Australia
January 21, 2010
On January 15 the Lord showed me a series of teabags like books on a bookshelf. All of the teabags were suspended on a single cotton thread. The string was horizontal rather than vertical. There were about 10 teabags on the string. I saw several more teabags being 'threaded' onto the string one at a time. Then, I saw one teabag at a time sliding along the string in the opposite direction. The teabags were being removed from the string.
Teabags usually represent the 'ways of man.' Here, they represent man's thinking and stimulants can affect the brain. I was given understanding that each teabag represented one idea or teaching.
On January 18 the Lord increased the depth of my understanding. The phrase 'a string of ideas' entered my mind. This revelation is about a succession of distinct thoughts, but they were linked together. The more teabags (man's thoughts), the further away a person's mind is from the mind of Christ:
1 Cor 2:16 For who has known {or} understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide {and} instruct Him {and} give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) {and} do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.
The string could represent singleness of mind, or rather, singleness of deception:
Phil 1:27 Only be sure as citizens so to conduct yourselves [that] your manner of life [will be] worthy of the good news (the Gospel) of Christ, so that whether I [do] come and see you or am absent, I may hear this of you: that you are standing firm in united spirit {and} purpose, striving side by side {and} contending with a single mind for the faith of the glad tidings (the Gospel).
We may have an idea that we think is great. We may have another idea that we think is even greater than the other idea. We may see a link between our ideas and that may please us even more:
1 Pet 4:1 SO, SINCE Christ suffered in the flesh {for us, for you}, arm yourselves with the same thought {and} purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. For whoever has suffered in the flesh [having the mind of Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases God],
What the Lord is saying is that people may give attention to the content of their ideas, but they may not give attention to the direction of their ideas. Although people may see connections between their ideas, they may not see where their thoughts are taking them. Not only can satan put thoughts into our minds, we can be strung along in our thinking if we don't make the initial deceptive thought captive to Christ:
2 Cor 10:5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments {and} theories {and} reasonings and every proud {and} lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought {and} purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),
To me, there are two questions: Who is holding the end of the string? and How subtle can subtle be? Praise the Lord that He can remove the teabags from our minds.