Tag: The Love of God

What Will You Allow God To Birth In Your Nightmare?

February 28, 2021

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. Genesis 37:5

Someone once said that God’s blessings are not all bright, shinny objects. There comes a time, a place and a season one MUST endure (call it a nightmarish experience) for God to reveal the mighty handiwork He ordains specifically for your life. The experience will either make you or it will break you. It will either make you ‘bitter’ or it will make you ‘better’. But, let it be known that if you endure the nightmare, God has waiting for you on the other side something that will change your destiny. It will change your perspective on God, on life, on yourself and on your world. The question is: will we allow God to produce the  miracle in the middle of our nightmare? Will we trust Him to take our horrendous dark night for the purpose of birthing a masterpiece, a work of beauty?

We will look at five specific examples, the life of Joseph, Abigail, Peter, a personal story, and the life of Jesus Christ to see how a nightmare can birth something miraculous beyond human calculation. Let’s take a look.

Sweet Dreams Become Bitter Nightmares – The Life of Joseph

For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. Genesis 37:7  

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. Genesis 37:9 

The young man (seventeen years old at the time) was meek, kind, gentle, humble and called of God. The lad’s name was Joseph. One would think given these “blessings” all of life would be well – no pain to endure, no difficult life situations to navigate, no enemies, no perplexing circumstances to set one off the trajectory God ordained. That was not the case. In fact the opposite was true. Joseph’s call became a caldron of turmoil before birthing the life-altering actions it was designed to produce.

Joseph’s dreams caused him rejection by his brothers (Gen 37:18-28), placed him on the auction block of slavery (Gen 37:36), shackled in the prison house of false actuations (Gen 39:20), and marginalized and brushed-off for his spiritual insight (Gen 40:23). Through it all Joseph allowed God to bless him on three levels; personally (Gen 41:38-45), relationally (Gen 45:3-15; 46:29-30) and generationally (Gen 47:5-11). The Lord restored his personal life, his family’s unity and his nation’s sovereignty by faithfully traversing the dark roads he was destined to travel.

Abigail – From Disgrace To The King’s Place

Abigail learned of the plot to annihilate her husband Nabal, his entire household, including herself. David and his ragtag army of misfits were headed her way and they would leave no life untouched by their wrath. But, unlike her husband, Abigail was a godly woman who feared the Lord. Instead of being fear-struck, she found courage and hope in God’s faithfulness, and by faith, humbled herself before David with a freewill offering of food and provisions. Her prophetic and anointed words concerning David and God’s will for his life (I Sam 25:24-30) were  God-sent (I Sam 25:32) which he desperately needed to hear at this dismal juncture in life.

Abigail endured her nightmare. Her faith enabled her to persevere through the darkness. What was her “silver lining” in the pending catastrophe? She became the wife of the King of Israel. The pain Abigail endured from living in a very difficult situation was now comforted by looking daily at the face of her child, Chileab (meaning ‘like his father’ or ‘everything of the father’), born in Hebron between her and David. While Abigail lived a past shadowed by disgrace, she now lived a life surrounded by royalty as the king’s wife.

Peter’s Test In His Own Personal Nightmare

“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:30

The account of Peter’s walk on the water to meet Jesus on a stormy sea was an unforgettable moment for him and for those who would read about it as recorded in Matthew chapter 14. It was truly a supernatural manifestation of God’s power in one man’s life.  But, was there something else going on here that Jesus was setting out to accomplish? Was Jesus looking to use this moment of drama and near catastrophe to send a test of faith to his fresh band of disciples to expose who would prove to be the most passionate and faith-driven?

One thing we do know is not much is recorded about Peter or his life before this supernatural encounter of walking on water. But afterwards, Matthew has much to say about him. Could it be that God was waiting to see by using the sea to test and identify true faith? How much faith does it take to walk out of a boat and onto the sea in the middle of a raging storm? It would appear a whole lot. But, there is a key point here that needs recognition. It is faith. What happened when Peter stepped out of that boat to walk towards Jesus on the sea? He gave up all control. Peter relinquished his own control over the situation, and by faith, trusted Jesus to take control. And what was the target of satan’s attack against Peter? It was his faith in God (Luke 22:31-32).

Peter’s test of faith in a time of great darkness was the key God would use to birth his future special role in God’s salvation plan (Mat 16:17-19). By trusting in Jesus’ ability to deliver in impossible situations (Mat 14:28), Peter would have the faith to fulfill God’s will for his life. This faith would later come to good use at a most critical time and place – the beginning of the church age on The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36). It was engrained in Peter’s mind that no matter what may come in life, or death, Jesus’ word is true and Jesus would back it up. Even when prompted to walk on the sea in the middle of a raging storm.

New Life From A Nightmare

(Note: the following is connected to a post entitled “Worship On This Mountain” written back in August 2019.

While sitting at the red light it took some mental gymnastics to decrypt the vanity license plate on the car ahead. But, after juggling around the seven-lettered puzzle piece it was too real and almost too coincidental – LVNTMRE. Living nightmare. Which was a fairly accurate description of life for the past eight years or so. But, as it turned out God has a plan even living there.

The beautiful newborn child pictured above was 3 weeks old when this photo was taken. Logistically-speaking, she has neither a mother or a father. She is our first grandchild. She is healthy, beautiful and complete. But, you do not know the “nightmare”, the story behind her entrance into this world. The circumstances surrounding her birth are nothing short of miraculous. Her 9-month journey was atypical of the way most children enter this life. This little girl was born in a very difficult situation and under horrendous circumstances. Some of the more personal and sensitive details (and they are numerous) are excluded. You see this child was born by a parent addicted to crack cocaine, nicotine and alcohol (and other drugs). But, God reached His hands into a nightmare situation and brought forth a living miracle. The neonatal nurses at the hospital knew her background, read the blood work results and were on the lookout for withdraw signs. They were very minor.

This was all because of prayer coupled with the cooperation of one special family member. Prayers by her family and prayers from the body of Christ were heard and answered on her behalf and turned a certain tragedy into a wonderful treasure. God reached His hand into a pit of darkness and brought forth precious life. And all life is precious because it is created by God.

Even in the belly of hell Satan may challenge, but he cannot overpower God’s sovereignty. Jesus is the God of light, life, and love. Jesus is the giver and taker of life. When Jesus commands, hell listens, even when the situation dictates otherwise. Don’t loose your hope in the midst of your nightmare because He just might be planning to produce a living miracle in its midst.

And now we will save the best nightmare for last.

Jesus Christ – He Experienced His Own Nightmare 

His life was perfect. He never sinned, his heart and mind was pure, he always handled himself gracefully and tactfully when faced with hate and injustice. His name is Jesus Christ. History documents his life. Jesus indeed walked the dusty, earthen paths and roads of this earth. Jesus lived for one purpose – to heal, to love and to set souls free from the curse of sin. But, even Jesus encountered his own nightmarish experiences.

“And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.  And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” Luke 23:32-34

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23:44-46

What did Jesus birth in his darkness? He birthed our healing (Is 53:5) and He birthed the church, God’s church, the highest life-form on earth, the body of Christ. God has free will and can choose to be whoever He wants to be. Yet, he decided to be love and be known as the God of love (I John 4:8, 16). And there is “no greater” way to display this love than to lay down His life for sinners, a people who don’t deserve it and can never do anything to earn it. God’s love is a gift. A gift to humanity. And Jesus endured the darkness of sin so that we might have the choice to embrace that love and be birthed into his kingdom.

Jesus endured the cross’ pain and shame to usher into the world salvation for mankind through the new birth of water and Spirit (John 3:3-8, 7:37-39; Acts 2:1-4, 2:38; Rom 8:11). Jesus did it for you. God knew before creation that he would walk through this darkness (I Pet 1:19-20; Rev 13:8) and face the ‘nightmare’ on Golgotha’s hill. Jesus became sin for us who knew no sin that we might have a hope for something beyond the end of this life journey.

What Will God Birth In Your Own Nightmare?

No one really knows the totality of our life like God. He even knew before your birth the number of hair follicles that would be on your head (Mat 10:30).  And no one really understands life’s nightmarish experiences you are going through, have gone through or somewhere down the road will go through but God. Are they to punish, callously inflict pain or purposelessly cause undue burdens upon your life? Never. We must come to an understanding of this. Whatever you go through in life is meant to better you, make your faith stronger, recharge hope, and most importantly to rekindle love – our love for God, love for our neighbor and love for ourselves.

We must allow the nightmares God sends into our life to produce their intended miracle, turn the mess into a masterpiece and birth the  impossible out of the darkest of nights. Only God, only Jesus really understands the whole picture of your life. This is mentioned because God has sent you or will send you a nightmare to birth in you a miracle. What the enemy meant for evil, God desires to turn it around for your and His good. Why? Because God is glorified through the fiery trial of your faith (Rom 4:20; I Pet 1:7). There is nothing that defuses the devil’s machinery of mayhem more and completely blasts his apple cart of destruction and wickedness apart then when someone endures a nightmare experience while maintaining a right attitude by praising and magnifying the Lord in its midst. Do you know what that does? It shows whether it is the god of this world with the lower-case ‘g‘ or the God of Creation with the upper-case ‘G‘ that is really running this thing we know as life.

All Nightmares Eventually Come To An End

There is one thing that ends all nightmares every single time. Nightmares end upon one condition – when you “wake up” and open your eyes. The nightmare looses its power and grip when the person under its control wakes up and sees the light of day. Jesus is the light of the world (John 1:9, 8:2, 12:46). Jesus is the peace and comfort in life’s darkest moments. And Jesus came to heal the mind’s blindness caused by the god of this world (II Cor 4:4) and enlighten your vision to who really is the One in control. If we allow him. Jesus will take our worst nightmare, turn it around, and produce a work that will amaze you and those around you.

What miracles will you allow God to birth in your life like he did for Joseph, Abigail and Peter (and Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Samson, Hannah, Ruth, Esther, Peter, John, Paul, Barnabas, the blind, deaf, dumb, the bruised, the broken, the DEAD and so many others)? And who knows, you just might be next on His list!

Only Jesus can turn a LVNTMRE (‘Living Nightmare’) into a LVMIRKL (‘Living Miracle’).

May God Bless You & Keep You!

Heart Hacked – For Good Part II

January 1, 2020

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 2 Peter 1:19

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Revelation 22:16

In the previous post we looked at the heart being “hacked” by darkness, let’s move along and look at the flip-side of this heart equation and investigate a heart being hacked by good and pick up where we left off.

The Heart – Ground Zero

God’s word illuminates the role our heart plays in guiding and directing our life. The human heart rests at ground zero as it forms the bedrock of our being. Within its spiritual chambers emanate our thoughts, formulates the words we speak and sits at the neural switchboard orchestrating  our thought patterns and resultant actions.

God’s word emphasizes the importance our heart plays in our life:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 

The word “issues” used here is the Hebrew word –  תֹּצָאָה: exit, that is, (geographical) boundary, or (figuratively) deliverance, borders, goings forth, outgoings. [Strongs]

In other words, if you ask yourself the question: “How far am I willing to go?” Your heart will give you your answer. The heart determines the ‘length, breath, depth and height’ we will ascribe to a certain thing in life.

We are composed of body, soul and spirit. The soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions. Using a ship as an analogy, the hull and rudder is our human will, the mind is the engine room with its turbines, and lastly, our heart (emotions, desires and motivations) contribute the diesel fuel.

The heart fuels the turbine engine to spin the blades of the mind to produce raw action (the manifestation of our human will). This should not come as a surprise. Jesus himself told us this:

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:21

A Hidden Backdoor

As mysterious as it is sounds we do not know our own heart. But, there is One that does:

The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, GOD, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be. (Jeremiah 17:9-10 The Message Bible)

The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. Psa 94:11
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Psa. 44:21
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psa 62:8

A “backdoor” as defined by computer programmers is an intentionally coded entrance point to allow the program’s authors or designers to add, modify or delete code that runs the program. Or to take full control of the system hosting it.

Our human heart is comprised of a similar feature uniquely designed by our Creator:

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

The Hebrew word “world” is עוֹלָם which according to Strong’s means: properly concealed, the vanishing point; time out of mind, eternity; ancient (time), continuance, eternal.

In essence, the Lord has implanted a cache of timelessness into every human heart. God has direct access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations emanating from within the ‘ground zero’ our our core being – the heart.

God in His sovereign wisdom placed a pocket of timelessness, the formation of an eternal connecting zone within the human heart. In doing so, He built into the human heart an access point, a place where He can visit at His will to perform His will.

There is scripture to substantiate this claim:

O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: 1 Chronicles 29:18

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: Ezra 7:27

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Proverbs 21:1

Concerning Bezaleel in the construction of the Tabernacle ….

And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work. Exodus 35:34-35

Hacked With Hope

This story cannot end without hope. Hope is sometimes the only thing separating one from total despair. In the cyber crime world hackers are the bandits, thieves and thugs whose intents are intentionally seeped in crumb-less paths of anonymity.

Not our God. God is good. He is faithful. God invests Himself in those who invest in Him. God is looking for people who are looking for Him! And so it is with putting our heart in His hands, He leaves something good behind. What is this? It is called hope.

God will not remove the bad things out of our heart that He will not also replace with something better. God will hack your heart with hope if you let him.

The Lord hacks hearts and leaves crumbs of hope behind. Jesus exits the heart-world with something behind more grandeur in scope. He gives us a new heart.

The master awaits at the backdoor of our heart:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

God’s Spirit touches places in the soul where only God has access:

Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Psa 44:21

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 1Jn 3:20 

The Final Chapter: After God’s Own Heart

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. 1Sa 13:14 

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Acts 13:22 

Did you get the last part of that scripture? Fulfill ALL my will. That is perfect love. That is God’s heart. When you fulfill God’s perfect will, you will then be perfected by His love:

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 

Spiritually prosperous are those who are pure in the sphere of the heart, because they themselves shall see God. (Wuest)

Something very special awaits the person who decides to seek after the heart of God. Such a place is sovereign territory, holy ground,  an intimate sanctuary. The Apostle John was such a person. He was the disciple mentioned in the Gospel’s as the one “whom Jesus loved”.

Astronomers estimate there are 100 billion galaxies in our universe and 1 billion trillion stars. And He knows all their names (Psalm 147:4). And you think He does not know yours?

The God of creation can freely have everything and anything He wants. He only has to speak it into existence and it appears. That is ……… except one thing. That one thing is your heart.

The one thing He desires most in His created realms and dominions is your undivided heart. Because God is a jealous God.

The God who is alone. No one who ever walked the face of this earth has ever experienced loneliness like the God-man, Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not die from blood loss. Jesus did not die from asphyxiation. Jesus died from a broken heart, a heart broken by our sin and shame:

Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. Psalm 69:19-20

The God of Creation revealed some of His own secrets and personal information in the writings of the law, the prophets and the psalms (Luke 24:44). What did he reveal? Among other things, He is meek, humble and vulnerable (Mat 11:29). Why? Because He is love.

Jesus Christ as a man defeated satan to defrock his pageantry, destroy his potency, disqualify his prominence and denounce his pomp. Why? To redeem you, a uniquely crafted being created in His image.

Of all the religions of the world, Christianity is the only one to make the declaration that the God it worships and bows before is Love. It is a paradox that this God who ‘is love’ never experienced what it was like to ‘be loved’. Until now. Now that Jesus Christ has come into the world.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Jesus refers to himself as the “bright and morning star” (Rev 22:16). It is no mystery that before orbiting satellites and GPS technology early navigation systems relied solely on the moon and stars for navigation. The stars were the pinpoints of reliable and unshakable references that mariners entrusted their lives and valuable cargo upon. Heaven’s guiding lights never faded, faltered or failed to provide the needed guidance when confronted with harrowing, ferocious storms:

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: Jeremiah 31:35

Another star has come to give light, life and love. Jesus, Heaven’s shining star, is our heart’s hope and light in a world overshadowed by gross darkness. Life is at its best when Jesus occupies the center. Let’s allow him in 2020 and beyond.

A New Heart for a New Year!

Be Blessed in 2020.