I have been thinking a lot about dreams lately and their significance. I am not a cessationist by any means, but I have not given dreams a whole lot of thought. Until lately. I believe that God still speaks and that He moves in whatever way He chooses, and I see that in the Bible, He used dreams many times to speak to His people. In fact, in Bible times and up until very recently, dreams were always significant. A lot of times we see them terrifying their recipients. But we see them arise and seek out someone who can tell them the meaning of their dreams. It wasn't until Freud that we stopped attributing dreams to spiritual sources and attributed them merely to physiological means.
While I believe that the Lord speaks to us in our dreams, I am not certain that every dream is God speaking to us. I am still studying this issue. But lately I have been having vivid dreams with very real significance. Some have been very definitely related to spiritual issues that are coming up, and I have known distinctly some mornings when I awake, that the Lord was indeed speaking to me that night, and that I got a window into what is going on in the spiritual realm.
But if my dreams are always from the Lord, why is it that they are almost always haunted and dark? Why do I wake up afraid almost every morning? Why do my dreams torment me? I dream very often, remembering multiple dreams per night, but my dreams are almost always nightmares of some sort. What does God desire to teach me through that, if it is Him speaking? And if all dreams are from God, why do people like Stephen almost never dream? And how do chemical imbalances, such as a low levels of serotonin, play a part in reduction of dreams, if the source of dreams is not physiological but spiritual?
I intend to look into this further. I don't know the answers, but I know God is telling me something! I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Theology of Leisure
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken. -Isaiah 58:13-14
Genesis 2:2 "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work" "The spiritual rest which God especially intends in this commandment [to keep the Sabbath holy] is that we not only caease from our labor and trade but much more--that we let God alone work in us and that in all our powers do we do nothing of our own" --Martin Luther
Ezekiel 20:12 "Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
Matthew 12:18 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
The Sabbath has always interested me, and for a few years now, it has been my conviction to keep the Sabbath, in a New Testament sort of way. I have chosen Sunday, the Lord's Day, celebrated since the Resurrection of Christ, to be my day of quiet rest and reflection. I have also been convicted of the significance of the Sabbath day. Why are there so many references to the Sabbath, its importance, and it being our gift from God, if New Testament believers shouldn't benefit from it as well? It isn't a day to be kept out of duty, but out of love, and it is a blessing from God! Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, " The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."
In addition to the Sabbath, God gave the Israelites their year of Jubilee every 50th year to celebrate His goodness. In that year, they were to cease from all their labor, including planting and reaping! Imagine the trust and preparation that would take to be ready for that year! (It's interesting to note that we never actually see the Israelites celebrating that year in the Old Testament records. Is it possible that they wouldn't allow themselves to cease long enough to recognize God's provision and goodness?)
So many times in my life, I am tempted to do just that. I am tempted to take my work, my life, my finances, into my own hands and not trust it into God's. I believe one of the major reasons that God gave us the Sabbath was to learn to trust Him even more! My husband and I are in a place in our lives where we take every hour of work we can get, but there are two times that we simply refuse to take hours, no matter how strapped we might be for cash at the time. First is date night. We guard that tightly. Second, is Sunday. I will not take hours on Sunday, because I know I need that rest, and also because I know that my taking work on that day demonstrates that I do not trust God to provide for me. And so I haven't, and God has faithfully provided every month!
In yesterday's chapel on the "Theology of Leisure," Mr. O'Neal stated that we cannot leisure well if we have not labored well. What a profound and true statement this is! I find that if I have been "ceasing" lazily during the week, from homework or housework, I find it impossible to cease on the day when the Lord leads me to, because my work has not been unto Him during the week, nor has it been done as well as it should have been done. But oh, the joy of truly resting when a good six days of labor have been spent! We are to labor on those six days, and labor well, so that on the seventh, we can find peace in the rest that He grants us!
"To develop the habit of Sabbath keeping requires some intentionality on our part, but ultimately it sets us free from any sort of legalism," writes Marva Dawn in "Keeping the Sabbath Wholly", and it is so true! We have disregarded the Sabbath in this day and age in a panic to set aside anything that might cause legalism. But true and faithful observance of this day of rest God has blessed us with is exactly the opposite if we would take the time to look at what His Word says about it and recognize the freedom that is ours in Christ. Jesus Himself healed and "worked" on the Sabbath, and yet the Bible also says that He faithfully kept it. It is a time to cease fromthat which is our "work", rest in Christ, embrace our freedom in Him, and feast on His goodness!
So I encourage you to take some time, pray, and see what the Bible has to say about the Sabbath day in your life, instead of just brushing it off with "it doesn't apply to the New Testament" ;-) Happy resting!
Genesis 2:2 "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work" "The spiritual rest which God especially intends in this commandment [to keep the Sabbath holy] is that we not only caease from our labor and trade but much more--that we let God alone work in us and that in all our powers do we do nothing of our own" --Martin Luther
Ezekiel 20:12 "Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
Matthew 12:18 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
The Sabbath has always interested me, and for a few years now, it has been my conviction to keep the Sabbath, in a New Testament sort of way. I have chosen Sunday, the Lord's Day, celebrated since the Resurrection of Christ, to be my day of quiet rest and reflection. I have also been convicted of the significance of the Sabbath day. Why are there so many references to the Sabbath, its importance, and it being our gift from God, if New Testament believers shouldn't benefit from it as well? It isn't a day to be kept out of duty, but out of love, and it is a blessing from God! Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, " The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."
In addition to the Sabbath, God gave the Israelites their year of Jubilee every 50th year to celebrate His goodness. In that year, they were to cease from all their labor, including planting and reaping! Imagine the trust and preparation that would take to be ready for that year! (It's interesting to note that we never actually see the Israelites celebrating that year in the Old Testament records. Is it possible that they wouldn't allow themselves to cease long enough to recognize God's provision and goodness?)
So many times in my life, I am tempted to do just that. I am tempted to take my work, my life, my finances, into my own hands and not trust it into God's. I believe one of the major reasons that God gave us the Sabbath was to learn to trust Him even more! My husband and I are in a place in our lives where we take every hour of work we can get, but there are two times that we simply refuse to take hours, no matter how strapped we might be for cash at the time. First is date night. We guard that tightly. Second, is Sunday. I will not take hours on Sunday, because I know I need that rest, and also because I know that my taking work on that day demonstrates that I do not trust God to provide for me. And so I haven't, and God has faithfully provided every month!
In yesterday's chapel on the "Theology of Leisure," Mr. O'Neal stated that we cannot leisure well if we have not labored well. What a profound and true statement this is! I find that if I have been "ceasing" lazily during the week, from homework or housework, I find it impossible to cease on the day when the Lord leads me to, because my work has not been unto Him during the week, nor has it been done as well as it should have been done. But oh, the joy of truly resting when a good six days of labor have been spent! We are to labor on those six days, and labor well, so that on the seventh, we can find peace in the rest that He grants us!
"To develop the habit of Sabbath keeping requires some intentionality on our part, but ultimately it sets us free from any sort of legalism," writes Marva Dawn in "Keeping the Sabbath Wholly", and it is so true! We have disregarded the Sabbath in this day and age in a panic to set aside anything that might cause legalism. But true and faithful observance of this day of rest God has blessed us with is exactly the opposite if we would take the time to look at what His Word says about it and recognize the freedom that is ours in Christ. Jesus Himself healed and "worked" on the Sabbath, and yet the Bible also says that He faithfully kept it. It is a time to cease fromthat which is our "work", rest in Christ, embrace our freedom in Him, and feast on His goodness!
So I encourage you to take some time, pray, and see what the Bible has to say about the Sabbath day in your life, instead of just brushing it off with "it doesn't apply to the New Testament" ;-) Happy resting!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Spring
I walked to class this morning coatless and in flip-flops. Not only was it absolutely a gorgeous day, sun shining, cool, humid breeze blowing against my face, but the grass was GREEN! Now, granted, this year, it never actually turned brown, it was literally green straight through the winter, but you could see the little lime green baby grasses growing up against the darker green grass.
My first 2-hour 8 am class back from Spring Break let out an hour early, and I bounced back home, eager to get some housework done before my next class. But as I emerged from Torrey-Grey, I stopped short and gasped when I saw the trees up close. They had buds on them!! I must admit, I squealed, and nearly started skipping out of sheer delight. There’s nothing that brightens my spirits more than springtime. I love green, living things, and I love warmth and sunlight.
So yesterday, I was in my glory! It was almost 80 degrees (and a lot hotter than that in our apartment with no air, and floor-to-ceiling windows fully facing the sun), and Stephen and I walked most of the way back from church (about two miles), talking the whole time about the sermon and the class following that. The sunshine was so glorious that I barely noticed the blisters on my feet, and we ended up talking for four hours straight! We were then joined by another couple on Moody’s grassy knoll (in the sunshine:-) and engaged them for another two hours, after which we then stayed up til midnight talking! Communication is one of the most beautiful gifts God has given us, and the floodgates just opened up yesterday. We talked about everything from church politics, to personal convictions, to missions work, to God’s sovereignty, and more! Then we concluded our evening by talking about how we met—which was this very thing—talking about God for hours and hours! That was how we fell in love, and when things get busy, or our convictions or beliefs might become controversial to discuss, we tend to (okay I tend to, we don’t do controversy or confrontation in my family, ask any of us!) not communicate as deeply as we should. Stephen said the sunlight does something to me, it completely opens me up and I talk a mile a minute. It’s a good thing he likes hearing me talk. This is why I’m so thankful for the seasons. We don’t appreciate things like green grass, leaves, and sunlight as much if we have it all the time, I think. But the winter’s cold and harsh weather gives us a longing for life, growth, and nature, it seems. Spring is like a reminder of new life and growth in Christ, of coming out of the spiritual deserts into the mountaintops, of rain and then sunshine that follows. It's a beautiful pictures, and I'm super thankful for it!
My first 2-hour 8 am class back from Spring Break let out an hour early, and I bounced back home, eager to get some housework done before my next class. But as I emerged from Torrey-Grey, I stopped short and gasped when I saw the trees up close. They had buds on them!! I must admit, I squealed, and nearly started skipping out of sheer delight. There’s nothing that brightens my spirits more than springtime. I love green, living things, and I love warmth and sunlight.
So yesterday, I was in my glory! It was almost 80 degrees (and a lot hotter than that in our apartment with no air, and floor-to-ceiling windows fully facing the sun), and Stephen and I walked most of the way back from church (about two miles), talking the whole time about the sermon and the class following that. The sunshine was so glorious that I barely noticed the blisters on my feet, and we ended up talking for four hours straight! We were then joined by another couple on Moody’s grassy knoll (in the sunshine:-) and engaged them for another two hours, after which we then stayed up til midnight talking! Communication is one of the most beautiful gifts God has given us, and the floodgates just opened up yesterday. We talked about everything from church politics, to personal convictions, to missions work, to God’s sovereignty, and more! Then we concluded our evening by talking about how we met—which was this very thing—talking about God for hours and hours! That was how we fell in love, and when things get busy, or our convictions or beliefs might become controversial to discuss, we tend to (okay I tend to, we don’t do controversy or confrontation in my family, ask any of us!) not communicate as deeply as we should. Stephen said the sunlight does something to me, it completely opens me up and I talk a mile a minute. It’s a good thing he likes hearing me talk. This is why I’m so thankful for the seasons. We don’t appreciate things like green grass, leaves, and sunlight as much if we have it all the time, I think. But the winter’s cold and harsh weather gives us a longing for life, growth, and nature, it seems. Spring is like a reminder of new life and growth in Christ, of coming out of the spiritual deserts into the mountaintops, of rain and then sunshine that follows. It's a beautiful pictures, and I'm super thankful for it!
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