I received a dream from the Lord that I believe is intended to be shared.

Last week, I had a dream of a large cistern well. It was light silver in color and glistened with light sparkles all over it. It sat upon light, gentle clouds that encompassed the lower section of it. I knew in my dream that this cistern was “heavenly” in nature. Then, another image appeared; a smaller, more narrower, white cistern. On the front of this white cistern, it had the bold black print “COR 15.”

I knew in my dream that this was a dream from the Lord as well as upon awakening from it. I also knew “COR 15” was referring to scripture, and that I needed to go look up “1 Corinthians 15.”

As I read 1 Corinthians 15, it was if every verse in that chapter was highlighted in my soul. I recorded some of the verses in my journal. I also wrote down details from my dream, and then began to wonder what the cistern wells may represent. I began to pray and press into the Lord about the meaning of these wells.

Later in the week, my husband and I traveled from Michigan to south central Florida. On our third day in Florida, we drove 4.5 hours to the southern most tip of the U.S.; Key West. We parked, and then began walking the streets to check-out the sites.

As we were walking along, there were trees and a hedge of tall, dense bushes along our path making it difficult to see what was on the other side. We came to an opening, and just as it opened, right smack dab next to the sidewalk, was a large cistern well! Mind you, I don’t often see cistern wells or ever, never think of them. But three cistern wells in the same week; two in my dream and one in person (in an entirely, miles apart, different state that I live in)…this really got my attention.

I began to research cistern wells online; specifically in the Florida Keys. A cistern well is a receptacle built for collecting and storing rainwater. They can provide fresh water for drinking and irrigation. Back in the early days in the Florida Keys, being surrounded by salt water, cistern wells were built to collect and store rainwater to help provide fresh water to the people living there, to help sustain them as it was difficult getting freshwater from the mainland.

As I continued to pray and press into what the Lord was saying about these cisterns, I began to think about water as a basic need and how it sustains all life. Jesus is also said to be “Living Water” and through Him, we have everlasting life. John 3:15-16

Rainwater comes from above, the cisterns collect and store them. 

As believers in Christ, we are His glory containers; His cistern wells. Through salvation, we receive and “store” Jesus, the Living Water, and His resurrection power, in and through us, as well as His power flowing through us to the world around us and others. 

I believe God is reminding the body of Christ who we are in Him and what we contain, and He is also inviting others who don’t yet know Him, or have turned from Him, to return and drink from the well of Heaven.

As the world continues to heat up around us, and as our souls yearn for direction, peace, and security, I want to encourage you to look to Heaven and seek out the life-giving, Heavenly cistern well where Living Waters flow; Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

There is nothing that we can do that will ever cause the Lord to want to be separate from us. Nothing! I have been there, where I turned and ran from God, with self-seeking ways and partying hard, and all the behaviors that come with it, and felt like one of the world’s ugliest, foul-stinking sinners on earth! I felt like there was no way that God would ever accept me back or that I was worthy enough of His love for me. But, boy was I wrong!

The bible says angels have a party when someone comes to the Lord: Luke 15:10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The bible also says we all have fallen short: Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Are you ready to let go of the old tattered rags of sin and shame, and feeling stuck, broken or lost, in exchange for His freedom, redemption, salvation and peace? Not sure how to do this? Just ask Him. You can say these words:

“Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.”

Receive and share in the everlasting, Heavenly rainwater we have in Christ.

Receiving Christ does not mean that we will be perfect. Only He achieved that. We are clean because of the blood of Jesus’ and His love and sacrifice for us on the cross. 1 John 1:7 says “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

As I was typing this and looking for an image online to go with it, I found this image below that I think is a perfect representation. *Image credit: https://hermitageartistretreat.org/historic-cisterns-saved/

The title of the article where I found this picture is “Historic Cisterns Saved.”  The “after” cisterns in the picture are somewhat similar to what the white cistern in my dream resembled. This picture truly speaks volumes. The cistern on the left was my life and peace before Jesus. The cistern on the right, is now my life and peace with Jesus. 

Thank you God, that because I have received Heaven’s cistern, Jesus, I am made new, and saved. Amen, amen!

Eternally grateful, Tanya Phillips

1 Corinthians 15 scripture from my dream is below (Passion Translation):

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Dear friends,[a] let me give you clearly the heart of the gospel that I’ve preached to you—the good news that you have heartily received and on which you stand. 2 For it is through the revelation of the gospel that you are being saved, if you fasten your life firmly to the message I’ve taught you, unless you have believed in vain. 3 For I have shared with you what I have received and what is of utmost importance:

The Messiah died for our sins,

    fulfilling the prophecies of the Scriptures.

4 

He was buried in a tomb

    and was raised from the dead after three days,

    as foretold in the Scriptures.[b]

5 

Then he appeared to Peter the Rock[c]

    and to the twelve apostles.[d]

6 He also appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at the same time, most of whom are still alive as I write this, though a few have passed away.[e] 7 Then he appeared to Jacob[f] and to all the apostles. 8 Last of all he appeared in front of me, like one born prematurely, ripped from the womb.[g] 9 Yes, I am the most insignificant of all the apostles, unworthy even to be called an apostle, because I hunted down believers and persecuted God’s church. 10 But God’s amazing grace has made me who I am![h] And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest,[i] yet not in my own strength but God’s, for his empowering grace is poured out upon me. 11 So this is what we all have taught you, and whether it was through me or someone else, you have now believed the gospel.

The Importance of the Resurrection

12 The message we preach is Christ, who has been raised from the dead. So how could any of you possibly say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no such thing as a resurrection from the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.[j] 14 And if Christ has not been raised, all of our preaching has been for nothing and your faith is useless. 15 Moreover, if the dead are not raised, that would mean that we are false witnesses who are misrepresenting God. And that would mean that we have preached a lie, stating that God raised him from the dead, if in reality he didn’t.

16 If the dead aren’t raised up,[k] that would mean that Christ has not been raised up either. 17 And if Christ is not alive, you are still lost in your sins and your faith is a fantasy. 18 It would also mean that those believers in Christ who have passed away[l] have simply perished. 19 If the only benefit of our hope in Christ is limited to this life on earth, we deserve to be pitied more than all others![m]

20 But the truth is, Christ is risen from the dead, as the first fruit[n] of a great resurrection harvest of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a man, Adam,[o] it is fitting that the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man, Christ. 22 Even as all who are in Adam die, so also all who are in Christ will be made alive. 23 But each one in his proper order: Christ, the firstfruits, then those who belong to Christ in his presence.[p]

24 Then the final stage of completion comes, when he will bring to an end every other rulership, authority, and power, and he will hand over his kingdom to Father God. 25 Until then he is destined to reign[q] as King until all hostility has been subdued and placed under his feet.[r] 26 And the last enemy to be subdued and eliminated is death itself.[s]

27 The Father has placed all things in subjection under the feet of Christ.[t] Yet when it says, “all things,” it is understood that the Father does not include himself, for he is the one who placed all things in subjection to Christ. 28 However, when everything is subdued and in submission to him, then the Son himself will be subject to the Father, who put all things under his feet.[u] This is so that Father God will be everything in everyone!

Implications of the Resurrection

29 If there is no resurrection, what do these people think they’re doing when they are baptized for the dead? If the dead aren’t raised, why be baptized for them?[v] 30 And why would we be risking our lives every day?

31 My brothers and sisters, I continually face death.[w] This is as sure as my boasting of you[x] and our co-union together in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives me confidence to share my experiences with you. 32 Tell me, why did I fight “wild beasts”[y] in Ephesus if my hope is in this life only? What was the point of that? If the dead do not rise, then

Let’s party all night, for tomorrow we die![z]

33 So stop fooling yourselves! Evil companions will corrupt good morals and character.[aa] 34 Come back to your right senses and awaken to what is right. Repent from your sinful ways. For some have no knowledge of God’s wonderful love.[ab] You should be ashamed that you make me write this way to you![ac]

Our Resurrection Body

35 I can almost hear someone saying, “How can the dead come back to life? And what kind of body will they have when they are resurrected?” 36 Foolish man! Don’t you know that what you sow in the ground doesn’t germinate unless it dies? 37 And what you sow is not the body that will come into being, but the bare seed. And it’s hard to tell whether it’s wheat or some other seed. 38 But when it dies, God gives it a new form, a body to fulfill his purpose, and he sees to it that each seed gets a new body of its own and becomes the plant he designed it to be.[ad]

39 All flesh is not identical. Animals have one flesh and human beings another. Birds have their distinct flesh and fish another. 40 In the same way there are earthly bodies and heavenly bodies. There is a splendor of the celestial body and a different one for the earthly. 41 There is the radiance of the sun and differing radiance for the moon and for the stars. Even the stars differ in their shining. 42 And that’s how it will be with the resurrection of the dead.

43 The body is “sown” in decay, but will be raised in immortality. It is “sown” in humiliation, but will be raised in glorification.[ae] 44 It is “sown” in weakness but will be raised in power. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 For it is written:

The first man, Adam, became a living soul.[af]

The last Adam[ag] became the life-giving Spirit. 46 However, the spiritual didn’t come first. The natural precedes the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the dust of the earth; the second Man is Yahweh,[ah] from the realm of heaven.[ai] 48 The first one, made from dust, has a race of people just like him, who are also made from dust. The One sent from heaven has a race of heavenly people who are just like him. 49 Once we carried the likeness of the man of dust, but now let us[aj] carry the likeness of the man of heaven.[ak]

Transformation

50 Now, I tell you this, my brothers and sisters, flesh and blood are not able to inherit God’s kingdom realm, and neither will that which is decaying be able to inherit what is incorruptible.

51 Listen, and I will tell you a divine mystery: not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. 52 It will happen in an instant[al]—in the twinkling of his eye. For when the last trumpet is sounded, the dead will come back to life. We will be indestructible and we will be transformed. 53 For we will discard our mortal “clothes” and slip into a body that is imperishable. What is mortal now will be exchanged for immortality. 54 And when that which is mortal puts on immortality, and what now decays is exchanged for what will never decay, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says:

Death is swallowed up by a triumphant victory![am]

55 

So death, tell me, where is your victory?

    Tell me death, where is your sting?[an]

56 It is sin that gives death its sting and the law that gives sin its power.[ao] 57 But we thank God[ap] for giving us the victory as conquerors through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.[aq] 58 So now, beloved ones,[ar] stand firm, stable, and enduring. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord,[as] because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.

*This was taken from the Passion Bible translation.