Monday, January 12, 2015

Be a dreamer



"Lord,  You bless me so richly. You pour abundance into my life. You  give me the privilege to serve You in a place beyond good!!"  My prayers of praise spilled out after ending a full day of ministry, service, and being among friends.  I am long on duty and try to be faithful even when the going gets tough; but I am also dreamer.  I am not much on escapist dreams that some develop to avoid dealing with the gritty stuff of everyday life but I dream of lives rescued from sin, of the hopelessness finding a reason to live, of doing the work of God in a way that causes others to take note of Him

God has set vision in me that I cannot push aside. Many things conspire to keep those God-given dreams from being born. Sometimes I become too focused on ‘me,’ attempting to do what only God can do.  Sometimes I fail to accept the strength of the Spirit to be my strength and fatigue sets in.  There are times when the impossibilities cloud my eyes and I too readily conclude - 'it can't be done. '  But, as the Scriptures say, even when I am faithless, He is faithful! And He has been so faithful to me!

What’s your vision, Christian? God dreams great and glorious plans for you. He wants to pour His blessings into your life.  Do not settle for lesser things in your vision. Dream about transformation, eternal life, the beauty of the fruit of the Spirit to be abundant in you.  In Ephesians 1, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exults: "God thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, ... It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." (The Message)

Through Christ, God plans to "bring many sons to glory!" His plan includes a mature faith, deep devotion, developed spiritual gifts, and a fruitful life. It is a unique plan that uses your personality, your experiences, your situations along with the resources of Heaven to create a life that glorifies the Lord!  The ultimate end of His plans is our reception into the home prepared for us by the Designer of the Universe. Dream about that! What a home and with Him, in peace forever.

Invite the Lord to inspire (the word literally means 'breathe into') you with greater vision!
Pray that He will allow you to dream.

Our Father in Heaven asks us to look higher. If we can catch glimpses of the glory He's planned for us, we will more readily say "yes, Lord" to the discipline that brings us to share in His purposes. Living to our full potential, becoming a child of glory, is not inevitable! He allows us the freedom to choose to embrace that plan. People of the Spirit need two sets of eyes: one they are born with that sees the world as it is and another that are God-given that lets them see the world as God wants it to be! That, Christian, is vision!

The prophet Joel spoke of the Lord's work in our lives with these wonderful words of promise. Here is our word from the Word.
"I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters.
Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions.
I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both."
(Joel 2:28-29, The Message)
_________________

Be Thou My Vision (Slane)

Be Thou my vision,
O Lord of my heart.
‘Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art!
Thou, my best thought,
By day or by night.
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light.

Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise.
Thou, mine inheritance,
Now and always.
Thou and Thou only,
Be first in my heart.
High King of heaven,
My treasure, Thou art!

High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won,
May I reach heaven's joys.
O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart,
Whatever befall.
Still be my vision,
O Ruler of all.

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne
© Words: Public Domain

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