Tag: Dreams

Posted on

Plan early – plan twice – but stay open.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Plan early, plan twice is a famous military axiom. Proverbs has its own set of wisdom axioms. Many folks believe that Proverbs is all about promises or guarantees, it’s really about principles. Of course, Godly principles are more than just strong suggestions, they have the personified wisdom of all creation, as seen in Jesus life here on earth. I’d bet my life on these Godly principles!

If you have lived a life a faith for any length of time, you’ll realize the dynamic tension of this Proverb. Other translations capture the nuance of this Proverb a little better than NLT. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man…” says another translation. Humans can and should make LOTS of plans! It is one of the wonders, benefits and beauties of being made in God’s image. Should I even make plans since God’s purpose will override them anyways? That’s not really how it works even if it feels like a deterministic exercise. Why should I make plans if God just has His way regardless? See how negative and self-defeating that sounds? God wants us to not only make plans and live a full and wonderful life here on this planet and in this slice of time. He wants us to thrive and do so with gusto and abundance. This isn’t some kind of name & claim it theology, this is how God designed life to be for us from the very beginning. Yeah, there is a requirement in this anticipated life of joy. It’s expected that one is pursuing a godly life, one filled with goodness, rightness, and His truth of justice.

The big mistake is thinking that God is the crusher of dreams and the smiter of all that’s fun. That’s a lie. Pursuing God means pursing good verses chasing after selfish, evil desires. You are aware that there is evil bouncing around in our hearts, right? Quit blaming God for trying to stop us from doing evil!

We will be pleasantly surprised to find out that when we make plans for godly pursuits and good aspirations, that God is right there cheering us on – the breath of God putting wind in our sails. When we are led by the Spirit of God I am 100% positive that those plans are godly and completely within the plans of God himself! And, I am equally confident that when I make plans that are NOT going to turn out well for me and others, that God’s purpose does prevail to turn those plans into something good.

We have been warned that our heart, when it is not committed to God is “deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 tells us. Personally, I have embraced the whole idea of making tons of plans and dreaming big, godly dreams. All of which I have submitted to God with the phrase Jesus spoke in the garden of Gethsemane – “Your will, not mine be done.” Sure, there have been some ragged right turns, some topsy-turvy turnabouts and lots of puzzled prayers. Overall, I saw God’s hand in it all. I saw His plans prevailing even when I could not figure out (while going through dark times) what He was up to. Looking back, it more than makes sense and that presently helps me when my faith waivers looking forward.

Prayer

Dad,
I remember someone telling me from an old quote, “Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.” That has given me hope and confidence in your ways, your plans, and your will above my own! My trust is solid in you. I have made and followed through with plans that needed to be altered by you, and I am eternally grateful you intervened.

Posted on

Thank God for the Apostle Paul

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” Romans‬ ‭2:13-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

He was raised and trained in all things Jewish. And he mitigates the complex understanding of how God brought the story of salvation to and through the Jewish people. Yet, God does not hold Gentiles (us) to the complicated, but necessary, adherence to the details of the Law, he’s given us a new and better way.

We were not given God’s written law, nor his blood covenant he made with Abraham. We were given a new law, written on/in our hearts and a blood covenant made and paid for by Jesus. I can’t speak to the effectiveness of God’s law written and remembered by the Jews, but I can speak to the law written on the Gentile’s heart.

God has made himself abundantly clear to every Jew and non-Jew on the planet. He has and is doing so through his creation itself, life’s circumstances (across ALL cultures) and even in the still quiet places of dreams and visions.

I have been talking to a wonderful Vietnamese woman who cuts my hair about God. She went through a lot of struggles with her shop because of the pandemic and our Governor’s attempt to crush small businesses. I told her I prayed that God would do a miracle and get her out of a large lease space that the owner would not release her from and move her into the much smaller space next door. God did the miracle for her and she was thankful. Yesterday when I got another hair cut, I noticed that she was having a conversation with a woman who is also a believer and the gal was so sweet and kind to the shop owner. I remembered, God is ALWAYS working in people and whispering in someone’s ear about how much he loves them! I know she will come to faith in Jesus because of this verse Paul is writing to the Romans. And, we get to be a part of that. On any given day at any given time, our joy is to say yes to God about using us to love, tell our story and just be the light of Christ in someone’s dark place in their life.

PRAYER:

Dad,
I’m glad to see these things explained by Paul in your word. Because, that’s how it happened in my own life. And yes, you used a number of situations and people to get me to a quiet but frustrating place in my life. A place where I recognized just how chaotic and dark my life was and how you were offering a new future. I am so thankful that all the WORK is done by you and we just get the chance to participate with you in seeing people come from death to life! May it be so more often in me and my friends.