Rarely would I make mention of something so subjective as a dream that found me in the night, but last night’s sleep time left me awaking with the recognition of how much I cherish the people of Meadow. I have a great love and longing for my church family and am grateful to God for having made that love a reality in my heart. My family was tired last evening and all of us were in bed by 8 PM in preparation for our Sunday schedule. Very quickly I was in deep sleep next to Amy. My dream involved snapshots of scenes and people from over the nearly fifteen years I’ve served on staff here. My former secretary and her husband were in the dream, a couple of long-departed deacons showed up and, of course, many of the people who comprise the Meadow Family today. My former secretary walked into my old office with a pitying look on her face, handed me a paycheck and let me know that the church had fired me. It was a done-deal and she had been given the unenviable task of asking me to gather my things and leave. In the dream I did not fight, protest, or demand an explanation – I simply took the bad news with a heavy heart and went home to my wife and kids. The dream involved more but the point this morning is that I arose with a great relief that it was all subconscious nonsense and that I had the high privilege of joining the real Meadow Church Family today for hours of worship, instruction, praise and service. So very grateful for an end to a dream and another day of genuine oneness with the saints!
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.” – 1 Peter 1:22 {KJV}
It is the Lord’s Day and I have no reservation in stating that all able-bodied Christians would do well to endeavor to gather with a group of saints somewhere for corporate worship. Peter indicates in the above verse that those who have been made pure by Spirit-led obedience to the truth will not be ones who merely give lip-service to loving other Christians. There is the possibility of a feigned love – fakery, superficiality, theoretical love for other Christians that never produces an outward change of attitude and action toward Christ’s church. Christian love is born in us by God’s Spirit and it’s foremost object is God Himself. Beneath that love for God is the love for all other saints. We love what God loves and, aside from His own unblemished glory, what He loves most is His own children. Followers of Christ will grow in this same pattern of love and one of the most cherished ways to display it is by gathering with one another on the Lord’s Day. I hope that you will take advantage of this great joy and privilege. In other parts of the world, Christians hazard life and freedom in order to join clandestine meetings in the name of Jesus Christ to worship and learn of Him. We have no restrictions here in America (as of today), yet we do not all value this freedom to gather for worship. You have the need in you to be with other saints – stop suppressing it or redefining it from its simplicity. You also need to recognize that other saints need you, whether you feel as if you need us or not. None of us were second-born for another round of independence and self-preservation. We belong to Him. We belong to each other. Forever.
We are to touch each other’s lives. We are to live in such away with one another that even a misty dream in the night involving the forfeiture of this privilege would make us strongly sense a loss. I’m glad it was just a dream. Don’t let it become your reality.
Bad Dream or was it?
joel 2:28
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions”.
it is telling you you are old and dreaming dreams as Joel states.
The LORD is working out his will at Meadow through you time
to move on toward the New Goals he has set for Meadow, the past is the past let it go.
You will see the LORD Pour out His Spirit on his people and wonderful things will happen,
A Real Old Fassion Revival where The LORD is pouring out his Spirit.