Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I have a dream...


July 6, 2006

Visions Become Reality
LISTEN:
READ:

The parched ground shall become a pool . . . —Isaiah 35:7

About this cover
We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.

Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.

God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.

The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

This is Awesome... you have to listen to it!

I finally got a chance to hear Mike Yankoski who spoke at Grace back in April. I'm not sure if you know who he is, but he and a friend spent 5 months living on the streets and he talks about helping the homeless.

His message is like nothing I've every heard. His goal isn't to bash the church or show us how distant we are from people that aren't in our social group. Instead, he gives practicle examples of how to help and also the reality that Jesus said that the homeless will always be with us. Instead of trying to solve their problems, we are commanded to help those that WE come in contact with - not change their lives.

Ok, here's the link the audio is under "Mike Yankoski"....