I trust yesterday’s devotional resonated and challenged you to consider some open and closed doors in your life. I must admit, these devotions have proven to be answered prayer in my life and I specifically prayed that for you this morning. In today’s devotional look at details shared in Whisper and Untamed, we are challenged to be open to the creative Spirit of God at work in our lives, specifically in the area of dreams – whether they are daydreams or dreams in the night.
Consider the following points from Mark Batterson in Whisper.
Keep Dreaming
“Every dream has a genealogy…All our dreams were set up by those who came before, and we follow suit by setting up dreams for those who come after. So our dreams are really a dream within a dream. We’re downlines in dreams that trace all the way back to “Let there be light”…and He (God) is still accomplishing His plans and purposes via dreams and visions through the working of the Holy Spirit”.
“The language of dreams in the fourth love language…There is no dialect God speaks more fluently or frequently in Scripture. Whether it’s dreams by night or dreams by day, God is the Dream Giver”.
“God speaks in dreams so regularly than we often read right over them. Remember when He offered Solomon whatever he wanted, carte blanche? It was a dream. When Solomon woke up, he asked for a discerning heart, which literally means “a hearing heart”. Above all else, Solomon wanted to hear the voice of God. That gesture was the genesis of Solomon’s becoming the wisest man on earth”.
I must say, I couldn’t agree with Mark Batterson anymore than in the following points he makes:
“I subscribe to the school of thought that we steward the brain by learning as much as we can about as much as we can. But I also believe in a God who dwells in the synapses of the brain and speaks to us at the level of thoughts, ideas, and dreams”.
“The dreams God gives us are for us, but they’re never just for us; they’re for everyone who will be affected by and inspired by them.”
“We tend to be skeptical of experiences we’ve never had, and that’s especially true when it comes to things as night dreams. If we aren’t careful, we dismiss people as being a little crazy if they experience God in ways we haven’t.”
Peter’s Vision (Acts 10)
Mark Batterson uses Acts chapter 10, Peter’s Vision, as an outline to help us discern our dreams:
God-given dreams won’t contradict Scripture. – “A God-given dream won’t take you beyond the boundaries of Scripture, but will stretch you to do things you didn’t know you were capable of even attempting”.
God -given dreams will confront prejudice. – “Sometimes God has to force us outside of our comfort zones. We may want Him to do something new while we keep doing the same old thing, but it’s doesn’t work that way. His voice challenges the status quo and nudges us in new directions”.
The meaning of dreams isn’t always immediately discernable. – “Some dreams make immediate sense, but others won’t make sense for decades. And dreams are like doors: often one leads to another, which leads to another”.
if you wan’t to establish God’s reputation, you might have to risk yours. – “God works in strange and mysterious ways”.
The Purpose of Dreaming
“The goal of going after a God -sized dream isn’t just accomplishing it. In fact, accomplishing the dream is of secondary importance. The primary goal is who you become in the process. Big dreams make big people because we trust a big God. Nothing keeps us on our knees like God-sized dreams. They force us to live in raw dependence upon God. Without Him, the dream cannot be realized. God-sized dreams force us to lean in a little closer, and that’s when God has us right where He wants us”.
Untamed Imagination & Dreams
Much of what Mark Batterson details about dreams reminds me of a point I shared from Untamed in yesterday’s devotional – “We must not use the Word of God as a shield against the actually presence of God”. Challenging our God-given imagination, Alan Hirsch continues to make some great points in Untamed. For example, he quotes early church father Gregory of Nyssa who basically says that when we have a god we can comprehend, we have created an idol. Alan Hirsch goes on to say;
“That this form of idolatry is prevalent in the church is beyond question. The theological rationalism of the Western church is actually another form of Gnosticism that has plagued us from the time Christianity moved into the Gentile world…managing God and people through controlling the ideas that shape them.”
“The danger is that if such people desire control through objective truth, then, like all forms of deception and idolatry their wish is simply granted…a whole lot of theology, but a fading experience of the God theology should point to”.
I love how Alan Hirsch’s thoughts line up perfectly with what Mark Batterson says. By the way, the putting together of this devotion using those books, all started from me praying for personal revival. I felt inspired and God-led to do go through these resources and share. A little bit of prayer and daydreaming goes a long way. How about that for a #TestimonyTuesday.
Alan goes on to challenge our personal experience with God and the necessary openness we should have for the Spirit, “Shutting the Spirit up is a serious hindrance to untamed discipleship and should be recognized as one of the obstacles many readers need to overcome…Dry ideology is a dangerous and repressive ideology”.
Just as our dreams start with a “let there be…”, may each of us pray for our work in the following prayers/dreams for the body of Christ and our local church.
Let there be some serious creativity.
Let there be risky mission.
Let there be new and dynamic aspects of community.
Let there be lots of little Jesus’s.
Let there be love.
Let there be a learning community.
Let there be some miracles.
Let there be spiritual maturity.
Let there be a lot more discernment.
Let there be unity around Jesus.
Let there be ecstasy and intimacy.
Let there be liberation and transformation.
May God continue to work wonders in our lives.
God bless you,
Pastor Michael Miano