In my time of resting, God continues to invite me to think outside the box. I feel like He keeps inviting me to be hungry for more. Here’s what I’m learning about dreams (the long forgotten language for many)… thanks to Murray Dueck. (A link to his book can be found at the bottom. Here’s an intro…)
What about dreams in the Bible?
There are 224 references to dreams and visions in the Bible.
1/3 of the Bible is connected to dreams and visions. (The entire book of Revelation is a vision.)
Are dreams important to Jesus?
How many dreams can you find around the birth of Jesus?
Matt 1:18-2:23 (opens in new window)
I count 5.
What would have happened to Jesus if God the Father hadn’t sent one of those dreams?
I think he’d be dead.
We should major on the majors and minor on the minors.
The Bible majors on dreams and visions.
You will dream 3 years of your life and you will dream more than you eat. Every night you dream 1-2 hours. It’s whether or not you are remembering them. If people aren’t allowed to dream, they go insane.
Dreams:
1. look inside you
2. reveal the nature of God (and he has a wonderful sense of humour.)
Dreaming causes you to ponder and draw closer to God. It’s not about information but about relationship and intimacy with your Creator and Saviour.
Why did the church quit listening to dreams?
-Jerome mistranslated – Deut.18:10
-The church took over government, authority became clergy, not lay people. Personal revelation became for only clergy.
-Christianity became judicial and less relational. (Did you know that in some circles, the thought of getting a degree in theology is crazy because theology is about relationship and not merely Bible facts.)
Question: How do you live with the early church’s understanding of dreams in today’s culture?
We do not throw away our mind-set, we add to it…
The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth…
1 Corinthians 2
God’s Wisdom Through the Holy Spirit
6 The words we speak to those who have grown in the faith are wise. Our words are different from the wisdom of this world. Our words are different from those of the rulers of this world. These rulers are becoming less and less powerful. 7 No, we announce God’s wisdom. His wisdom is a mystery that has been hidden. But before time began, God planned that his wisdom would bring us heavenly glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world understood God’s wisdom. If they had, they would not have nailed the Lord of glory to the cross. 9 It is written that
“no eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
and no human mind has known.” (Isaiah 64:4)
God has prepared these things for those who love him.
10 God has shown these things to us through his Spirit.The Spirit understands all things. He understands even the deep things of God. 11 Who can know the thoughts of another person? Only a person’s own spirit can know them. In the same way, only the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world. We have received the Spirit who is from God. The Spirit helps us understand what God has freely given us. 13 That is what we speak about. We don’t use words taught to us by people. We use words taught to us by the Holy Spirit. We use the words taught by the Spirit to explain spiritual truths. 14 The person without the Spirit doesn’t accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. These things are foolish to them. They can’t understand them. In fact, such things can’t be understood without the Spirit’s help. 15 The person who has the Spirit can judge all things. But no human being can judge those who have the Spirit. It is written,
16 “Who can ever know what is in the Lord’s mind?
Can anyone ever teach him?” (Isaiah 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ.
Prayer:
“Lord, help us to listen, ponder, love and follow…”
How do you interpret your dreams using God’s Word?
You’ll enjoy this introductory resource that goes beyond dreaming and looks at everyday events as we learn to take note of God speaking to us in the day to day:
Following and Trusting 