I have been hearing and reading a lot lately about the Vision and the Dream. The Word says without a Vision God's people will perish. For many years I served the Lord, so to speak in The Wilderness. Like the Israelite , I did much murmuring and complaining, this was due in a large part because I was always trying to do things "MY" way. After many years of frustration, seeming to be going around in circles, I began to REALLY search the Scriptures for the "Truth". Did not Jesus say that the truth would set/make me free. I had been freed from sin, did I need to be free of myself, the answer was yes ! My Spirit was changed the day I met Jesus in a little Baptist Church. Being raised in another Denominational Church that did not really explain Salvation and the Work Of The Cross, I realized I was Religious, but had NO Relationship with God The Father or His Son Jesus and certainly did not know WHO the Holy Spirit was. Thus began a search that was to take several years of Study, Prayer, learning to Praise and Worship, to allow Jesus to become The Lord of my Life. Romans 12 v2 , John 15 v4&5, and Jer.29 v 11, these verses became a life saver so to speak to begin my journey into "Truth". I learned that each of us are called to some kind of service, to be used by God, to enrich the lives of others. To give each of us a dream and a vision to follow, to let the light of Christ shine in a dark world.
I came across a statement of Oswald Chambers, taken from his book, "My Utmost For His Highest". I am going to share a short passage for you. He says, "God gives us a vision, then He takes us down to the valley to better shape us into the shape of His vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience."
I believe therein lies our problem, "patience". It takes time for God to develop our character We must change the way we think,(Rom 12v2), then we can begin to change our actions, (John15v4&5), finally we begin to believe there is a hope and a future for us,(Jer 29v11).
The Vision and The Dream are not fairy tales, they are very real if we have faith and put our trust in God and His Word. The dream and vision given to me many years ago is being fulfilled today. The calling on my life was put on hold for some of those years due to me seeking to do things my way. Today I often wonder how many more lives could/would I have touched if I had only not spent so much time in the valley that Chambers spoke of. i know God has forgiven me for stumbling along the way, the hard part was learning to forgive myself. So here I am today, MY Spiritual Birthday, 40 years ago today I knelt at the altar in that Baptist church, I asked Jesus to come into my life, to wipe away the sin and regrets of my life. There have been many times since then I have had to ask his forgiveness for a wrong deed, a harsh word, a judgmental attitude, yes He always forgives. i can stand before Him with a clean heart and continue on this path He has set before me. My questions for you are, what is your dream or vision ? Are you walking out the service to your fellowman that he has called you to ? Has there been a time that you asked Jesus to forgive you and make you a clean heart ? Today is the day ! What are you waiting for ? Come up out of the valley and join Jesus on the high plain of your life. It is never too late, you are never too old !! Until next time,"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus" !!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Vision and The Dream
I have been hearing and reading a lot lately about the Vision and the Dream. The Word says without a Vision God's people will perish. For many years I served the Lord, so to speak in The Wilderness. Like the Israelite , I did much murmuring and complaining, this was due in a large part because I was always trying to do things "MY" way. After many years of frustration, seeming to be going around in circles, I began to REALLY search the Scriptures for the "Truth". Did not Jesus say that the truth would set/make me free. I had been freed from sin, did I need to be free of myself, the answer was yes ! My Spirit was changed the day I met Jesus in a little Baptist Church. Being raised in another Denominational Church that did not really explain Salvation and the Work Of The Cross, I realized I was Religious, but had NO Relationship with God The Father or His Son Jesus and certainly did not know WHO the Holy Spirit was. Thus began a search that was to take several years of Study, Prayer, learning to Praise and Worship, to allow Jesus to become The Lord of my Life. Romans 12 v2 , John 15 v4&5, and Jer.29 v 11, these verses became a life saver so to speak to begin my journey into "Truth". I learned that each of us are called to some kind of service, to be used by God, to enrich the lives of others. To give each of us a dream and a vision to follow, to let the light of Christ shine in a dark world.
I came across a statement of Oswald Chambers, taken from his book, "My Utmost For His Highest". I am going to share a short passage for you. He says, "God gives us a vision, then He takes us down to the valley to better shape us into the shape of His vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience."
I believe therein lies our problem, "patience". It takes time for God to develop our character We must change the way we think,(Rom 12v2), then we can begin to change our actions, (John15v4&5), finally we begin to believe there is a hope and a future for us,(Jer 29v11).
The Vision and The Dream are not fairy tales, they are very real if we have faith and put our trust in God and His Word. The dream and vision given to me many years ago is being fulfilled today. The calling on my life was put on hold for some of those years due to me seeking to do things my way. Today I often wonder how many more lives could/would I have touched if I had only not spent so much time in the valley that Chambers spoke of. i know God has forgiven me for stumbling along the way, the hard part was learning to forgive myself. So here I am today, MY Spiritual Birthday, 40 years ago today I knelt at the altar in that Baptist church, I asked Jesus to come into my life, to wipe away the sin and regrets of my life. There have been many times since then I have had to ask his forgiveness for a wrong deed, a harsh word, a judgmental attitude, yes He always forgives. i can stand before Him with a clean heart and continue on this path He has set before me. My questions for you are, what is your dream or vision ? Are you walking out the service to your fellowman that he has called you to ? Has there been a time that you asked Jesus to forgive you and make you a clean heart ? Today is the day ! What are you waiting for ? Come up out of the valley and join Jesus on the high plain of your life. It is never too late, you are never too old !! Until next time,"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus" !!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)