Dreams and visions. Again.

Later, when Herod died, God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt: “Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead.”

Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother, and reentered Israel. When he heard, though, that Archelaus had succeeded his father, Herod, as king in Judea, he was afraid to go there. But then Joseph was directed in a dream to go to the hills of Galilee. On arrival, he settled in the village of Nazareth. This move was a fulfillment of the prophetic words, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:19 - 23

Almost back to where this Story began
with Joseph, second player.
He, who often seems a bystander.

This creative carpenter, dream-inspired.
Obedient to God's quiet promptings.
Instrumental in taking Mary to Bethlehem for the birth.

Strong in faith,
in love and care,
in obedience.

How good is God.
Continually guiding, loving his people
to keep His son safe.

God will continually guide and love us
to keep His son safe in our hearts
if we let him.

May God give us
dreams and visions
and may we be obedient to follow.

Joseph obeyed.

"Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”

Joseph.
An almost forgotten hero, in spite of his continual presence
in all Nativities,
in muttered oaths of 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph',
in conversations and Biblical narratives.

We know
he was a devout, God-fearing man,
faithful and obedient to the Law.

And here he is again,
faithful to his family,
obedient to God's word.

Joseph,
as his ancestor was,
a dream-discerner.

This time, though,
there was no doubt.
The command was urgent.

'Get up!  Go! Take the child!'

Discernment on its own
is fruitless without obedience.

Wisdom

After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”

Matthew 2:13

Another dream of warning.
How good is God
to come to us
in dreams and imagination
with life-saving truth
and advice.

I pray
that I will discern God's will
as readily as the wise men,
even when,
especially when,
it comes to me in a dream.

What do I really want 'more' of in my life?

 
Linking up with Women Living Well and Holley Gerth. She asks: What do you really want more of in your life? Will you dare to say it out loud?
That's a good question. The word 'really' is what stops me. Because I 'want' to write more, to publish more, to share my writing more...that is one of my deepest dreams. But I can't say I REALLY want this more than other things.

I 'want' my husband and children to be happy, fulfilled, walking steadfastly in The Way of Jesus. I 'want' them to be doing this with good friends, special friends, lifelong friends...enough friends for every situation. I am thankful for what they have but I want 'more' for them.

I 'want' to share my faith more. With those who know Jesus and with those who don't. With my friends and my colleagues. With acquaintances.

I also 'want' more love, more joy, peace, more patience, more kindness, more goodness, more gentleness, more self-control...Not much, actually. Just one of those in that list is a big 'ask'.

I also 'want' more certainty, more reassurance, more clarity, more purpose, more direction, more knowledge, more understanding....

I 'want' more of a love for prayer, for deep communion with God and my fellows. I 'want' less laziness in my relationships.

I 'want' these things for myself: if I am honest, to make me feel good.

I also 'want' these things for others. In the belief that if I 'have' them, I will be a better, more useful, more giving person.

I want. I want. I want. A long list of unrequited 'wants' where 'more' is a distant land, too far to journey to. A mountain peak too high to climb. An ocean too deep to dive to the bottom of.

This is looking at things the wrong way round.

I need to ask myself what Jesus 'wants' for me.

He wants my love.

He wants me to love my neighbour.

So what I 'really' want is more of Him.

More of his goodness. For he went about doing good: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." Acts 10:38

More of his love for others. "Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture...None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." Romans 8:35, 37 - 39, The Message.

More of his servant heart."When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges." Philippians 2:7

More of his humility. "Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all....Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges." Philippians 2:5 - 6, 8
More of his self-sacrificing nature. He even gave his own life for me. "Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion." Philippians 2:8

Philippians 2:1-4 sums up what I 'really want more of in my life': "If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."

And the last word? "Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ." Philippians 1:27.

That's what I REALLY want.

God-sized dreams

Dreaming God-sized dreams.  And yes, I'm in the middle of a 'dream' - though I'd rather call it a 'call' as I think it's God's dream, not mine - at the moment.
A call to go to a small, dying church to support its pastor. That was three years ago. It seems more like 40 as I find myself in a desert. Holley Gerth's words of wisdom encourage me:
"An idea comes.
A promise is spoken.
A new opportunity comes over the horizon.
“Yes,” we say, “This is what I’ve been waiting for! Let’s go.” So we set out on our journey with high hopes. Then as the miles go on we begin to feel fear nipping at our heels. We start to question…
Is this the way I should be going?
Why is this turning out differently than I expected?
What if I didn’t hear God right after all?
With every question the fear gets a bit louder and our confidence a bit lower. If that’s you today, let me lean in and whisper a truth that you must know: There’s always a desert before the dream.
The Israelites set out for a God-sized dream too. You know how long they were supposed to spend in the desert?
11 days.
That’s how long the journey usually takes.
But they let fear win and as a result ended up wandering for forty years.
Here’s what we can learn from their experience: The desert is not the danger.
The biggest threat is surrendering to fear and letting go of faith.
So if you find yourself in a desert right now then hold tight to what you know is true and press on, friend. The Promised Land is closer than you think.
And you have everything you need for the journey."
So I WILL persevere and have faith - for the moment. Because I sense the call is changing. As the circumstances surrounding the 'call' change, I sense that a new dream is beginning.
This time, it's possibly a dream I've had for a very long time. A dream, not a call.
We'll see.
Over at Good Morning Girls we've been looking at the story of the miraculous catch of fish. These words caught my eye:
"I believe, like many of us, Peter had dreams of his own. Like most fishermen, I’m sure he had a dream of one day catching “the big one!” You know the “one” that would bring in big money and be the talk of the town.

Jesus knew Peter’s dream too.
Jesus set foot in Peter’s boat that special day thousands of years ago not only to teach a lesson for those on shore, or to bring in a super catch, but to change a heart and “cast” a new dream. A bigger dream. A better dream. A God-sized dream.

1. Sometimes we just need to obey

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon (Peter) answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
Peter was sure he was the expert in this category…..fishing that is. Sure he had seen Jesus heal his mother-n-law but now Jesus was entering Peter’s world of expertise… fishing, and Peter found out that he really isn’t an expert after all.
Have you allowed Jesus to enter all areas of your life? Even the ones that you feel you are an “expert” in? Jesus doesn’t just want to be involved in the “spiritual” aspects of our lives but rather ALL aspects of your life, spiritual and non-spiritual.

He wants to be involved in:
Our goals
Our parenting
Our relationships
Our finances
Our work inside and outside the home
Our dreams
Our calendar

But in order to do this, we first need to let Him into our “boats” and then obey His orders……whether we understand the plan or not. Remember, Jesus is never going to ask us to do something that is contrary to His Word or His nature.

By allowing Jesus into his boat and obeying His orders, Peter experienced something that before he could only dream about.

2. We are sinners in need of a Savior.
When we allow Jesus to enter our world, we begin to develop a personal relationship with Him by spending time reading His Word and in prayer. Jesus begins to work in our lives and as He does, we begin to realize our sins and our desperate need of a Savior.
Once Peter realized who Jesus really was (God) and who he was (a sinner), Peter was willing to leave everything and follow Jesus.

3. Exchanging our “Me” sized dreams for God sized dreams
I love how Jesus met Peter right where he was at…on Peter’s level, in Peter’s work.
Jesus knew Peter’s “me” sized dream and met it……easily.
It’s almost like He said, “Is that really all that you’ve got?”
Then Jesus exchanged Peter’s “me” sized dream for a God sized dream.
In one day Peter went from being a fisherman to being a man who “will catch men” for the Kingdom of God. I’m sure the years of training Peter had acquired through fishing prepared him for his new occupation as a “fisherman of men”.
Once Peter got a taste of what Jesus could do through his life, it ruined him! He didn’t want to go back! Peter was willing to leave EVERYTHING and FOLLOW Jesus.
What about you?

What God sized dreams is Jesus placing in your heart? Be like Peter, welcome Jesus in, obey what He is asking you to do and then be willing to take action."

God-sized dreams...?

New year, new year...new goals....Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and He will help you… Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.” Psalm 37:4-5
“Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desire.” – Psalm 37:3-4

Francis Chan encourages us: “I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn’t come through, I am screwed.”

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Yet it's all about me: "if we truly believe that life change occurs from the inside out, rather than the other way around, our resolutions would reflect that belief.
We’d commit to finally getting the counseling we need, or to confessing our struggles, sins and dysfunctions to a mentor or trusted confidant, or to surrendering that habit, luxury or excess in our lives to the Lord.
If we profess to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ then we will live a life that reflects a commitment to an ongoing, inside-out, ever deepening transformation more and more into the image of Jesus Christ.
We’ll never compromise with mediocrity.
We’ll refuse to be average.
We’ll recognize status quo as an enemy of our souls."
Yes, I need to change. But perhaps, instead of my needing to change to make my life better, perhaps I need to change to make other people's lives better?

So dream God-sized dreams. Holley Gerth says: "We can’t help but dream God-sized dreams.

For some, that may mean stepping out on a thin limb of creativity and faith.
For others, it may be a matter a heart shift toward people or surroundings.
And for still others, it may be responding a startling moment of discovery.
But whatever your age and stage in life, that’s the heartbeat of the innovative life—recognizing that we are all called and created to be about the redemptive purposes of God. We’re meant to dream God-sized dreams."  Proverbs 19:21

We talked about this over  breakfast a couple of weeks ago. Before we knew it, from talking about a dream of taking time out with God on a quiet morning, we had organised a retreat for ourselves later in the year.

This 'God-sized dream' quietly terrifies me as I contemplate sharing the vision with others, organising lead-in reflections, arranging for music and worship, and booking the venue.

Stepping out on a limb indeed.

My God-sized dreams

Bonnie, over at Faith Barista, talks about ‘God-sized dreams’ being a buzz word at the moment in books, blog posts and talk among friends.  It’s the topic for this week’s Faith Jam on Thursday.

Of course, I immediately started thinking about my dreams of people actually reading my blog; or my dreams of someone liking my writing enough to publish it.  Then there are my dreams for my family: for good health for my husband;  or for fulfilling, God-centred, PAID work for my children. (Well, two out of three isn’t bad: getting paid is a minor issue, really, as long as there is enough income coming in to live on. Especially if you haven’t reached the grand age of 25 yet.)  They are ‘God-sized’: big, not-achievable-by-my-own-efforts dreams.

They might be ‘God-sized’ but they are not necessarily ‘God-centred’.

I’ve just come from a memorial service. Giving thanks for the life of a dear, godly friend. The kind of woman who is rare – someone who just oozed God’s love out of every pore. Sheila’s smile melted hearts.

The key text was Philippians 3:7-14

‘But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’

Just before a tragic accident took Sheila from this world to the next, she wrote these words:

‘That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection,

That I might know Him and the strength of His love for me,

That I might share in the fellowship of His suffering

And understand what it cost to set me free.’

This is my ‘God-sized dream’.  It is big, and not-achievable-by-my-own-efforts. I dream of becoming a woman like Sheila, and Renee, and Lisa, and Tami, and Karyn, and Sarah, and Ruth, and Esther...to know Jesus as they did, and do. Something I can do only by God’s grace and in the strength – the God-sized strength – He gives me.