Spiritual dreams

"The Wise Men Come to Worship" by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 1-2; Psalm 81

TO CHEW ON: "Then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way." Matthew 2:12

A sidebar article in my Bible observes about dreams, "The NT opens with a burst of dreams, visions, angelic visitations and prophecies and closes with John's revelation…" James W. Ryle, "Dreams, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1291,2.

The story of Jesus' incarnation is particularly full of dreams.

• An angel comes to Joseph in a dream to tell him it is OK to marry Mary - Matthew 1:20.

• In our reading today, an angel warns the wise men away from return to Herod - Matthew 2:12.

• In the next verse of Matthew, we have another dream of Joseph's in which an angel tells him to flee from Herod to Egypt with Mary and baby Jesus - Matthew 2:13.

• After Herod dies, an angel gives Joseph the news and tells him to settle his family in Israel - Matthew 2:19.

• En-route another dream confirms his intuition about the danger of living in Judea and so he returns to Galilee - Matthew 2:22.

The article quoted from above goes on to say:

"…neither Jesus nor the apostles give any particular precept concerning the phenomena of dreams or visions. This is somewhat enigmatic in that, while the Bible does not teach about dreams and visions in any systematic manner, yet by citing so many significant examples it validates their existence and use by God as a means of communicating to people" - Ibid.  

What do you think—does God still speak to people in dreams today? Google that question and you'll raise many links to check out. Perhaps one of the simplest answers is on the Billy Graham Evangelical Association Answers page:

"God may communicate through dreams or visions even today, but we need to carefully check any such guidance we receive with Scripture and godly counsel to be sure it is from the Lord..." (read the entire answer).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for preserving Jesus' human life through dream warnings and messages. I know You can communicate to me in whatever way You choose. Help me to be listening. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 81

The Bible Project VIDEO: Matthew (Part 1: 1-13) (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"Ask! What shall I give you?"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 1-3; Psalm 94

TO CHEW ON: "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, 'Ask! What shall I give you?'" 1 Kings 3:5

I love the story of Solomon's requested granted! How can one help but be drawn to a king who has the humility to admit, 'I don't know how to do this'? How many times hasn't a similar cry come from my lips, perhaps yours too?

We can learn some lessons for our lives from Solomon's encounter with God.

1. We see earlier that Solomon wasn't perfect. At the beginning of his reign he was taken up with finishing kingly business for David, a bloody business, making an expedient political alliance with Egypt by marrying an Egyptian princess, and a few verses farther on, sacrificing at heathen "high places," though the writer assures us  "Solomon loved the LORD" - 1 Kings 3:1,3). Yet still God came through to help him.

• Similarly, we don't need to wait until we're perfect to ask for God's help.

2. God brought Solomon to a point of articulating his deepest thoughts, feelings, and anxieties. Perhaps God chose to come to Solomon in a dream because of how uninhibited we are while dreaming. 

• God can also help us come to a place of understanding where, exactly, we need His help. (Although we might also ask, where don't we need His help, we just don't realize it.)

3. Solomon asked for help to do his job—ruling Israel—in a just way.

• Though none of us has this assignment, we can ask God for help with the jobs we do have—raising our kids, performing at work as bosses or underlings, serving in church, perhaps leading a committee or as a member of a board or executive where things can get contentious...

4. On waking Solomon probably felt no different than on any other morning. But he went straight to Jerusalem and to 'church,'  "stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord," sacrificed offerings and feasted with his servants. By faith he celebrated God's answer to his request (1 Kings 3:15). 

• We too can expect God to answer our deepest requests. To solidify what these are, it helps if we write them down. Then in faith we can begin thanking God for His answers even as we watch how over the weeks, months, and years they become reality. We will see the proof in the feedback others give us and the fruit of our own lives!

PRAYER: Dear God, I need Your wisdom for ____. Please work in my life to help me do the tasks and shoulder the responsibilities You have given me. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 94

The Bible Project VIDEO: 1 & 2 Kings (Read Scripture series)




 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The spiritually alert parent

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 37:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.” Genesis 37:11

Jacob made more than one mistake as a parent. A glaring one was to show preference for Joseph over his other sons. It caused envy and jealousy among the siblings.

Joseph’s brash boasting about his dreams didn’t help. When he told his brothers about their wheat sheaves bowing down to his, they came to hate him. After a second dream, which he told his brothers and his father, even his doting dad rebuked him. But then Jacob did something right. He “…kept the matter in mind.”

This reminds me of Mary, mother of Jesus and her reaction to the unusual happenings around Jesus’ birth when she “Kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” - Luke 2:19.  Again when she saw his obvious giftedness in understanding and expressing spiritual truths at twelve, she “kept all these things in her heart” - Luke 2:51.

As parents and grandparents, one of the things we want most for our offspring is that they find their purpose in life. One of the ways we do that is to watch and then keep in our minds and hearts what we see of their gifts, strengths and weaknesses, and how God is at work in them. I believe this also involves praying into and over these things as we think about how to give them direction.

In his inspiring book Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, George Barna shares this bit of advice on how we give such direction.

“What can you do to help the youngsters with whom you have contact discover God’s purpose for their lives? As you explore their personality, spiritual gifts, passion, intellectual capacity, physical abilities, character traits and resonance with particular biblical characters and stories, funnel that knowledge toward guiding them to a clear idea of the role that has been reserved for them in God’s army. Encourage them to feel neither arrogant nor disappointed by that role. No calling is better than any other, and if it is God’s calling for them, then it is perfect for them" - George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, p. 66.

PRAYER: Dear Father help me to be a watcher, to observe and pray into the young lives around me and then encourage them in the dreams you have planted in them. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Is He your God?

"Jacob's Dream" by Salvatore Rosa (Source)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 27:46-28:22

TO CHEW ON: “Then Jacob made a vow saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.’” Genesis 28:20,21

As I read this bit about Jacob realizing that God could be his God, I am reminded of Abraham’s servant. His interactions with God began, at least, at arm’s length as well. In his prayers and storytelling, he always referred to Yahweh as the God of his master Abraham - Genesis 24:12, 27, 42.

My Bible’s study notes have this explanation of Jacob’s words in Genesis 28:20,21:

“Jacob was endeavoring to grasp the promise and to adopt the LORD as his God by formalizing a relationship such as his father had enjoyed. His words are nether cynical nor a bribe” - R. Russell Bixler, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 43.

We have no further insights into the relationship between God and Abraham’s servant. But Jacob, here, responded to God’s reaching out to him.

I would submit that our experience of God is not so different. It is He who makes the first move. After we sense His awareness of us, His knowledge of us and our circumstances, His reaching out to us (however that happens—through the perfect-to-our-situation scripture, song, podcast message, words of a friend etc.), we are undone. As undone as Jacob was:

“‘Surely the LORD is in this place and I did not know it.’
And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! this is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.’” - Genesis 28:16,17.

After such encounters, it’s up to us, like it was up to the two Old Testament men, to respond. Will we, like Jacob, move closer? Will we claim the Lord as our God?

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for taking the initiative in Your relationship with humans as a whole and with individual people. Thank You for all the times you’ve shown yourself to me as my God. Help me to always respond to Your overtures in a way that will deepen our relationship. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God brings us full-circle

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 7:9-34

TO CHEW ON: “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” Acts 7:25.

Stephen’s retelling of Moses’ story adds some interesting details that the original telling (Exodus 2:11-14) doesn’t include.

• Stephen makes it sound as if Moses never visited the Hebrews until he was 40 years old. Maybe he didn’t even know his origins—although since his own mother nursed him, probably through toddlerhood (“Children were not weaned until they were three to five years of age," study notes on Exodus, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 78), her training was no doubt a memory. I love how Stephen phrases it: “.. it came into his heart to visit his brethren…” Acts 7:23.

• Stephen gives us an insight into Moses’ thoughts at that time: “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand” - Acts 7:25.

I wish we knew more. Did Moses’ mother whisper her dreams for his future into his ear when he was just a child? Had he been sitting for years on the notion that he’d been spared for the purpose of freeing the Hebrew slaves, perhaps not quite sure what to do next?

Of course his attempt to realize that destiny went horribly wrong. It took another 40 years before one surprising day God came to him.

I can only imagine the emotion Moses felt when Yahweh Himself acknowledged the legtimacy of his Egypt emotions: “‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people … I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them’” - Acts 7:34. Now God’s plan was to use Moses for the job Moses had earlier dreamed of, but in God's time and way.

We can take away from this, I think, that the things that are in our hearts, the memories, pulls, old dreams, are not there by accident. We know who put it into Moses’ heart to visit his brothers and hope to free them. Surely it was God.

We also know that God took a long time to incubate that dream. By Moses’ reaction to God’s assignment, we can conclude that he had all but given up on it (Exodus 3:11). But God hadn’t. And it didn’t matter to Him that Moses was now 80 years old (Exodus 7:7). He would still use the faux Egyptian prince-turned-shepherd to accomplish the dream He had planted in Moses’ heart 40+ years prior.

So let’s not give up on the dreams God has planted in our hearts, even if they are decades old. God brought Moses’ full-circle, back to his dream, and has wonderful ways of bringing us there too.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to be alert to Your signals and quick to follow Your directions, delighted when You in Your wisdom lead me back to see the fulfillment of youthful dreams. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The argument of power

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

TO CHEW ON: “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

Does it seem to you that some folks are impervious to the gospel? No argument, no matter how logical or compelling, convinces them of the existence of God and His evaluation of and remedy for mankind.

If I’m understanding Paul correctly here, he is saying there is a way to conquer even such refusal to believe. It’s not with words, though, but with the power of God.

The Bible speaks often about the power of God. The references below are a few places. They give us an idea of the areas and ways God’s power has shown up in the past and may again.

1. Israel’s Chronicles historian told how historical figures, here David and a “man of God,” understood the rise and fall of nations to be due to God’s help or withdrawal of help - 1 Chronicles 29:12; 2 Chronicles 25:8.

2. The Spirit of the Lord gave the prophets the courage and power to rebuke sin - Micah 3:8.

3. Jesus’ life was characterized by the power of the Spirit - Luke 3:22; 4:14,15. The gospels are full of accounts of His teachings and miracles that repeatedly overcame unbelief.

4. On the day of Pentecost the Spirit descended on the disciples with physical sounds, sights, and manifestations - Acts 2:2-4.

5. That spiritual power was on display in the lives of the disciples, in their witnessing power, favour, miracles, and eventually, opposition - Acts 4:33; 6:7-15.

6. Paul prayed in his letter to the Ephesians that the power of God’s Spirit would strengthen his readers in the inner person - Ephesians 3:16.

7. Paul encouraged Timothy to use his spiritual gift to conquer fear and live in power, love, and a sound mind - 2 Timothy 1:17.

Does God still show up today in supernatural power, miracles, signs, and wonders? I believe He does. One example is in the dreams and visions of Jesus that many Muslims who come to faith tell about.

I am praying for the kingdom to come in supernatural power to some folks I know, who remain unmoved by words.  

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, may Your power flow in and through us as a means to convince a skeptical world of the kingdom of God and win them into it. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Would you change plans because of a dream?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 1:1-25

TO CHEW ON: “But while he thought about these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.’” Matthew 1:20


A friend of mine moved from Iran some years ago. Her reason for wanting to leave was because of persecution as a Christian. The night before her immigration hearing she had a dream. In the dream it was impressed on her to study a certain passage of scripture. She awoke and, instead of going back to sleep, memorized the scripture from her dream. The next day at her hearing, the officer quizzed her on exactly the passage she had studied.

Joseph, in our reading, altered his plans as the result of a dream. As he mulled over his terrible predicament and what to do, he dreamed that an angel spoke to him, telling him to abandon fear and marry Mary despite her pregnant condition. So he did (Matthew 1:20,24).

Does God still speak to people in dreams?

If stories from people in countries which are closed to the gospel are to be believed, He certainly does—often. In fact, He uses this mode of communication all over the world—even here, where we’re free to read and hear the gospel (for examples, read the book Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters).

How do we sort out whether a dream we have is a message from God or not? Some points to keep in mind:

1. God cares about our situation and our dilemmas. Like He saw Joseph’s predicament and knew he needed direction (Luke 1:19,20), He knows our circumstances and what we need. We have no reason to be surprised when He communicates with us..

2. God’s message to us can come in many ways: through reading or hearing the Bible, through another person, through the lyrics of a song, an angel, a vision, a dream…

3. However, the Bible is finished. It is complete in the Word—the message of Jesus (Hebrews 1:1,2, John 1:1,14).  A dream does not have equal authority with the Bible. Rather, we should compare the message of our dream with the message of the Bible. Of course this implies some familiarity with scripture and assumes we will recognize the “voice of the shepherd” - John 10:3,4. The more intimate we are with God, the greater the likelihood we’ll recognize His voice in instruction and reassurance to “fear not.”

4. We can ask God for wisdom for life (James 1:5) and for help in understanding what we believe are spiritual dreams (Daniel 8:15-17).

May we be so attuned to His voice that we obey Him, however He speaks to us, without hesitation or questions, like Joseph did.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to hear and recognize Your voice in whatever way You choose to speak. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Family strife

"Joseph Tells His Dreams"
by Rembrandt

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 37:1-20


TO CHEW ON: "Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons..." Genesis 37:3 NIV

The events in today's reading make for a great story—but not so great if they are happening to you. Joseph, son of Jacob's best-loved wife Rachel is now a teenager and out in the field with some of his brothers. The list of family frictions recorded in this story begins with his tattletale reaction to their misbehaviour (Genesis 37:2). It carries on, illustrating family dysfunctions of:

Favouritism: Joseph's father makes him a distinctive coat (Genesis 37:3).

Jealousy: This special treatment makes his brothers hate him even more so they can't even be civil to him (Genesis 37:4).

Boasting vanity: Joseph rubs in his favoured status by telling his two dreams where family members bow to him (Genesis 37:6-11).

Hatred — and murder (almost): All this bad will eventually ripen into the brothers' scheme, when the opportunity presents itself, to murder Joseph. (This plan changes when a Midianite caravan passes by. Selling Joseph to these slave traders makes it possible for the brothers to rid themselves of their sibling pest without actually killing him (Genesis 37:20, 27-28).

And in tomorrow's reading, there's more.

Of course we know how the story ends—that even in and through those dysfunctions, God works for good so that Joseph and all his scheming brothers are eventually preserved. Joseph himself understands and explains God's hand in these things years later: "...as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive" Genesis 50:20-21.

Most families have some dysfunction in them. Inevitably circumstances dovetail with personalities to bring about unfairness, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, deep-rooted grievances... But this story gives hope to crippled families. God is able to turn even the most unlikely family situation into something good.

PRAYER: Dear God, You know the issues in my family. I pray that You are even now transforming them into something that will work for good. Amen.

MORE: The irony of Joseph's dreams

Speaking of Joseph's dreams in a 1981 sermon, John Piper says:

"They helped produce their fulfillment. They made Joseph's brothers so angry that they sold him to some Midianite tradesmen on their way to Egypt. The irony here is terrific: by sending Joseph to Egypt to get rid of the vain dreamer, they set in motion the very events that fulfilled the dream. That's the way it is every time we try to resist the purposes of God. We always wind up fulfilling them—even when we do it like Judas" - John Piper, from a 1981 sermon "God Meant it for Good" (By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org)

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Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Angel watchers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 4:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "'I saw in visions of my head while on my bed, that there was a watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus, "... This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will and sets it over the lowest of men.'" Daniel 4:13, 14a, 17.

Who or what are these "watchers" that our reading refers to?

My Bible's study notes identify them as "Angels on special assignment of the Lord" Cox Phillips Coleman, notes on Daniel, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1126. It seems that here an angel—"watcher"—communicates to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream a decision made in heaven by many angels ("the watchers").

When we read on in Daniel, we discover that the decision has to do with a lesson Nebuchadnezzar needs to learn. The dream is a foretelling of events that will take place to teach him that lesson. For he will soon be like that tree, cut down and humiliated as he descends for a time into madness. Though his words exalt God (Daniel 4:2-3), "His own heart is still filled with pride. He has not submitted the rulership over his own kingdom  to the kingdom of God" - Coleman.

Back to those watchers. Their role here reflects what Wayne Grudem says about angels in his Systematic Theology:*

• They are powerful: "Angels are seemingly greater in might and power than rebellious human beings (2 Peter 2:11, cf. Matthew 28:2)" Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 400.

• They carry out some of God's plans.

• They glorify God. Most of the time we see them glorifying God directly. But here they work in the background to bring a king to the place where he will glorify God.

What does this intervention of angels in Daniel have to say to us? Grudem again:

"We should be aware of angels in our daily lives" - Grudem, p. 405

1. We can realize that when we worship we are joined by not only the company of believers that have died but also a great throng of angels (Hebrews 12:22-23).

2. We should be aware that angels are watching our daily obedience or disobedience throughout the day:

"We should be sobered by the thought that perhaps even hundreds of angels witness our disobedience and are grieved. On the other hand, when we are discouraged and think that our faithful obedience to God is witnessed by no one and is an encouragement to no one, we can be comforted by the realization that perhaps hundreds of angels witness our lonely struggle daily 'longing to look' at the way Christ's great salvation finds expression in our lives" - Grudem p.  406.

3. We may minister to angels without knowing it when they take on human form (Hebrews 13:2).

4. When we are suddenly and unexpectedly saved from disaster, we may be right in our suspicion that God has sent an angel to help us—and be thankful.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this glimpse into the realm of angels and Your plans which include them. Help me to be aware of these watchers cheering me on and guarding my way as they play their part in Your plans. Amen.

MORE: The Watcher

Canadian author Sara Davison, in her novel The Watcher tells a contemporary story through one such angel watcher. It is an intriguing and worthwhile read! My review of The Watcher is HERE.

* Information about angels is from the entire chapter on Angels  (pages  397-411) in Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology

Giving credit where it's due

"Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream"
 by William Brassey Hole

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 2:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "Daniel answered and said: 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever. For wisdom and might are His.'" Daniel 2:20

Though we read previously that Daniel had a talent for interpreting dreams and visions (Daniel 1:17), when he found himself in the crunch of 'tell the dream and its interpretation or die,' he did not depend on his talent but went straight to its source.

Gathering his friends Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego he asked them to "seek the mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret."

That night "the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision" - Daniel 2:18,19.

I love his combination of humility and faith. They are evident in many places in this book where Daniel attributes to God the favor he has with the chief eunuch (Daniel 1:9) and the knowledge and skill he and his friends possessed in literature, wisdom and dream interpretation (Daniel 1:17). Here he again gives all credit to God: "So Daniel blessed the God of heaven" and then goes on to pray an eloquent prayer of praise and thanksgiving (Daniel 2:20-23).

What a great model for us as we face the hurdles of life and the challenges of family and work. I ask myself:

- Is my first thought to pray about a difficulty or challenge or do I cast about for a way to handle it on my own?

- When help arrives do I recognize it? Do I acknowledge it was from Him and give Him the credit?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to follow Daniel's example of faith and humility, acknowledging Your help and giving You credit instead of taking it for myself. Amen.

MORE: Recklessly abandon

"Let actual circumstances be what they may, keep recognizing Jesus, maintain complete reliance on Him.

If you debate for a second when God has spoken, it is all up. Never begin to say--'Well, I wonder if He did speak?' Be reckless immediately, fling it all out on Him. You do not know when His voice will come, but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon. It is only by abandon that you recognize Him. You will only realize His voice more clearly by recklessness" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest,  June 18th reading.

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