear His word and believe in Him shall not come into condemnation (John 5:24), and that there is "no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom.8:1).

Our cross to carry is not some bad experience that happened to us in the past that must weigh us down for a lifetime.Yes, it is good, rather than burying a bad past event in our subconscious, to bring it up and face it; then give it to the Lord and go on with our new life in Christ. Paul the apostle said, ". . . but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil.3:13, 14).

Our cross is not our old human nature, that part of us that doesn't want to be denied; for even though it will bother us, we still can deny it, reckon it dead, nailed to the cross with Christ (Rom.6:11).

Our cross to carry is not a sickness. Some of the most inspirational people I know are ones who have a sickness, a handicap, or some other affliction, and are not complaining, but are thankful for the goodness of the Lord and are asking and waiting for His deliverance. All of God's children who have an affliction will be healed: some instantly, some later, and some as they cross over to the Golden Shore. When we hear someone say, "I have prayed and I am not healed, so this sickness must be my cross to bear," it sounds like a statement of faith, but it is not. What it does is place a good light on the person and a bad light on God. Yes, there are many who suffer terribly with dreadful ailments and are, indeed, weighed down with a heavy load; yet they should not try to bear it alone, but lean on the Lord and keep praying for a healing.

The cross we are to carry is not anything that we are to worry about, for He said to cast "ALL your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1Pet.5:7).

Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mat.11:28-30). What is the easy yoke, the light burden we receive from the Lord that gives rest to our souls? It is the same as what He told us to take up and carry as we follow Him. It is our cross! But not our old cross.

The cross is an instrument of punishment, something that bears judgment for sin. There is only One who made footprints on the face of this earth who was not burdened with the cross of judgment, because only He was without sin. Jesus was crucified for our sins; therefore, He took that old cross of judgment that we have been burdened with all of our sinful lives, and He bore it for us. Our cross became His cross. He paid the price to fulfill its purpose. He took it from us, "For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2Cor.5:21), and then He gave it back to us to carry. But it is not the same old cross. It is a new cross, completely different; it is no longer an instrument of judgment, but rather our passport to Heaven!

To all of us who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and have received Him into our hearts, the cross we are to carry is ALL THAT JESUS ACCOMPLISHED FOR US WITH HIS CRUCIFIXION! The shoulder that we bear this wonderful cross on is our faith. Carrying our cross by faith is always being aware of who we are in Christ. It is resting in the finished work that He accomplished on the cross. It is living in our new creation.

When we try to work for our righteousness, we are not carrying our cross, but have cast it down in the mud of humanity. If we walk in the flesh under a cloud of self-condemnation or if we believe our feelings rather than the word of God, that is a sure sign we are not carrying our cross. Thinking that our Heavenly Father wants to punish us rather than remembering that He has already forgiven us, or that He wants to inflict a sickness upon us rather than to heal us, is not carrying our cross. It is carrying a false image of God.

You cannot carry your cross and a false image at the same time. False images are not to be taken lightly; they are expensive and deadly. They will cost you your joy and minister death. Beware of the deadliest image of all. If a preacher tries to give you that one, don't take it; and, if you are a parent, don't let him thrust it upon your children. Tell him to get rid of it by casting it back to the ungodly spirit from which it came! That deadly image is a concept of God that He is like one who would cast a child of His into hell. Anyone who thinks God is like that has been hit in the mind by the deadly weapon of Satan: evil imagination. The Bible says that we should not be ignorant of his devices, "lest Satan should get an advantage of us" (2Cor.2:11).

How could we, even for a moment, consider that the salvation Jesus purchased for us with His precious blood is not eternal? How could we change John 3:16 to: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him WILL PERISH and NOT have everlasting life if they do not perform well after they are saved?"

How could we, for a moment, believe the words of a preacher carrying a false image of God above the words of Jesus who said, "My sheep hear my voice" and, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall NEVER perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" (John 10:27-29)?!

There are those who do belong to the Lord who will not deny themselves and carry their cross and follow Jesus, because they don't want to give up trying to earn their own righteousness before God.

Also, there are those who desire to follow Jesus, but because they have such a poor concept of God, they will try to follow Him, but only from a great distance. They keep so far away from Him that they cannot hear His voice for themselves, and they have to depend on having it passed on to them through others. They are so far back that they do not see Jesus, and they spend their lives watching other believers. Even though they are safe in the ark of God, they often feel as if they have been thrown overboard. Even though they still are and always will be in the flock, they think they may have been cast out. Their eyes are upon men and they have lost sight of the Savior. They are stumbling around in the teachings and traditions of men, and, after being eternally saved by the hand of Almighty God, they still fear they could lose their salvation. The Good Shepherd will never lose His sheep . . . not a one! It is time for all of God's children to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus.

Denying self--that is, the flesh--goes hand in hand with carrying our cross. The old self (natural man) cannot pick up the cross; the new creation in Christ is the one who carries it with joy and thankfulness. Not only did we become "a new creature" and "all things . . . become new" when we came to Jesus and were born again by the power of God, but "old things are passed away" (2Cor.5:17). That old cross that once condemned us has become a new cross, which guarantees us all the benefits of the inheritance that Jesus purchased for us at Calvary.

This new cross is not a physical object that we wear around our neck. It is something we will carry upon our spirit, not only for the remaining time we are here on earth, but throughout all eternity.

A slain lamb in Old Testament times was an atonement for sin. Jesus is called the Lamb of God "slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev.13:8). He had that title before the world was created and will have it throughout eternity. There is great joy in heaven over Jesus as "The Lamb." The unconditional love that God has for you is too great to fully comprehend; it was demonstrated on the cross of Calvary. The title "Lamb of God" says it all, for it signifies the blood of Christ that has washed away your sin and keeps you righteous in the sight of God. If you carry the title of Jesus in your heart as the Lamb of God, you will be carrying your new cross and will have rest for your soul. When you are carrying your cross, you are thinking about what Christ has done for you through His Crucifixion, and that is what brings your thoughts into captivity to the obedience OF Christ. Doing that casts down the evil imagination that exalts itself against knowing what God is really like.

There is no reason for children of God to ever be afraid to draw near to their Heavenly Father. Even when we do something wrong, God has nothing but love on His mind for us. That old false image of God will have no power over us if we receive--by revelation from the Holy Spirit--the true concept of God. He is the Mighty Teacher who always gives true testimony of the Lord. He, the Holy Spirit, always glorifies Jesus (John 16:13, 14). When He teaches us about Jesus, we learn the true nature of God. To know what God is like we must look at Jesus, for He said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).

When you know what your Heavenly Father is really like, you will not be afraid to draw near to Him where you will be in a position to personally hear His voice; and when you get that close to Him, be prepared to hear Him constantly speaking of His love for you!

If you deny your self and take up your new cross, you will be carrying in your heart all that Jesus accomplished for you on His cross. You will not be trying to earn your righteousness or trying to perform to please God or man. There will be nothing for you to worry or fret about. You will have entered into that rest of the New Covenant where you will have the true riches of your inheritance and really enjoy life here on earth, living with your wonderful Savior!