The Root of Jesse, The Root of Freedom
Dream Encounter - a New Root System
Early in the morning of January 1st, about three hours after we rang in the New Year, I experienced a very vivid dream. I was with a number of people I knew who had caused me pain in my past. One was a person I loved very much, but who had bitterly disappointed me in my childho
od. In the dream this person was once again causing me deep pain and I was becoming deeply upset. This continued to the point that the pain and betrayal I felt in the dream were almost overwhelming. At one point in the dream I had the opportunity to tell this person how badly they had hurt me, and when I opened my mouth all I could do was moan and cry with bitter fury.
Sometimes, when I am dreaming, it is as though I am watching a movie
and can comment on what I am seeing, and that was my experience this
time. I began asking the Lord: "Why am I so bitter,
Immediately after asking the question I was back in the dream again. I started looking at each person in the dream and saying: "I forgive you once again and release you from the bitterness that has remained deep within my heart."
As I spoke these words, I was taken into a visionary experience with the Lord. He took me to a tree in a garden that I knew was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. While there, I saw a generational taproot of bitterness that had been holding both me and my bloodline captive. Though I do not completely understand how these generational things hold us captive, even after we have asked for forgiveness and release, this experience was very real-and so was the "root of bitterness" that I saw holding my generational line.
Since the dream made me aware of the depth of the pain and bitterness I still carried hidden deep within my heart (too deep to be conscious of), and since I had, in the midst of that pain and awareness, released and renounced that bitterness, the Lord was ready to remove this taproot. At that point I began to repent and renounce the root of bitterness in my generational line and asked the Holy Spirit to sever the taproot of bitterness.
Immediately the Lord responded and I could feel myself (and my children and bloodline) being separated from this root of bitterness that had held us captive. As He tenderly lifted me, He carried me to another tree that I knew was the Tree of Life, and as He set me down at the base of the tree, He spoke these words: "I now place you into the Root of Jesse."
I immediately became aware of a flow of "Life" that I had not known before. It was like having something sweet flow through my being, and the words, "Taste and see that the Lord is good" flowed through my mind. I was aware that I had become fully connected to His root system. I could feel the purity of His breath and life flowing through me. I was also aware of my entire family receiving this life flow and release from a generational root that was holding us. I also was immediately aware of bearing fruit; His fruit was now my fruit. This fruit was heavy with sweet juice, unlike the fruit that I had experienced in the past-fruit that often felt as though it fell from the branch prematurely, leaving a bitter taste, or in some cases, never ripening at all. This has often confused my husband and me.
I came out of this experience literally aware of beginning this new year (and new decade) in a new root system, aligned in the spirit right where I needed to be.
The Root of Jesse
A shoot will come up from the stump of
Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord
will rest on him-the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit
of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
Lord-and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by
what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will
give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with
the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the
wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around
his waist.-
The illustration of the "root of Jesse" is used only in
Upon hearing about my experience, Jeff was moved to pray that he
would no longer see others with his natural eyes or hear them with his
ears but rather with God's eyes and ears, because what God sees is
truth. I found it interesting that my encounter with the Lord brought
forth these prayers from him because I didn't see how they fit
together, although I was moved by his heart. After we prayed, Jeff got
his Bible to look up verses that spoke of the Root of Jesse. When he
found
As we read through
Though I do not believe that every experience I have is for the
entire Body of Christ, I do believe that this particular experience is
for the Body. I believe that what we read in
I know that
Let's Pray: Lord, I pray that every root in my life that is not a righteous root would be severed from me. I give You permission to show me any unrighteous root in my life or within my bloodline. I repent of and renounce all unrighteousness that has a hold on my life and ask You to let the Root of Jesse be my taproot. Jesus, I want to receive the fruit that comes from Your vine. I ask that the same Spirit that rested upon You would rest upon me; the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Open my eyes and ears to judge rightly and to walk in justice
and truth. I ask, both for me and for Your Church, to have
righteousness be our belt and faithfulness to be the sash around our
waist. Thank you for the past season of refining, testing, exposing and
Kathi Pelton
Light Streams Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net