Should Christians Interpret Dreams...?

 This is one that I believe many Christians are leery of because it just sounds like new-age woo-woo, but dream interpretation was actually mentioned in the bible on multiple occasions! As always, I encourage you to take what you read here to the Lord in prayer and see how He directs you personally. This is just where I'm at with this.

Joel 2:28 mentions dreams and visions. It's actually considered a gift of the Spirit! 

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." (ESV)

To see this actually play out, reading about Joseph is a great place to start. Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel. Long story short, he has a dream that represented his brothers bowing down to him and his brothers become jealous of him. They sell him in order to get rid of him. He gets blamed for something by Potiphar's wife that he didn't do and then gets thrown into the dungeon. While there, he is able to interpret dreams of a couple other people that were there with him and what he predicted came true! 

Much later, in Genesis 41, Pharoah himself is having dreams that nobody could interpret. One of the people previously in the dungeon with Joseph remembered him and suggested they ask him. He interprets it and basically saves everyone from starvation during a great famine, including his family.

Daniel is another person we can read about that utilizes this gift in the bible. In the book of Daniel, he is given the interpretations of dreams for several kings, including King Nebuchadnezzar. 

I feel that the best way to interpret dreams is by simply asking the Lord if your dream has any special meaning. Sometimes we have recurring dreams (which could point to their importance) or we may have one so vivid that we can explain them in great detail. I believe these are signs that they have more meaning than that you simply ate some bad cheese before bed.

There are a lot of resources out there that can give you some clues as to what your dream means, but I would encourage you to stick with biblical explanations. The reason for this is because I see it as God communicating to us and I want to know what He's saying about it, not anyone else. A great resource that I have utilized for many years is the A-Z Dream Dictionary by Dr. Barbie Breathitt. 

Barbie has been endorsed by people such as Patricia King of XP ministries and Dr. Chuck D. Pierce of Glory of Zion Intl. 

Jesus often spoke in parables and utilized symbolism to portray a message. Sometimes the meaning of a dream can be very clear and sometimes the meaning can be hidden behind symbols. A quick example could be something like a falling dream. Falling can mean that you feel out of control, depressed, that you feel unsupported, or have experienced a moral failure (among others). 

Many of the definitions in this book have verses that go with them and I recently discovered that Barbie is coming out with a 2nd book like this, for which I am very excited. Obviously you can see where I stand on this topic. I hope that I have shared something that will encourage you to at least consider that this is something God is still doing today. 

I would personally advise against getting interpretations of dreams from secular sources. Some symbols/themes have multiple potential meanings and it's important to always take any potential meanings to the Lord in prayer so that you can make sense of things. Once you have a good idea of what the dream was trying to show you, it's time to ask the Lord what He'd have you do with the information. He doesn't just communicate this way for fun - there's a reason. 

Having a journal beside your bed could prove useful if this is a gift you feel the Lord is calling you to grow in. Sometimes a dream may wake us in the middle of the night. We shake it off and go back to sleep, only to realize that by the time we get up for the day we can't remember a single bit of it! Don't let this happen to you. 

As soon as your eyes open, train yourself to be diligent and write everything down with as much detail as possible, so that you can start the work of interpretation once you're ready. 

I feel this is a good place to also consider why you maybe aren't remembering dreams very often. There are multiple culprits, including sleep quality, stress/anxiety, medications, sleep duration, alcohol/substance use, waking up abruptly, and not being intentional about recording your dreams right away. Some of these things we don't have much control over and then there are some that we do. If you get nothing else out of this, at least consider bettering your current sleep hygiene. It's so important. 

Thank you so much to those that have made it this far. I appreciate your time. May you receive the answers you're seeking. Blessings!

  

Should Christians Use Essential Oils...

In order to make an educated decision as to whether Christians should utilize essential oils, it's always best to start with what, if anything, the Word of God says about it. We will also look at how they have been used historically and how they're currently being used today. 

From what I can gather, the term 'essential oils' is not actually used in the Bible, but there are plenty of times it references oils, spices, and aromatic substances. The term 'oil of Myrrh' is actually used in Esther (2:12 KJV) and it is used as a way to purify and prepare her for meeting the king. Myrrh was also a common anointing oil. Could this be why it was offered to Jesus as a baby? Or maybe the fact that myrrh was also used for embalming spoke something symbolically of His coming death? Either way, it was a kingly & costly gift. 

There seems to be a connection between anointing someone with oil and healing them. Could this have something to do with any sort of healing properties in the oil itself? I feel that this is worth pondering. Either way, there is definitely significance with utilizing oils in religious practices. If you'd like to get down to the science behind why/ how oils can actually be utilized for healing, I'd highly recommend the book below. I could go down a huge rabbit hole of vibrations & frequencies, but I just don't know enough about it yet to share where I'm at with it. 

My family utilized Melaleuca Tea Tree Oil long before essential oils became a trend, so I've never viewed them as off or scary as a Christian. I don't see them as having mystical power in and of themselves, but I do believe that God can bring healing through them just as we would utilize something like Tylenol or antibiotic ointments. Sticking with our myrrh theme, it was also offered to Jesus while He was on the cross because, at the time, it would be mixed with wine and utilized as a narcotic to help dull pain. This mixture was sometimes offered to people dying on crosses by women. 

We also want to investigate how essential oils have been used historically. In Egypt, they were used for religious rituals, cosmetics, and embalming the dead. When grave robbers would raid tombs, they would always take any oils available because of their usefulness and value. I believe that these were what we now know as essential oils. For a bit more info from someone who has been to Egypt and is an MD, take a look HERE.

In India, ayurveda (Indian system of medicine) utilizes them for calming and meditative purposes. 

In traditional Chinese medicine, they've been used for healing and balance of Qi (blog for another day). 

In Greece, Hippocrates (the father of medicine) utilized plant-based therapies (including essential oils) to treat various ailments. 

The Roman Empire utilized oils for their baths and skincare for relaxation. They also used them for massage and therapeutic purposes. 

During the Middle Ages, essential oils were utilized for hygiene and medicine (including during the plague). There's a great story about the YL Thieves blend (I believe in the book above) about how there were thieves that would go around during the bubonic plague that didn't catch it because they utilized masks with essential oils, namely cloves, lemons, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary!

In what I'd consider more modern times (the early 20th century), a French chemist is credited for founding modern aromatherapy and accidentally discovering that lavender oil could help with burns - leading to a resurgence of essential oil use today.  

In closing, I feel that due to the usage of essential oils for multiple important things in the bible as well as so many historical accounts of them being used in similarly helpful ways - I personally believe that they are safe for Christians to utilize today. They were created by God and can be used for God. I do think that they can also be misused and utilized for purposes that are ungodly, but if you know that your heart is postured in a place of worship and acknowledgment of God while using them, I truly believe that they are fine to use. 

I personally use them to anoint myself and others (even doorways) while praying, for perfume/aromatherapy, and for increasing my body's natural ability to heal (such as applying tea tree oil to an infection from an ear piercing or a peppermint mixture to an upset stomach). I would not encourage anyone to ignore the need to go to a doctor if needed. They're not going to fix a broken arm! They should be used alongside modern medical care, not in place of it. As always, I'd encourage you to use your own discernment regarding whether you should use them or not. This is just where I'm at. 

Please feel free to comment below if you have anymore thoughts on Christians safely utilizing essential oils and why it's acceptable for them to do so. My posts are fluid and may receive updates as I learn more about each topic - perhaps based on what you share! Blessings.