2 John 4-11. John urges us to remain in the truth and to love one another. "And this is love, that we follow his commandments ... For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward." If anyone comes to us and does not have Christ - does not acknowledge the doctrine of Christ in the flesh - we are not to receive him into our house or give him any greeting, "for he who greets him shares his wicked work."

Oh my gosh, this jibes perfectly with a dream I had last night that really affected me. In short, I befriended a man but later got a very uncomfortable feeling from him. When he asked me for help "bringing people to him," I suddenly knew he was not a good person and I needed to get away from him. As I tried to get away, he turned possessive and angry and I realized he was either the devil or the devil was working through him. He was physically and painfully dragging me back towards him, feet first. I was fighting but it was also tempting to just give in and give up. It was so scary, I saw the danger, but was mentally unable to fully appreciate it - I wanted to give in! I realized I needed to be saved! I woke up, very scared, and started praying the rosary which helped a lot.

As I was praying, I remembered my blog post about how God can pull us out of even the stomachs of our false gods. This dream reinforced that for me, I had gotten myself into a bad situation and I needed a Savior. We all need a Savior so much, thank God he gave us one in the person of Jesus Christ, his Son.

So here John warns us that anyone who does not acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior should not be engaged with, that to greet them is to share in his wicked work! I think John is exaggerating a bit for emphasis, but not too much. In my dream, I met the man while walking one day and I greeted him (as I do everyone on my walks!). It definitely led to him wanting me to share in his wicked work.

I think this dream was a warning to me to be careful. Yes, I must treat everyone with kindness, and yes, I am to love everyone, but to love means to follow the commandments. People I meet who are not even trying to follow the commandments have left room in their souls for the deceiver and he can get to me through them. So it is best not to interact too much with them, to keep them at arms length.