By Cheryl Shepherd
Have you ever received a dream that you knew was from God for the purpose of providing comfort during a particularly desperate time? If you’re a skeptic, based on my studies in Psychology and Sociology, I certainly would have agreed before my mind was changed by a very incredible dream.
I was recently reminded, while listening to a story told by evangelist Perry Stone, of how drastically my mind was changed.
Perry spoke of a dream he had about a child that he and his wife had lost lost due to a miscarriage and that reminded me of my own similar experience. In his dream he had a very vivid picture of this precious little girl waiting to meet him in heaven.
What was especially touching about this story was the fact that years later, he came across someone who had painted a picture of this beautiful little girl, matching the little girl in his dream in complete detail down to the ragged stuffed animal she clung to! There were many more facets of the story that were certainly miraculous and reminded me of a time that brought to life a scripture that has become very dear to me. Psalms 34:18 says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.
Twenty-one years ago I lost my son Billy’s identical twin brother Brandon, due to a rare condition called twin to twin transfusion syndrome.
While I can’t begin to imagine the grief experienced by a mother who has to say goodbye to a child at any age, the impact of this loss for me was a profound one in a different way, yet devastating just as any mother knows who has experienced never being able to meet or hold her unborn child.
At that time there was very little known about twin to twin transfusion syndrome or TTTS. It was explained to me that this was a rare condition that occurs only in identical twins that share the same placenta and transfuse blood through shared blood vessels.
While the prognosis was ironically slightly better for Brandon than Billy, they explained that there was no cure. While I could try to remove amniotic fluid to “buy some time”, (having done this immediately caused me to go into a premature labor), ultimately there was a 10 to 15% chance at best of either of the twins surviving.
At the time of my diagnosis of this rare condition I was about 5 months along and the prognosis for both twins was clearly very bleak. So much so in fact, it was strongly recommended that I abort both babies and “try again later for a healthy pregnancy”. This was not an option for me, so my husband and I returned home from the hospital feeling completely devastated and totally lost!
After crying out to God, I was contacted by a friend who told me about an experimental surgery that was being performed by only one surgeon in the world at that time. He was a surgeon from Venezuela who had developed a surgery that he was performing in Tampa, Florida. We were on the next plane to Tampa for this experimental laser fetal surgery.
The surgery itself went well however Brandon ultimately did not make it.
While this loss was was devastating, what was even more difficult was looking in the closet and seeing all of the twin outfits hanging side-by-side; wondering how I could ever possibly find the strength to take one of each of these outfits out of the closet to discard.
Even more difficult proved to be the required weekly ultrasounds. It was torture Putting on a happy face each week while we watched Billy growing and developing while seeing the lifeless little form of Brandon become smaller and smaller, slowing shrinking away along with all of the dreams of what life should have held for these precious twin boys.
The remainder of the pregnancy became a blur of anger, resentment, pleading, and bargaining with God for a miracle, followed by utter devastation as I reminded myself it was too late for a miracle!
As Brandon became smaller in the weekly ultrasounds the void in my heart became larger and more encompassing. One day I couldn’t seem to keep from crying all day, I remember my husband sternly saying to me you have to stop this!! You have to be strong for Billy!! You can’t just keep mourning the loss of Brandon you have a healthy baby to think about!
I knew he was right and the guilt I felt was overwhelming! I didn’t know how to stop grieving! I knew I should be celebrating the precious healthy miracle I was carrying inside of me but how could I betray Brandon like that?
At that moment I cried out to God from a place of complete brokenness and asked Him to take away my grief and allow me to experience the joy of this precious miracle He had given me.
This is the moment I knew without a doubt that God was with me and His heart was broken along with mine! I could feel his arms of love around me; comforting me.
I fell into a deep sleep and I had a dream that I know now, was a glimpse into heaven and the heavenly nursery of unborn babies that Perry Stone talked about in his video.
In my dream I looked through a window like you would see in a hospital infant nursery. What I saw brought about a healing that is hard to even put into words. I saw my sister-in-law Betty, who had tragically died years before, in a rocking chair holding Brandon and gently rocking him. When she noticed me there she looked up at me and had the most precious look on her face, I remember it like it was yesterday.
Betty had been the only person I would trust with babysitting my older children. She had such a love for children beyond anyone I have ever known. I woke up with a clear image of the pure joy and pride Betty had in cuddling my little Brandon – a look that said he will be alright, I will take good care of him until you get here.
While it would be easy to argue that there was something subconscious or psychological that caused this dream, I know better! God came to me in my brokenness and my despair and He gave me a glimpse into heaven that I believe was very real and beyond just a simple dream.
On July 5, 1999 I gave birth to my twin boys. Celebrating my five pound healthy baby boy Billy, while saying my final goodbye to Brandon.
It was amazing to me that I had ever wondered if I would be able to look at my precious new little miracle without feeling this deep sorrow over the loss of the brother who looks exactly like him. The truth of the matter is, I don’t believe I could have ever done this on my own.
Is God really there for the brokenhearted? You Bet He Is!!! I am living proof of this promise that he has given us all in His Holy word.
I want you to know that if you are suffering from a loss today, and you feel there is no escape and no way out of your pain, loneliness, and grief, He wants to bring you comfort- all you have to do is cry out to Him. He promises to be there!
Cheryl Shepherd
2020FullCircle vision@gmail.com
Perry Stones’s story title “The unborn in Heaven” can be found at:
https://youtu.be/95f_sUTEJKs
Heroes of Holiness Will Arise!
By Robert Hotchkin
As we come into the new era of this new year, God is inviting His people into something that He’s been very intentionally leading up to for more than two decades.
For well over 20 years now, God has been pouring out a revelation of His Father’s heart along with the tangible reality of His certain love. This has been one of the main messages and manifestations of charismatic Christianity since heaven invaded the earth through the Toronto Outpouring in early 1994. It has led to a profound revelation of how radically loved and totally accepted we are in the Beloved (see Ephesians 1:6), as well as an epoch of miracles, signs, and wonders as we press into and worship the One who loves us so. Bodies have been healed. Souls have been restored. Angelic feathers and heavenly gemstones have appeared. The dead have been raised. Revivals have broken out. It’s been glorious.
It has also been building up to something that is strong on God’s heart. He is inviting you, and all of His people, into right now.
What God Has Been Up To
The heavenly agenda of these past 20+ years goes well beyond our realizing how completely loved and accepted we are in Christ. God’s desire has been that with this realization, the lies and burdens of religious performance would be torn down so that we could more fully and powerfully step into the reason that we are here.
Have you ever wondered why we don’t go straight to heaven as soon as we get saved? The answer is right there in Genesis 1:26-28.
Since Day Six, God’s plan has been to have a people in relationship with Him who operate as His agents of impact in the earth, stewarding creation on His behalf and to His glory. One of the main ways we do this is to realize that we are made in His image (see Genesis 1:26). Choosing to operate in His character and nature. Choosing to be holy, for He is holy (see Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8). Not trying to be righteous to earn favor, blessing, or relationship from Him. That’s the doomed, performance-pressure, and striving of religious self-righteousness. But instead, God desires for us to realize that through the Love Gift of His Son He has made us holy as He is holy. Not only so that we can be restored to relationship with Him, but from within that relationship we can be champions of righteousness on His behalf – Heroes of Holiness who positively impact all of creation with every righteous decision we make.
You Are So Much More Powerful than you Realize
We see the proof of all this in Romans 5:18-19 (NLT):
“Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
When Adam chose to disobey, it was not just him who was made unrighteous. It allowed unrighteousness to enter the earth and affect all. When Jesus chose to obey, it was not Him who was made righteous (He already was), it made righteousness available to all. Decisions made by those in a relationship with God in the earth impact all of creation. You have the ability to operate in heroic holiness and make a real difference in the world every time you choose to embrace the power and potential of your righteousness in Christ.
The choices you make ripple throughout all creation. Your decisions not only affect your life, they affect the whole wide world. Choose sin and darkness, and sin and darkness enter the world. But, and this is a HUGE BUT, choose to operate in the heroic holiness of who you truly are in Christ, and righteousness ripples throughout the earth.
Choose love, peace, joy, generosity, fidelity, integrity, patience, faithfulness, mercy, kindness or forgiveness, and they are released out into all the world.
Go and Sin No More
In John 8:1-11, we read the story of the woman who was caught in adultery. When this sinner encounters Jesus she is transformed. Not only because she is set free from the power of sin by the mercy of Messiah, but also because she is launched into a revelation of her true identity in Christ that will continually transform her life as well as impact all of creation. This is why Jesus tells her, “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11b NKJV). He is not saying “sin no more” so you will be forgiven. He already forgave her earlier in verse 11 when He declared that He would not condemn her. When he invites her to “sin no more,” He is inviting her into a ministry of heroic holiness. Not to earn mercy forgiveness, favor or blessing – she already has all of that in her born-again relationship with her Savior (see Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3). But to propel her into what has been God’s plan for her since Day Six – to operate as one of His Dominion Stewards in the earth who shatters darkness by choosing to arise and shine as a Hero of Holiness!
Be Holy in All Your Conduct
Look at 1 Peter 1:15-16:
“He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”
If we do not understand who God really is and what He is really like, we could easily misconstrue this passage of scripture in 1 Peter. It is not a command to perform for acceptance. It is an invitation to step into our true born-again identity of being made in God’s image and being about our Father’s business in the earth at a level of effectiveness and impact we have yet to even come close to fully realizing or even understanding.
As New Testament believers, 1 Peter 1:15-16 (and the scriptures in Leviticus it echoes back to) are not some religious quid pro quo burden of performance God is laying upon us while saying, “Hey jump through My rule-hoops or I will smite thee!” No. This is God reminding us who we really are in Him. This is God inviting us to step into our true born-again character and nature. This is God helping us to a global ministry of radical impact in the earth through the decisions we make with our free will to look and sound and act just like our Father in Whose image we are made. This is how we co-labor with Him as His dominion stewards in the earth!
Keep My Commands
We are in a John 14:15 hour. God is reminding us that if we love Him we will keep His commands. This is not a demand to prove devotion. Or a stipulation to earn favor and blessing. This is God helping us step into who we truly are and long to be. This is an opportunity for the fulfillment of purpose, potential, and identity at a level we barely comprehend.
For 20+ years God has been going out of His way to help us see and know and feel that we are totally and completely loved by Him (see John 3:16). Loving God is not a way to get His love, it is the natural response to the certainty of His love (see 1 John 4:19). Obeying His commands is not an offering or sacrifice for relationship, it is an embracing of powerful identity and purpose within that relationship.
Are You Ready to Get Radical?
A company of righteous radicals is arising. These Heroes of Holiness truly know who they are in Christ. They know how loved they are. They know in whose image they are made. They know all of creation has been longing for them to walk in the power, purpose and passion of their true identity.
These Heroes of Holiness are waking up to the incredible power they have to impact the world through the decisions they make. They know that when they choose to operate in righteousness, patience, honor, unity mercy, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, forgiveness, love, peace, joy, gentleness, self-control – when they choose to be who they truly are in Christ – these divine attributes ripple throughout all creation. The Kingdom comes. His will is done. Light shatters darkness. Territory is taken. Powers and principalities are torn down. Not with carnal weapons or natural strength, but with weapons that are mighty in God (see 2 Corinthians 10:4), wielded by Heroes of Holiness who are powerfully aware of who they truly are.
Consecrate Yourself Anew
Do you want to be one of His Heroes of Holiness? Tell Him today. Take a Joshua 3:5 moment and consecrate yourself anew, declaring that by His grace and through the leading of His Spirit you will walk in greater and greater fulfillment of who you are truly are in Christ. He will work wonders in your midst!
Robert Hotchkin
Men on the Frontlines / Robert Hotchkin Ministries
e-mail: Robert@menonthefrontlines.com
website: www.roberthotchkin.com
Robert Hotchkin is an author, minister, speaker, and media host. He is the founder of Men on the Frontlines, and one of the core leaders of Patricia King Ministries. He hosts the weekly Heroes Arise broadcast, co-hosts the show Propel with Patricia King, and is a regular guest and co-host of the show Supernatural Life on GodTV. Robert’s newest book, 31 Decrees of Blessing for Men, is a powerful daily devotional that activates men to walk in all that they have been blessed with as sons of God.