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A dream is a powerful thing. There is little more thrilling than seeing a dream come to life. And little more heartbreaking than watching it die.
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Love. Mutual submission. It all sounds very Christian, and, amazingly, seems to be the key to successful, long-term organizations. Amazing ideas come to life when people with complementary gifting devote themselves selflessly to each other, not for their own success, but for the success of the idea.
That little whisper—“You deserve it”—comes, I believe, from the worst part of our sinful natures, the part that always wants another cookie, a bigger house, a nicer TV. I’m pretty sure it’s the same voice that told Hitler he “deserved” Poland.
the appeal is insanely selfish. If I deserve it, it must follow that someone else does not. I have achieved more. I am special.
What do I really deserve? Death. That’s what I deserve. Death apart from God. I am a selfish dweeb standing before a holy, righteous God.
how easy is it to serve someone you consider less deserving than yourself? Nearly impossible.
There are areas where I should look to others for help, and there are areas where others should look to me.
Real impact today comes from building great relationships, not huge organizations.
Smaller—and smarter—is better.
“What does it mean when God gives you a dream, and he shows up in it and the dream comes to life, and then, without warning, the dream dies? What does that mean?”
“If God gives you a dream, and the dream comes to life and God shows up in it, and then the dream dies, it may be that God wants to see what is more important to you—the dream or him.”
C. S. Lewis said, “He who has God plus many things has nothing more than he who has God alone.”
“If God gives you a dream, and the dream comes to life and God shows up in it, and then the dream dies, it may be that God wants to see what is more important to you—the dream or him. And once he’s seen that, you may get your dream back. Or you may not, and you may live the rest of your
life without it. But that will be okay, because you’ll have God.”
“But God—he’s my son. He’s my dream! The promise you gave me! He’s how you’re going to impact the world through me! He’s everything!” “Put him on the altar. Kill him.”
what God learned about Abraham that day was that he would let go of everything
before he would let g...
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And God said, “Okay, now I ca...
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Why would God want us to let go of our dreams? Because anything I am unwilling to let go of is an idol, and I am in sin.
Rather than finding my identity in my relationship with God, I was finding it in my drive to do “good work.”
“If you start something and it does not seem to go well, consider carefully that God, on purpose, may not be authenticating what you told the people because it did not come from Him, but from your own head. You may have wanted to do something outstanding for God and forgot that God does not want that. He wants you to be available to Him, and more important, to be obedient to Him.”
“It is not more head knowledge we need; it is a heart relationship we must develop.”
“We have no business telling God what we want to accomplish for him or dreaming up what we want to do for him.” And “The people of God are not to be a people of vision; they are to be a people of revelation.”
According to Paul, God had in mind even before I was born the “good work” he wanted me to do. I don’t have to dream it up,
When people of great faith in the Bible don’t know what God wants them to do, they don’t just run off and make stuff up. They wait on him. “Wait.”
think we need to focus our attention a little more on what Noah did with the first five hundred years of his life. “Well, wait—we don’t know what he did!” No, we know exactly what he did. Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” What did Noah do for the first five hundred years of his life? He walked with God.
The Christian life wasn’t about running like a maniac; it was about walking with God. It wasn’t about impact; it was about obedience. It wasn’t about making stuff up; it was about listening.
What is “walking with God?” Simple. Doing what he asks you to do each and every day. Living in active relationship with him. Filling your mind with his Word, and letting that Word penetrate every waking moment.
If I am a Christian—if I have given Christ lordship of my life—where I am in five years is none of my business. Where I am in twenty years is none of my business.
We really shouldn’t attempt to do anything for God until we have learned to find our worth in him alone.
beware of your dreams, for dreams make dangerous friends. We all have them—longings for a better life, a healthy child, a happy marriage, rewarding work. But dreams are, I have come to believe, misplaced longings. False lovers. Why?
