Mind you though!
Dreams are an important part of many Biblical stories and passages. They offer insight and foresight into the favored decisions or actions that should be made. Many dreams include visions of divine symbols or the Lord, himself, sharing wisdom that changes the course of history. Conversely, some dreams present a clear example of what could go wrong if the way of God is abandoned.
Dreams are worth having if The will of God is fulfilled. In fact, have an existence as new creations. A constant in-touchness with the realm not often seen. But in/on our walk with Christ always in touch with, Amen.
Spiritual transformation is the process by which Christ is formed in us …for the glory of God, for the abundance of our own lives, and for the sake of others. (Galatians 4:19; Romans 8:29; Romans 12:1, 2) The possibility that human beings can be transformed to such an extent that they image Christ is central to the message of the gospel and therefore it is central to the mission of the Church. Spiritual transformation in the lives of redeemed people is a testimony to the power of the Gospel and it results in an increasing capacity to discern and do the will of God. (Romans 12:2)
Renewing the Mind. It is God’s will and delight that we actively resist being conformed to this world and seek instead to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The Greek word nous (translated mind in Romans 12:2) includes, but goes far beyond, intellectual or cognitive knowing. It denotes the seat of reflective consciousness and encompasses a person’s faculties of perception and understanding as well as the patterns of feeling, judging and determining that shape our actions and responses in the world. Thus, any approach to transformation that seeks to bring about real change must go beyond merely grasping information at the cognitive level to full knowledge that impacts our deepest inner orientations and trust structures, false-self patterns, and any obstacles that prevent us from fully surrendering to God. This kind of change involves clear teaching about the nature of the Christian life, concrete practices that help us internalize truth in ways that change how we respond in the world, and community that supports and catalyzes the process.
So many times, so many different ways, we arrive at different conclusions and possess many suppositions are they based on cold, hard fact? Did you take them to The Lord in prayer?
The Work of the Spirit. Spiritual transformation is something of a paradox in that it is quite natural for Christ followers to grow and to change just as it is natural for human beings to grow from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood. The seed of the Christ life (“everything we need for life and godliness”) is planted within us at salvation and if the conditions are right, that seed will grow and flourish. However, the process of transformation is also supernatural in that it is something only God can accomplish in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity has been given as our advocate, teacher and counselor to lead us into truth as we are able to bear it (John 15 and 16) and to communicate the depths of God. (I Corinthians 2:9-16) We can find ways to open to this process of transformation as it is guided by the Spirit, but we cannot control it or make it happen ourselves. The wind of the Spirit blows where it will. (John 3:8)
We are about to set off with ‘praise-e-liciuos’ knowledge. Sit tight and let’s go:
The house of the righteous contains great treasure,
but the income of the wicked brings ruin.
What do the righteous spend it on? As compared to them who have not met The Lord as of yet?
The lips of the wise spread knowledge, in the hearts of the righteous dwell peace, enlightenment and strength from The Lord. They shall run and not be weary, climb and not fall, glide in the Majesty of His winds.
For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind And declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The LORD God of hosts is His name.
Amos 4:13
And suddenly there came from Heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:2
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Psalm 135:7
Some examples of events in The Word:
1 Samuel 28:15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
Daniel 1:17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
Genesis 40:8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Jeremiah 23:32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the LORD.
but the hearts of fools are not upright.
The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:9 that whether he was in Heaven or on Earth, he would make it his aim to please God. It would be an eternity of misery if there were no way that we could respond to a holy God that would please him or delight him.
Proverbs 15:6-8
We are told what to do to receive of The Lord, how to please Him. Do we want to make The Lord smile in pride? There are examples of individuals in the Bible who in no way were ‘right’ to start with, but on turning over and starting afresh and seeking His face, His Word, His will; they became testimonies of His forgiveness and Glory.
Let us start somewhere . Paul that became an apostle with an all encompassing Spirit, first he started out approving the arrest and killing of Christians. I know this because Acts 7:60 mentions this fact. Paul pursued disciples all the way to Damascus, with the intent of jailing them and probably of killing them (Acts 9:1 which mentions “murderous threats”). We can assume that this was not his first involvement in arresting believers and we can assume that, although he may not ever have been the one to actually throw stones, he was a ringleader behind people being killed.
Joseph who we have discussed prior: Joseph was 17 the first time he had his dreams about ruling over his family. We can read in the bible though the dream wasn’t about being their king or boss, as his brothers misinterpreted it. No, bowing before Joseph, in the dream, didn’t mean he was going to be the king of Israel or the leader of the family. The dreams meant that Joseph was going to be divinely placed in a position with the power and the influence to save Israel, not only as a family, but as a future nation.
However, the misinterpretation of Josephs’ dreams caused his brothers anger and envy. They just lost it over a dream and tried to kill him and then they sold him into slavery. After being bought and “exported” to Egypt he found a nice job but being a hardworking, wise and handsome young man caused him more trouble than he ever thought. An ambitious lady put her eyes on him. After declining her “friend requests”, he was “sued” for sexual harassment, and because the lady’s husband was not only the offended partner but also Joseph’s boss, judge, and ruler, poor Joe ended up getting undeserved punishment in jail.
Did Joseph fail though? This article is about failures but the bible doesn’t tell us that Joseph committed any mistake or sin. He was human and at some point he felt like a failure himself. He probably thought he was “Bad luck Joe”. His mother did a good job of teaching him the scriptures and the sovereignty of God. Arising from his own human doubts and questions, he put his loyalty and faith in God above everything.<>
Job is our next testimony, yes he did serve The Lord to start, God was proud of him as we have shared, to the extent that He spoke proudly of him in a meeting of Heavenly Spirits. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:6-10
To state what is the lesson here, Job worked the land, ha had children and The Lord put a fence about him and his family in the spiritual realm. Nothing could or would come close, this was because Job feared and served The Lord. Do we?
To speed it up: Moses killed and ran so he would not be killed and he developed a relationship with God that few if any can claim. What is our relationship with The Father. Before going on, I will ask what your relationship with your father is or was???
Gideon: Gideon, a young man whose only thought was gathering food and hiding from the Midianites. We saw how Moses even questioned God’s motives, the what and why of his mission and calling, now read about Gideon. Do you see a pattern? Do you see men and women of God debating with the almighty why they’ve been called and what is the true purpose of their mission? It looks like most of them did. Even Jesus had his moment of truth (or doubt) at the Gethsemane. Do you know why men and women of God have their doubts and want to ask God for explanations and signs? Because God actually calls smart people; intelligent, wise people with their own point of view of the situation God is trying to change. Doubts and questions are not bad; God knows you have something you’ve been trying to ask him for a long time. The failure is in giving in to the doubts and getting defeated by our lack of insider’s (divine) information. You must persevere even if you don’t understand and that’s how we actually learn wisdom. You must know the information you need, but persevering will teach you how and when to apply it and this, my friend, is called wisdom.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-dreams/