WholeHeartedLife

Does God Still Speak through Dreams?

In Sunday's message I preached from Matthew 1:18-25 where Joseph finds out that his "wife" (they were actually betrothed) is pregnant though they had never been together as husband and wife. Joseph, ready to divorce her quietly, changes his mind when the angel of the Lord comes to tell him what is really going on (and that she's not lying and, by the way, is carrying the Messiah). Joseph, upon waking, does exactly as the angel commanded in the dream. 

One of the WholeHearted readers asked an excellent question: Do you believe that God speaks to us today thru dreams? Here was my response:

"To answer your question, I do believe God CAN speak to us through dreams, however, I believe that a dream would be supplemental to the word of God. What I mean is, God speaks in so many ways (people, circumstances, issues) but He HAS spoken through His Word and continues to do so. If God uses a dream it would be (my opinion) in addition to the Word. I would never base a decision or even an action upon a dream alone for that would be an unwise action . The Word of God is the only 100% reliable voice of God."

I think that at times people try to look to everything and anything they can find to answer their spiritual and life questions without consulting the one thing that they know they can count on: the Word of God - if you truly seek God through the filter of His Word He will never send you in the wrong direction.

Thanks for the excellent question.

This IS NOT a Sunday Nite on a Monday Post

Our God takes things that appear to be irrational and makes them appear rational.

In yesterday's message I tackled the supernatural aspect of following God (we studied that from here). In the story Joseph was about to divorce Mary, whom he thought had been unfaithful to him during their engagement; that is until God intervened: 

behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." (Matt 1:20)

I don't know how open Joseph was to the supernatural in the beginning; the story that his wife was telling him was certainly "supernatural" but his life experience told him that it wasn't true. I think that we have all allowed our life experience to occasionally influence our decisions. Once Joseph had the dream the crazy story was no longer so irrational, it had in fact become quite rational.

It's not like the angel took away all of the issues: Joseph was still going to have to deal with the fact that people knew that his wife, whom it was said that he had not slept with, was pregnant - people would still talk, right? The step that Joseph was to take would still take faith, right? What would he tell people when they asked why he changed his mind about divorcing Mary? "I had this dream..." - that in itself seemed irrational. But God, through the angel, took all of the major questions away from Joseph, enough so, that Joseph was willing to walk in the decision to take Mary as his wife and raise the young Jesus as his own son.

Joseph opened his heart to God, to the supernatural - he couldn't explain it, he didn't know what it all meant, BUT HE BELIEVED.

Once you open your heart to the things of God, once you open your heart to Him and tell Him that you are prepared to believe, He will flood your heart with belief and all of a sudden the irrational seems rational - WHY? Because you are no longer looking through the eyes of life's experiences, but rather, you are viewing life through the eyes of faith. 

What if...

...we were the type of followers of Jesus who were truly open to the things of the Spirit in such a way that whenever God told them to do something THEY DID! Knowing that, EMMANUEL (God is with us - God is with you), are you willing to do whatever God tells you to do. 

Believing About vs. Walking In

Have you ever made a really bold, God-led statement concerning something you felt God had been telling you only to come to the realization, "oh CRAP!!! Now that I have publicly declared that I have to actually follow through!" I have discovered that there is a big difference between believing something about God and actually living out that belief.

This thought came yesterday as I read in Ezra 8 - as Israel was beginning their journey back to Jerusalem after 70 years in captivity Ezra suddenly realizes the truth of their situation (v.21-23)

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

I love this - Ezra, the great teacher of the law of God whom God used to reveal the truth once again to His wayward nation realizes that He has made much of God - so much so that he is ashamed to request protection for their long and dangerous journey. They fasted and prayed (v.23) and God answered.

Awesome! The problem you and I often have with this: that was Ezra from the bible and you're "you" (and I'm "me"). People in the bible are supposed to do stuff like that, right? Believing about and walking "in" are two different things.

Two scenarios I have personally encountered - one victoriously, the other not so much. In the first scenario God shared with me something that He wanted to do among my congregation and it was big; so big that there was no way that we could do it if He didn't step in. I told the people what I felt God was leading - many were ready (like the Israelites signing up to return to Jerusalem - Ezra 1:5). There were also those whom the vision was a little much, a little too big. I'll never forget the leader who shared with me that he didn't want me to fail - maybe I should back off this vision. I told him that I was confident in God's leadership but would seek the Lord one final time because of his concern. I did - God confirmed once again this was His will - we moved forward and watched Him literally work out Ephesians 3:20 in our midst.

In the second scenario God revealed a plan to me, a vision, that would not only affect our church in a major way; the plan that He revealed to me would literally initiate a change our region in the area of the local church. I was confident this was from the Lord - it BURNED within me!!! I shared it with some trusted leaders and friends - they also were compelled by what God had revealed. There was one major issue: it was big (BIG!!HUGE!!!) and our church was exploding with growth - so much so that it was hard to imagine more (especially as big as this plan was). We were understaffed and overworked not to mention the fact that our budget was being stretched by all that was happening in our midst. 

I felt very confident that the plan was from God - the challenge was that the vision was just so big and I was SO stressed and didn't feel I could handle anymore. As much as I tried to bury the vision it wouldn't let me go. I was having a crisis about the plan/vision: how could we, with all that was happening pull this off? Rather than do what Ezra did (gather the people/fast/pray) I remember making the decision in an overwhelmed moment that maybe this vision was not "for now" but at a time when we could better handle/finance such a work.

Today I have realized my mistake: I had way too much faith in me, our staff, volunteers and leaders and not enough faith/dependency on the Giver of the vision. I have also come to recognize that the vision was for then and I missed the opportunity to see an Acts-like movement because I didn't have the faith/obedience to follow through.

Your willingness to walk in faith on something that God has revealed to you reveals the depth of your belief in Him: is He capable? Able? Do you REALLY believe? If so, now it's time to walk IN that belief.

Who are YOU Listening To?

How do you react when you find yourself in the midst of a unexpected trial? Have you ever had the thought that the way you react might show you "who" you're listening to?

You know, there's a good and an evil side to trials and temptations. Never forget: God's goal for you during a time of testing is LOVE, it's for your good, to grow you in His purpose for your life. Listen to James 1:2-3: 

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 

If you miss this truth you will develop the wrong attitude towards trials - you'll get bitter and angry with God; you will find yourself saying things like,  "I don't understand why God is doing this to me". Rather, think of a trial as God's way of giving you the chance to practice what you've been learning as you read His Word, fellowship with other believers, grow in your faith, pray and worship.

If you don't learn to love God in testing you will become angry with him and that anger WILL cause you to sin against him. If you do not learn to live out v.2 you will inevitably end up living out the sin that is described in verse 14. You will be mad at God and wonder if he loves you or even, for some of you, if He's even real and you will at some point be tempted to sin.

So when you feel like you can't take anymore and the negative thoughts, words, doubts and actions come your way - remember, God is up to something good for you and it will always be worth the wait.

Clap Like a Seal, You Might Get a Treat

³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:32 NIV)

In praying for a friend I had a thought (which I'll credit to God)...

This friend has struggled with getting to a "new place" with God. The person often expressed a discontent with where they were at spiritually (tell me about it). What if this new place that the person sought after was actually driven by faith rather than experience? Let me explain what I mean.

As new believers we are often driven by spiritual experiences: a great service, a moving testimony, a successful project/mission, a stirring message. In all of these instances experience is at the core of all of them; they feel good, they made you cry, they made you proud, they made you feel ashamed.

What if, as you grow in your knowledge and experience of God He expects you to go where He's telling you despite the fact that it doesn't "feel good"? What if the last place He sent you to had to "feel" better because, at that stage of your walk you needed to feel more, to experience more? What if this new place more faith is required and less "chill bumps" will be experienced?

What if "experience" is the bunny slopes of our walk? What if your experiencing "chill bumps" is like rewarding a child who has done well with a treat? Abraham walked by faith, not having the ability to see how great the next place would be - what about us?

As you can see, this post has nothing to do with seals (or any other marine animals) but has everything to do with us moving beyond the baby steps of our faith. In the end it's like the prayer that Jesus prayed for Peter in the beginning of this post - I, Mike P, pray that your faith not fail, but that you will persevere in following Jesus to that next place and that you will strengthen others as you do so (remember: your discouragement can be quite contagious). The next place that God calls you to spiritually may have less "chill bump" moments than the past but a higher adventure in correlation to the amount of faith you are willing to show; your willingness to take bigger risks and follow to completion may be key in finding that next place you know in your heart is before you. After all, you probably ain't gonna get a treat after every right movement you make - unless you've got a job perfoming at Sea World.

Does this make any sense to anyone besides myself?

"Why Do GOOD PEOPLE Have to Die?" - Part 2

Yesterday I "teased" a discussion that was spurred by a question a life-long friend of mine asked concerning Coach Kay Yow (NC State Women's basketball coach who went to be with the Lord). I have known of her courageous and long fought battle with breast cancer. She seemed to be an amazing woman who was known for her inspiration and determination - she was also known for her faith in Jesus Christ. He asked me, via facebook, the following question:

"Why do GOOD PEOPLE like Kay Yow have to die?"

It truly is the question that many ask me - sometimes by those who are believers and struggle; othertimes by those who are looking for evidence against God so that they'll have reason to "convict" God of not being the good God that believers proclaim Him to be.

I am SO not a scholar, but it is interesting that our message this past weekend explored the scripture that we'll be pulling from today (John Chapter 11). With all of this in mind, here are a few of my own personal observations.

• Just because you love the Lord doesn't ensure that you won't endure troubles

(sorry tv preachers who make your living promising blessing to those who generously give to your ministry ). Everybody deals with the struggles of life - especially those who love and serve God. In the scripture we see a family who not only knew and loved JESUS but of whom the scripture says that JESUS knew and loved them (John 11:1-5). The man, Lazarus, was tight with Jesus, yet he found himself sick and on the verge of death.

Coach Yow battled cancer off and on for 2 decades (!!). Yet from what I could tell from those who knew her the thing that defined her was her faith. I suppose she had 2 choices - she could blame God and get mad at her misfortune or she could live her life to the fullest making the most of what she had. Luckily for you and I, she chose the latter.

God will use whatever means necessary to bring glory to Himself through us. Sometimes it's through victories - sometimes it's through the undesirable instances of life. In the scripture Jesus tells his disciples why Lazarus was sick - He said, "...it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." (v.4). For God's glory??? I'm sick for God's glory???

To quote Pastor Harrell from Sunday's message, "I never signed up to bring God glory through sickness!!". We want to give God glory from our victories: "we won the game, glory to God!". "I had my most profitable year ever - glory to God!". "The church is exploding - Glory to God!!". However, the scripture says that Lazarus was sick to bring Him glory.

For a college coach I would say that the pinnacle would have to be a national championship. Coach Yow never won a national championship (she did win a gold medal in the olympics). Winning a championship would have given her an awesome platform - instead, God gave her a different platform - cancer.  

An amazing thing about her is that I honestly don't know that I would have known of Coach Yow were it not for her illness. Not being a women's college basketball follower I heard of her because 1. her platform because of her illness and 2. her being an outspoken Christ follower. God used her illness to bring glory to Himself in an amazing way!

God often doesn't answer our prayers when we want Him to. In the story they told Jesus that Lazarus was really sick - I'm sure it was obvious as Lazarus' sisters wanted Jesus to know. The stricking thing is that he waited 2 days to leave. (v. 6)

You know, I've come to believe and understand (and most importantly, TRUST) that God has a plan. I'm sure people prayed for Coach Yow's healing many times. Though this illness eventually took her life, let us also look at what God did through her:

 
she had a 737-344 record
four Atlantic Coast Conference titles
20 NCAA bids and a 1998 Final Four appearance
She coached the U.S. women to the 1988 Olympic title
Coach Yow was a member of the Naismith and the Women's Basketball halls of fame

More importantly though was off the court where she strongly fought cancer — raising funds for research through the Kay Yow/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Cancer Fund - she was an encourager for those battling cancer.

God gave her 2 decades to fight this fight and do good. 2 decades to bring Him glory through her sufferings. Instead of asking "why me?" it seems that Coach Yow asked, "God, how can You use my situation to make a difference to bring You glory?". Sounds pretty scriptural to me.

Join us tomorrow for part 3 of "Why GOOD PEOPLE Have to die".

"Why do GOOD PEOPLE have to die?" - Part One

A lifelong friend sent me a message on facebook Sunday Nite - He must have just missed me before I went to bed. The message was a question about Coach Kay Yow (NC State Women's basketball coach who went to be with the Lord). I have known of her courageous and long fought battle with breast cancer. She seemed to be an amazing woman who was known for her inspiration and determination - she was also known for her faith in Jesus Christ. His question is one that many must wonder:

"Why do GOOD PEOPLE like Kay Yow have to die?" (caps were his choice)

It's the age-old question, isn't it? Good people. Bad circumstances.  Why would a God whom Christians proclaim as good allow bad things to happen to those who actually believe and proclaim that He is good? Is God really good after all?

We will discuss this tomorrow here on WholeHearted, but we will do it in light of the following scripture - it's quite lengthy but necessary if you wanna seriously discuss this. If you won't read the scripture, don't come back for my words tomorrow (just kidding ... but seriously, you won't get nearly as much out of this conversation as I will be referencing the scripture often).

John 11

The Death of Lazarus

 1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

 4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

 7Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

 8"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"

 9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

 11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

 12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

 14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

 16Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

Jesus Comforts the Sisters

 17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles^[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

 21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

 23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

 24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

 25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

 27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,^[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

 28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

 32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
      "Come and see, Lord," they replied.

 35Jesus wept.

 36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

 37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

 38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said.
      "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

 40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

 41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
      Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Check me out here tomorrow as we discuss why GOOD PEOPLE like have to die.

...and the clouds broke - the rain stopped

We had Matt's birthday party the other day. Because he decided to have a pool party, all week long he kept a watch on the weather hoping that a summer shower / thunderstorm wouldn't mess-up his party plans.

On party day we awoke to the rain falling. "Dad! You gotta check the weather on the internet!!". So we run to the computer. The news: Scattered thunderstorms all day. Keyna says, "Matt, you better be praying that God will stop the rain because I don't know what we'll do if it doesn't stop.". So throughout the morning Matt prayed - He would look out the window and he'd pray. He'd play a game then he'd pray. He ate, then he prayed. Finally, after lunch he says, "ok everybody, come here - we gotta pray together and ask the Lord to let me have my party!". "Ok, Matt, you pray.", I said. So he did.

"Jesus, if I can get ONE THING for my birthday, will you please make it stop raining so I can have my party? Amen." And the rain kept coming - all afternoon in fact, until...

...we drove up to the pool and it was just barely sprinkling. We got out of the car, walked up and the clouds broke and - BY GOD - the rain stopped and the sun (THE SUN!!) came out.

How's your faith? Not that I thought that God couldn't stop the rain... but I wasn't sure that he would. I was definitely AMAZED when He did. I think that we could all learn alot from our kidz - we know that He can do it - Let's start believing that He will.

What thing in your life do you need to start believing God for? Quit doubting - start believing.