Got A Dream?

        I pray that you will experience a God given dream. We can ask for holy vision to be given us by the Spirit of God. Acts 2:17 offers hope of new noble dreams to reach for, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” The power of holy vision can give us energy to grow faithful and fruitful lives for the Kingdom of God.

         The famous musical, “South Pacific” , has lyrics that speak of this need , “If you don't talk happy, and you never have a dream, how will you ever have a dream come true?” One of the enriching gifts of being filled with the Holy Spirit is to dream new possibilities of growth, service and peaceful living. Martin Luther King was inspired by the dream of social justice and we pray and work for this to come true.

Of course Martin Luther King was not perfect. He was a sinner like all of us.

       What is powerful about his dream is the beneficial nature for other people. Not all dreams are from God! Jeremiah warns us in 23:26-27, “How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back – those who prophesy lies and who prophesy the delusions of their own hearts? They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another.” Human dreams can be filled with selfish ambitions of greed, ego inflation, power and indulgence.

      A vision for my life as I age is Psalms 92:12-15, “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright.” My dream is to discover new ways to be fruitful for our Lord in my senior years. With the Holy Spirit guiding me age is not a limiting factor.

“Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be, the last for which the first was made.” Robert Browning. Do you have a dream?

Who Despised The Day of Small Things?

          Growing up in church we sand a hymn, “Sweet Hour of Prayer”. I have struggled with this concept of measuring prayer as an hour achievement. I tried to pray many times for an hour but failed. I felt defeated.

         In my effort to pray daily I no longer try hard for an hour. Instead what helps me is the practice of short spaces of time with God through out my day. These intervals may be 5 or 10 minutes to renew my focus on my Lord.

       One break is to read the Upper Room and pray the suggested prayer. Another pause is to read a Psalm and ponder one key verse where the Lord is speaking to me. A short look around outside at God's marvelous creation is prayerful for me. This helps me hear the birds and notice the beauty of our Lord's flowers. It helps me praise Him for His wonderful works. When I catch myself in worry I take some gratitude moments to notice how good my life is and express thanks.

      These interspersed prayerful moments help me to stay focused on the day as God's gift and my need to honor Him. Zechariah 4: 10 encourages me to give my small intervals to God, “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice.”

When I practice daily these small things I experience the renewing touch of the Spirit of God.

In God's Eyes You Are Indespensible, Never Despicable.

“On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.” 1 Corinthians 12:22-23.

       Reflecting on this passage makes me realize how we need to value ourselves and other members of Christ's body. It is tempting to overlook the vital contribution of a quiet person. Our society teaches that celebrities are the real VIPs. They grab the spotlight and boast to be more important than regular people. This outlook can weaken the body of Christ if we think that pastors, TV evangelists, or popular musicians make the real difference.

        The visible and upfront servants of God do have an important role. Of equal value to the work of God are the quiet majority who make things happen.

       A false humility can rob us from valuing our place of service so much we excuse our part as being worthless. We can reject this worldly way of thinking which goes like this, “I am not talented, beautiful, young enough, educated well enough, and can not talk well enough to serve God. If I do not attend worship, volunteer or give my participation it will not matter. I am not important like others who are so talented. I am sure I will not be missed.” This is a lie. You are an indispensable part of the health and fruitfulness of the church where you worship.

       The funny movie with the theme of being “despicable” can wake us up. We are not worthless and of no account when it comes to eternal work for our Lord. We are never “despicable” even if worldly people treat us as less honorable.

The Lord does not see you as “despicable”, but as “indispensable”.

Do You Know Your Body Is A Temple Of The Holy Spirit?

        1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 makes a profound statement about our physical body, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” To be aware of the body as the dwelling place of the Divine Spirit would help us to counter the influence of the current secular view of our physical existence.

      The ancient Greek and Roman religions taught that religion is only a matter of the spiritual realm. What you did with your body had no bearing on one's relationship with God. The body was looked upon as inferior to the soul and not worthy of consideration. They despised the body as only a temporary prison of the eternal soul. This view is prevalent in the New Age religion of our day. How things never change.

The point is we must serve God through the way we treat our body if we want to please Him. Do you know that your body is a sacred vessel of the Spirit of wisdom? God wants to show forth His goodness, faithfulness, wisdom and righteousness in moral and healthy living.

        The way the Lord made us with intricate design, awesome mental and physical powers shows that He loves us. His commitment to us is not limited by how long we have the breathe of life. He promises to redeem this body to a new level of transformation in the victory of the resurrection of our Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:13-15 says, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, By his power He raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.”

        The false play boy philosophy is pushed upon us in our media. It is the same old outlook the Gospel came to deliver from. We can only find peace and fulfillment in keeping the holy moral commands of God to use the body to honor Him. Who does your body belong to? Isn't it your own business what I do with it?

         We own our body as a steward handles the property of the master whom he must give an account to. Our ownership here means responsibility and care. It does not mean moral and sexual wildness where we do what we please.

         Do you know that you are a temple of the Eternal, Holy Spirit?

Gatsby Was Fooled, He Never Was Great.

          We just saw the movie, “The Great Gatsby”. As we reflected on this story of dishonest wealth and sexual wildness it struck us how timely it is. The movie is about the 1920s era of insane money of organized crime enriched by prohibition and corruption of public officials. The rich were getting extremely wealthy with an inflated stock market boom. Morals were considered out of date and old fashioned. All that mattered was getting glamorous clothes, cars and houses. Immediate gratification was the rage with no thought of consequences of lying, cheating, and stealing in order to have it all now. The movie shows the fleeting, false, and empty thrills of the Gatsby lifestyle.

         Human nature has not changed. In the time of Jesus earthly ministry the Gatsby crowd pursued fine clothes, big money, wild parties, and splendid mansions. They were called the Herodians because of their allegiance to King Herod. He agreed with the Romans to be their puppet king in exchange for the Gatsby kind of rewards. The Herodians cooperated with Herod in every way to keep the good times rolling in luxury, pomp, pleasure and sexual wildness. Instant gratification was the offer Herod made to his loyal followers.

The message of Jesus and his way of life was in stark contrast to Herod.

       The wisdom of Jesus is to pursue integrity, generosity, moral faithfulness, to do good to other and to practice self-control. Jesus warned about greed and selfish gain where we can lose our eternal soul. Greater than immediate gain Jesus promises a spiritual kind of wealth that will never lose its value.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust consumes and were thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6: 19-21.

        I wonder when Gatsby was about to die if he experienced some “terminal lucidity”? There comes near death a moment of clarity when in a flash we clearly see if we lived for what was lasting or wasted our energies on what is false and rusting away. With the help of the Spirit of Truth may we all be lucid now about what is worth living for.