Be a Dream-Catcher - Prophecy and the BFG

He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2)

My favourite book when I was growing up was the BFG.  There is something about "dream-catching" that has always caught my imagination.  I think that even as a child God was stirring my heart with a desire for the prophetic. 

This morning I was thinking through the story again and realised that it has a lot to teach us about how to hear what God is saying and speak it out. (Go with me on this one!!)

1. The first thing is that you have to be in the right place.  For the BFG that was Dream Country.  For the apostle John it was the Island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation.  For some of us this is the "secret-place" - our place of prayer or our place of retreat - somewhere apart from our normal busy world where we can hear God clearly.  For others it isn't so much a physical place as a stillness of heart - an attitude.  Either way it's where we hear God best. 

2. We have to stay quiet or as the BFG puts it: "Please be as still as a starfish now... And do kindly stop breathing.  You is terribly noisy down there."  If you want to hear God speaking you have to stop talking over him!  Just be still.

3. You need big ears!  In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 it repeatedly says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear"  Swivel your ears in the right direction until you pick up what the Spirit is saying and then just listen.

4. Write it down and bottle it!!  All the BFG's dreams were put into jars, labelled and stored on shelves.  John was told to write down what he saw and send it to the churches.  Record what God says to you or you'll never remember it all.  Sometimes prophetic words are not for now.  They need recording and putting on a shelf for future use.

5. Most of the dreams the BFG used were "golden phizzwizards" - really good, encouraging dreams.  Only on two occasions did he release a "trogglehumper" - a nightmare - and that was as a warning to the Queen to ask for her help.  John's letters were a mixture of the two.  Sometimes God may give us prophecies that act as warnings to others, but for the majority of the time they will be "golden phizzwizards" - words of encouragement and hope for the future.


Be like the BFG and the Apostle John:  Be a dream-catcher and a dream-releaser!!

Electric Toothbrush of Grace - Bible in one year day 208

For most of my life I have brushed my teeth with an ordinary manual toothbrush.  You know - up and down, side to side.  Then I got an electric one to save my arm some energy and it's supposed to do the job for me.  The only trouble is that even after several years my arm still automatically wants to brush up and down! I have to consiously force myself to hold the thing still over each tooth!!  Everything within me keeps telling me I ought to be cleaning my teeth for myself.  But I've discovered a secret and that is, that if I keep brushing up and down with my electric toothbrush it makes it far less efficient.  I get cleaner teeth if I just keep it still and let it do its job.

And that's the truth about grace.  I got grace when I turned to Jesus.  I knew then that I couldn't save myself, but somehow years later I'm still compelled to try to earn God's attention with my good behaviour.  I feel like I ought to be working my way out of my mistakes; ought to be trying harder; ought to doing better.  Grace has the ability to change us through the power of the Holy Spirit but we make it less efficient every time we try to change ourselves in our own strength.  It's time to leave the manual brush behind once and for all, and truly let grace be grace. Romans 11:6  

Bible in one year day 207 - Chronicles 1

I once took a course in writing modern fiction and one of the things I was told was "Always start a story in the middle of the action. Never begin by giving a person's back history - it's old-fashioned and it doesn't sell!"  But starting by taking us back into history is precisely what Chronicles does do.  God reminded me that it's really easy get caught up in the 'action' of our own modern lives and forget that God's plan for our life is really a part of his plan for the world.  That makes me feel humble because I'm reminded that I'm not the centre of the universe! But it also makes me realise that I have a responsibility to play my part.

Shine

Your name O Lord
Can still the storms in our darkest night
The darkness flees before Your radiant light
Your presence here
My comforter, my shield and my guide
O God of glory, let Your presence shine

O Lord hear our prayer
May Your light shine upon us
And in mercy, let Your glory fill this place
Face to face, let it shine

The wonders of Your beauty Lord, cannot be defined
I long to look on that consuming sight
And all my life, and everyday Your will, will be mine
That everyone will see Your presence shine
Let it shine

King of glory, king of majesty
Reveal Your light and let it shine

Coming Prepared to Worship – Lessons from Noah

The (Not-So) Secret Diary of a Worship Leader #3

Coming Prepared to Worship – Lessons from Noah

Genesis 6-9 tells us the story of Noah and the flood that God brought on the world. 

Do you remember the song? …

“The animals went in two by two, hurrah! hurrah!
The animals went in two by two, hurrah! hurrah!
The animals went in two by two, the elephant and the kangaroo
And they all went into the ark, for to get out of the rain…”

Now it is true, as in the song, that God told Noah to take two of every kind of unclean animal onto the ark.  However he also specified seven of every clean animal.  If two of every unclean animal was enough to continue their existence, then why the surplus of clean animals?  

Well, we can see that later in their history, God’s people were only allowed to eat clean animals and these animals also formed a large part of their worship offerings.  Noah might not have realised it at the time but God was giving him more animals than he needed, so that he might provide for himself but also have something to offer back to God.

As for ourselves, God regularly gives us more than we need in order that we can use our surplus to give to Him; whether that is our time, our money, our spiritual gifts or our musical talents. 

Noah came out of the ark prepared to worship.  He could have kept the extra animals for himself but he chose to give them in worship to God, and because of this God was pleased.  God’s pleasure rests on any worshipper who comes to God ready to give.

 

Definition of worship #3: Coming to God, ready and prepared to give.

Challenge #3: 1 Corinthians 14:26 - When you come together, everyone has a hymn or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. 

When you meet together with other Christians do you come ready to give to God or do you come waiting to be lead into worship by someone else?  Do you spend time with God before a worship service receiving from him personally so that when you come together you have something to share corporately?  I challenge you, before you next get together with other Christians, to seek God for yourself, and then to bring your surplus with you to share with God and those around you.

Photos taken from:

http://s471.photobucket.com/albums/rr77/soupnazi01/?action=view&current=arkcolour1.jpg&newest=1

http://www.watchmojo.com/blog/children/2008/08/28/to-share-or-not-to-share/

The Wilder Way.wmv

Holy wind and fire of the living God
Help me walk the wilder way of truth and love
Stir within my heart a hope for things unseen
Lord I long to walk where only You have been

Lord I long for brighter skies and deeper seas
Where the path's uncertain but the Spirit's free
Where the finite flesh can meet eternity
Lord I long to walk into my destiny

So I will take the narrow way
I will choose the higher way
I will walk the wilder way with You

Holy wind and fire full of truth and grace
You will guide my feet with steady steps of faith
Though the storm it rises as I tread the waves
Yet I still will walk upon these wilder ways

Satisfy.wmv

As the deer may pant for streams of water
So my soul, it is longing for You
There's a thirst deep inside that is like no other
And no other can quench only You

I'm tired of spending my life on things
That do not satisfy
I'm longing for something of worth to drink
And fill this aching heart

Satisfy me Lord
Saturate me Lord
As I come and drink from Your deep, deep waters
Purify me Lord
Energize me Lord
O Spirit of God we say come!