This is the third article on dreams so if you haven’t read the first two I would encourage you to do so in order to get the whole picture thus far on the importance of our dreams and God’s desire to communicate through them.

This topic of dreams was started on a previous article entitled, “Are You a Dreamer?” in which I posed the question of whether dreams can help us and, in particular, help us communicate better with God. If you haven’t read that article please do so before reading this one.

Everyone dreams though not everyone remembers their dreams. Some people have learned to “Process” their dreams and they have found a way to remember what seems elusive to most of us. Dreams are a powerful tool in our lives whether we understand them or not. Some kids have grown up be afraid of their dreams because of perhaps having one particular dream that was more of a nightmare. Some have learned how to “Program” their minds to drift off to dream in a certain way or on a certain subject. Some people just discount dreams all together as a mystery that can’t be understood or just relate them to chemical changes in the body.

With all the violent protest happening regarding the Supreme Court justice and various candidates running for office, it’s easy to feel like you just want to keep your head down and your mouth quiet lest someone notice you and take out their frustration or hatred on you.  But is that the right thing to do just because others are vocal and acting like fools?  What if this is the perfect time to be vocal about what you believe in and do it with respect?

I spent time with a good friend in Denver, Colorado this week and was gripped with a fresh awareness of just how good friends are. We are meant to be encouragers in this life rather than consuming our time and energy purely for our own comport.  How sad when friends gather together with just entertainment as their main objective. We are called to do so much more if we only would listen to the Spirit of God and surrender our will to the Creator who can make our life count for something other than just being a consumer or just for entertainment.

When I travel around, especially in airports or overseas, I see many people who are paralyzed from various debilitating diseases and it hits me how fortunate and blessed I am to only have a few things wrong with my body that hinder my life experiences at this age. When I see a person who is partially broken or paralyzed I pray a simple prayer for them and myself. First, I apologize to the Lord for my complaining over small pains and problems and I also ask the Lord to bless that particular person with the obvious difficulties. That he or she would be healed both physically, emotionally and spiritually. So often I recognize they do better with their disabilities than I do with my seemingly normal life.

In Part 1 I talked about getting trapped in the deception of idols in our lives. That it’s not just an Old Testament idea or practice. I shared that Israel being set free from the slavery of Egypt were trapped in the wilderness because they continued to have idols in their lives which messed up their relationship with God. Finally, I closed the first article with how Joshua, the leader of Israel after Moses, challenged the Israelites to rid themselves of the idols their parents had brought with them from Egypt and had taught their children to embrace at such a high cost.

Previously, I wrote an article titled “Are There Idols to Kill?” and since people commented about wanting more clarity on the subject please read that article before this one.

Unfortunately, in our modern culture we don’t recognize idols when they are present do in part to stereotyping them as statues in old movies or in books depicting ancient culture statues. Secondly, we miss identifying idols because we think it’s an Old Testament concept that doesn’t relate to the time of Jesus onward, which is far from the truth. It’s similar for many Christians to assume demons no longer torment people’s lives nor control certain behaviors. That they don’t typify the behavior of the man in the New Testament with the legion of demons. Satan is smart enough to mask his activities and warfare to fool the simple-minded and cover his deception.

Ever wonder why some people seem to have stories of God doing extraordinary things in their lives while the majority of believers don’t? Things like providing great jobs, healing sickness, finances from seemingly nowhere and so on. The four gospels are full of not only Jesus performing miracles, but many of his close disciples as well. To be truthful, I believe the miraculous is meant to be a part of each believers daily life. So why the disconnect for many of us in experiencing the miraculous? The best way to answer this important question is to go back to the scriptures and see what Jesus said about it.

Early in our lives, we don’t know our limitations. Experience has a way of teaching us what we can’t do as well as what we can if we strive for understanding. If we are fortunate, when we are young, we have people cheering us on, though some have struggles from the beginning. The point is that we all have to determine whether to let life’s ups and downs control our future or whether we will reach for the understanding that will unlock the potential and purpose that we were created for.