For those of us who have aged reaching a point where we have stopped feigning more years than we actually have, it is refreshing remembering those childhood years and the Godliness which accompanies them. Although Paul admonishes us that a person can be quite wise when they are young and we should not despise such an individuals rebuke, we often discount correction which comes from younger members of society. Yet, remember when cigarette smoke made one cough. Did you lose that wisdom and try one someday. Remember when beer had a sour taste. Did you lose that wisdom and continue drinking. And, the list goes on. But for most children, life is relatively simple. Do what is right and all will go much better than if one does what is wrong. With that said, this weblogger performed wrongful acts and continues doing so. He is striving for perfection and is at a lower point in his spiritual walk than he was a decade ago. These pages are an effort at self-discipline and reform.
Inspiration on how we should conduct ourselves as adults can be drawn from Israel's child king Josiah. As Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven is such as these. Here is a brief profile on Josiah from 2 Kings 22:
*******************************************************************************
Josiah [was] eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, [that] the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:
And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which [is] in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house,
Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.
And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying,
Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great [is] the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.
And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, [even] all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:
Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [As touching] the words which thou hast heard;
Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard [thee], saith the LORD.
Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
*******************************************************************************
It is amazing how doing what is right is so incredible simple when we are young. Raise up a child in the way in which he should go and he will not depart from it. But, unfortunately, we often deviate from that straight and narrow path in different ways. This weblogger is as guilty as the rest. But, starting a "good" practice and maintaining is health for your navel and nourishment for your bones.
So, let's all see if we can get back on track.
Bless Someone with a kind smile and a few cheerful words this week!
May You Find a Life's Path Which Is Filled With Peace.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Joseph's Dream and the Promise It Contained
The Lord is the same in our yesterdays, in this our day, and in our forever.
One of the most well-known dreams in scripture is Joseph's, but as the Lord promised He will share visions, dreams, and prophesy with His children in these times as well as times past.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:" Acts 2:17 (KJV)
When thinking of some of my personal dream experiences in life, I noticed a similarity with Joseph's in one aspect. The Lord did not reveal the totality of future experiences. I saw the blessings in later life, and not the struggles, hardship, hatred, and heartache which I must endure before experiencing those things which seemed ever so amazing and beyond my wildest imagination.
Joseph saw his future blessing of family leadership and respect. When he shared this dream with his siblings, their hateful response resulted in starting the very events which brought about the fruition of this dream.
If the Lord revealed a future key event in your life which might have a seemingly negative event in the short-term, how would you handle it.
Would you try changing the course of your history? Judah and the rest of Josephs' brothers tried changing his future, and this is what eventually brought about history. The Lord knows our hearts, and how we will react before the very thoughts that bring about the behaviors occur.
I have seen such an event in my life. While playing high-school football, I dreamed of a critical play sequence a few days before a game. It played within my mind in what seemed a few moments before waking one morning before school.
I was playing a five technique which is on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. As I saw the tackle whom I was playing against approach the line, he gave the guard who plays one position inside of him a glance and possibly made a slight hand gesture. At the snap of the ball, I was caught unaware when they executed a cross-block. The guard caught me below my knees moving me a yard or so away from my starting position, and the tackle double teamed the defensive nose-tackle with the center. This formed a lane which one could drive a herd of elephants through. This was a pivotal play in the game.
Also, in the dream sequence, I saw my coach watching the game's film with a recruiter whom I had never met, but had seen on campus when he recruited a defensive back for a college team in the previous year. The recruiter seemed disappointed in my performance upon seeing me beaten so badly on this play, and decided against pursuing me as a college player. The dream contained a few more details which might have resulted in me simply following the flow of the dream, but when the deja vu experience occurred on the field my mind was so focused on winning the game and not the long-term outcome which might have placed me in my primary choice for college studies. So, I played the cross-block perfectly tying up a couple of linemen which gave us a freeman who could make the play. If my memory serves me correctly, we won that game. And, I was also offered a division one football scholarship the next Spring. And, this attempted interference with the outcome of that small instance of "dreamed fate" resulted in other dreams which I had near that time being realized.
And, in all honesty, I do not know why the Lord would have thought enough of me that He would bring about the realization of some of the dreams of my late adolescence which offered me the most hope for my future. I was much like Paul, a rather outspoken opponent of "religion". At the time, I was rather focused on the imperfection of mankind and the seemingly lackadaisical approach most of us have with faith. Many of us are "summatime" believers. Summatime we act like we believe and love Him; Summatime we do not.
We lack consistency and rarely make an effort at it. In my immaturity, lack of serious, focused scriptural study, and limited life's experiences, I saw this as a flaw of faith when this is truly a failing of our own. Most of us are not really searching for Him, but we will perform those acts which are socially acceptable and expected of us. Token religious practice is one of those. Yet, Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will be answered.
But, He blessed me despite of me and my failings. He doused the flames of fire that my unbridled tongue had set in my life, and He set me on a path that was rough, uneven, and thorny at times, but I am a much stronger believer at this age than I saw myself being in that dream about the cross-block had I not played it well. For, if I had blown the play, I would have attended my dream school on the West Coast with an academic scholarship and studied my favorite subject which was physics at the time. In the dream, I had earned a professorship in their department and was focused on winning all the elite prizes in the discipline with unconventional views on field's theoretical foundations. I was basically a faithless fool fantasizing about making Star Trek a reality and not the full establishment of His Kingdom. That last statement is not a scathing criticism or rebuke of all physicist or scientist, for that matter. It was where I saw myself in life had it taken another route.
I could try enumerating my blessings over the past few decades in this weblog, but the entire Internet lacks the storage space. And, it likely always will. But, as I said early, the end parts of my life's journey seemed incredibly peaceful, spiritually rich, and beautiful in that dream. In fact, they say that one will never find the end of a rainbow. But, during this year's rainy season numerous rainbows were spotted in the city of my residence. This includes a few double ones. And, after one rain shower, I came home and found a small ten foot rainbow with it base terminating in front of my doorway. Life is sweet. Not perfect by carnal standards, but approaching a spiritual perfection. The lifestyle of a believer is quite beautiful when it is lived with sincerity and zeal. With that said, I have had a few "cistern" experiences along the way. But, what has become of this dreamer and his dreams!
As the old gospel song says,
"I've had some good days
I've had some hills to climb
I've had some weary days
And some lonely nights
But when I look around and I think
Things over...all of my good days,
They outweigh my weary days - I won't complain
Sometimes my clouds hang low
I can hardly see the road
I ask the question-"Lord...Why so much pain?"
But He knows what's best for me
Although my weary eyes cannot see
And I say, Thank you Lord - I won't complain...
He dries all my tears away
Turn my dark nights into days
And I say, Thank you Lord - I won't complain...
God has been good to me
He's been so good to me
Better than you or this old world could ever be
He's been so good, He's been so good to me...
He dries all my tears away
Turn my dark nights into days
And I say, Thank you Lord...
When my friends turn their backs on me, Thank you, Lord
When the bills are due, Thank you, Lord
In the midnight hour, Thank you, Lord
I won't complain"
Above all in this life, know that the Creator has a plan and purpose for you!
Stay Forever Blessed.
One of the most well-known dreams in scripture is Joseph's, but as the Lord promised He will share visions, dreams, and prophesy with His children in these times as well as times past.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:" Acts 2:17 (KJV)
When thinking of some of my personal dream experiences in life, I noticed a similarity with Joseph's in one aspect. The Lord did not reveal the totality of future experiences. I saw the blessings in later life, and not the struggles, hardship, hatred, and heartache which I must endure before experiencing those things which seemed ever so amazing and beyond my wildest imagination.
Joseph saw his future blessing of family leadership and respect. When he shared this dream with his siblings, their hateful response resulted in starting the very events which brought about the fruition of this dream.
If the Lord revealed a future key event in your life which might have a seemingly negative event in the short-term, how would you handle it.
Would you try changing the course of your history? Judah and the rest of Josephs' brothers tried changing his future, and this is what eventually brought about history. The Lord knows our hearts, and how we will react before the very thoughts that bring about the behaviors occur.
I have seen such an event in my life. While playing high-school football, I dreamed of a critical play sequence a few days before a game. It played within my mind in what seemed a few moments before waking one morning before school.
I was playing a five technique which is on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. As I saw the tackle whom I was playing against approach the line, he gave the guard who plays one position inside of him a glance and possibly made a slight hand gesture. At the snap of the ball, I was caught unaware when they executed a cross-block. The guard caught me below my knees moving me a yard or so away from my starting position, and the tackle double teamed the defensive nose-tackle with the center. This formed a lane which one could drive a herd of elephants through. This was a pivotal play in the game.
Also, in the dream sequence, I saw my coach watching the game's film with a recruiter whom I had never met, but had seen on campus when he recruited a defensive back for a college team in the previous year. The recruiter seemed disappointed in my performance upon seeing me beaten so badly on this play, and decided against pursuing me as a college player. The dream contained a few more details which might have resulted in me simply following the flow of the dream, but when the deja vu experience occurred on the field my mind was so focused on winning the game and not the long-term outcome which might have placed me in my primary choice for college studies. So, I played the cross-block perfectly tying up a couple of linemen which gave us a freeman who could make the play. If my memory serves me correctly, we won that game. And, I was also offered a division one football scholarship the next Spring. And, this attempted interference with the outcome of that small instance of "dreamed fate" resulted in other dreams which I had near that time being realized.
And, in all honesty, I do not know why the Lord would have thought enough of me that He would bring about the realization of some of the dreams of my late adolescence which offered me the most hope for my future. I was much like Paul, a rather outspoken opponent of "religion". At the time, I was rather focused on the imperfection of mankind and the seemingly lackadaisical approach most of us have with faith. Many of us are "summatime" believers. Summatime we act like we believe and love Him; Summatime we do not.
We lack consistency and rarely make an effort at it. In my immaturity, lack of serious, focused scriptural study, and limited life's experiences, I saw this as a flaw of faith when this is truly a failing of our own. Most of us are not really searching for Him, but we will perform those acts which are socially acceptable and expected of us. Token religious practice is one of those. Yet, Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will be answered.
But, He blessed me despite of me and my failings. He doused the flames of fire that my unbridled tongue had set in my life, and He set me on a path that was rough, uneven, and thorny at times, but I am a much stronger believer at this age than I saw myself being in that dream about the cross-block had I not played it well. For, if I had blown the play, I would have attended my dream school on the West Coast with an academic scholarship and studied my favorite subject which was physics at the time. In the dream, I had earned a professorship in their department and was focused on winning all the elite prizes in the discipline with unconventional views on field's theoretical foundations. I was basically a faithless fool fantasizing about making Star Trek a reality and not the full establishment of His Kingdom. That last statement is not a scathing criticism or rebuke of all physicist or scientist, for that matter. It was where I saw myself in life had it taken another route.
I could try enumerating my blessings over the past few decades in this weblog, but the entire Internet lacks the storage space. And, it likely always will. But, as I said early, the end parts of my life's journey seemed incredibly peaceful, spiritually rich, and beautiful in that dream. In fact, they say that one will never find the end of a rainbow. But, during this year's rainy season numerous rainbows were spotted in the city of my residence. This includes a few double ones. And, after one rain shower, I came home and found a small ten foot rainbow with it base terminating in front of my doorway. Life is sweet. Not perfect by carnal standards, but approaching a spiritual perfection. The lifestyle of a believer is quite beautiful when it is lived with sincerity and zeal. With that said, I have had a few "cistern" experiences along the way. But, what has become of this dreamer and his dreams!
As the old gospel song says,
"I've had some good days
I've had some hills to climb
I've had some weary days
And some lonely nights
But when I look around and I think
Things over...all of my good days,
They outweigh my weary days - I won't complain
Sometimes my clouds hang low
I can hardly see the road
I ask the question-"Lord...Why so much pain?"
But He knows what's best for me
Although my weary eyes cannot see
And I say, Thank you Lord - I won't complain...
He dries all my tears away
Turn my dark nights into days
And I say, Thank you Lord - I won't complain...
God has been good to me
He's been so good to me
Better than you or this old world could ever be
He's been so good, He's been so good to me...
He dries all my tears away
Turn my dark nights into days
And I say, Thank you Lord...
When my friends turn their backs on me, Thank you, Lord
When the bills are due, Thank you, Lord
In the midnight hour, Thank you, Lord
I won't complain"
Above all in this life, know that the Creator has a plan and purpose for you!
Stay Forever Blessed.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)