November 30, 2011 Can God Speak Through a Dream?

Everlasting Father, thank You for the peace I felt during my vacation. Your plans for peace in our family truly surpassed anything I could have imagined.  For the past five days, I have basked in the peace that lingered upon my return to our little apartment.

Yet, today, my heart is troubled. I had a dream last night, a distressing dream that left me feeling unsettled. I can still picture the events quite vividly and in color. I wonder, “Why has this particular dream convicted my heart so? What might You be saying to me?”

In this dream, I was standing on the front end of a long ocean pier while watching ocean waves roll under foot. I noticed, to my side stood a teenager from my church congregation. Next to him, were a few strangers.

Within minutes of watching waves crash against the shore and deep in conversation, I noticed that the portion of the pier we stood on had detached from the rest of the pier and we had begun to drift. In my dream, somehow I still felt at peace, as though we were simply bobbing up and down on the porch of a houseboat. Perhaps that’s why the young man and I continued our conversation as though nothing was amiss.

Then, all of a sudden the waves increased in size. A tall and overbearing wave crashed violently against the front of the pier. Its force tossed a woman in our company into the water. I helplessly watched as her long black hair sank in the water below. She could hardly keep her head above water as she reached one arm out of the water to signal for help. I hesitated in assisting her. Instead, I remained still while my heart filled with worry.

Instantly, several men wearing long off-white linen robes with maroon and white striped sashes over their heads and across their shoulders floated across the water to where I stood. The men stood in a long row, spanning out to the right of the front of the pier. I could only make out the face of the one man who had long, white hair and a white beard and who stood directly in front of me. He had positioned himself between me and the oncoming, enormous wave. I stood still, trying to discern the image before my eyes. 

The young man immediately to my left grabbed my hand and screamed with delight, "Oh my gosh, do you know who that is? Do you know who that is?" From his reaction and the expression on his face, I was certain that the person standing directly in front of me was Abraham from the Bible.

There was silence. Without consideration, I stretched out my right hand and laid it on the man’s left shoulder. Immediately, the man turned around, pointed his long finger directly at my heart and said in an unforgettable tone, "Inch by inch our Souls!" Instantly, fear came upon me and trembling, which shook me to my core.

My heart panted. Fearfulness filled me. By now, I knew the surest way to know Your Will is to hear You speak to me directly from the Holy Scriptures. So, I jumped out of bed and grasped hold of my Bible. I opened my Bible as usual by taking hold of the spine and allowing the pages to settle. Gradually, the pages landed on Matthew 6:27.  I began to read, "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (NKJV).

“Oh LORD, could You be reminding me not to worry about life’s quick and violent storms? If so, please LORD, prepare my heart for what may come so that I may do Your will and bring You glory. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.”

Later On   

            Today, I shared my dream with a local priest. If I had to guess, I’d say the elderly man was in his late 80’s. So, I figured he had to have been walking with you for awhile. As I shared the details of my dream, the man listened quite intently. Then, he humbly said, “In every journey with the LORD, there’s joy.” A simple reminder. However, I don’t think I truly heard the message the man was conveying. Shaking my head from side to side as I walked away, I prayed, “Please LORD, help me understand what You are trying to say to my heart.”

Then, just after tucking Travis into bed, I decided to watch a little television. Right away, I turned to my favorite Christian broadcasting station. A movie was portraying the Gospel of Matthew verse by verse. I just so happened upon the moment when in chapter six of Matthew’s Gospel, You say, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” [1]

Finally, I began to understand. I need not worry because You will always be with me to provide for all my needs.

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[1] Matthew 6:26 Matthew 6:26 (NKJV) “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

I had a dream about Abraham. What is God trying to tell me?

"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" 

Matthew 6:27 (NKJV).

A few mornings ago, I had a dream I will not soon forget. In my dream, I was standing on the front end of a long ocean pier while watching ocean waves roll under foot. By my side, stood a teenager from my church congregation. Next to him, were a few other people I wasn't well acquainted with.

Within minutes of watching the waves crash against the shore and deep in conversation, I noticed that the portion of the pier we stood on had detached from the rest of the pier and we had begun to drift. Somehow, I still felt at peace, as though we were simply bobbing up and down on the porch of a houseboat. So, the young man continued our conversation.

Then, all of a sudden the waves increased in size. And, a tall and overbearing wave crashed violently against the front of the pier. Its force tossed a woman in our company into the water. I helplessly watched as her long black hair sank in the water below. As she barely kept her head above water, she reached one arm out of the water to signal for help. Against my normal character, I hesitated in assisting her and began to worry instead.

Next, several men wearing long, off-white linen robes with maroon and white striped sashes over their heads and across their shoulders, floated across the water to where I stood. The men stood in a long row, spanning out to the right of the front of the pier. I could only make out the face of the one man who had long, white hair and a white beard and who stood directly in front of me. He had positioned himself between me and the oncoming, enormous wave.

The young man immediately to my left, grabbed my hand and screamed with delight, "Oh my Gosh, do you know who that is? Do you know who that is?" From his reaction and my own inner childlike excitement, I was certain that the person standing directly in front of me was Abraham from the bible. Like a child who needs confirmation that man was real, and without consideration, I stretched out my right hand and laid it on his left shoulder. Immediately, the man turned around, pointed his long finger directly at my heart and said in an unforgettable tone, "Inch by inch our Souls!"

Then I woke up from the dream. I felt confused. Abraham's tone and words smoldered in my heart. I was  curious to discover more about this father of religion. Perhaps scripture would confirm what I had dreamed. I went to my writing station and grabbed my bible. As the pages fell open and started to settle, confusion turned to shame. I started to feel as though I had just been chastized for a lack of indisputable faith. What did Abraham mean when he said, "In by Inch Our Souls?" Gradually, the pages settled on Matthew 6:27.  I began to read, "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (NKJV).

Needing further explanation, I then read commentary on the verse.  In Albert Barnes [1834], explanation, he first noted the size of a cubit. He said, "The cubit of the Scriptures is not far from 22 inches." Then, he added that the terms of "length" are often applied to life. I started to believe that I was being told not to worry because worrying wouldn't add a single minute to my life here on earth.

I felt my shoulders slump forward as I started to weep. I had been worrying about money for awhile. I had conducted online job searches and been checking sales records for the book the Lord led me to write. Now I was feeling foolish. Why had I worried so.

Later that day, for some reason unknown to me at the time, I felt compelled to attend mass at a Catholic Church. I hadn't been to a Catholic service in approximately three years. Yet, I knew I had to attend. Oddly enough, I felt comfortable just walking in the door. Perhaps it was all of those years I spent in the rectory or up in that balcony preparing to sing to the Lord that allowed to me feel at ease.

After mass, I approached the Priest who led the service. I told him, "Father, I have a doosey for you." He said, "Okay..." I told him my testimony and then said, "Why would I have a dream about Abraham?" He smiled and said, "I am not going to touch that!" We laughed and began to exchange pleasantries. I was drawn in by his humility. He said, "We never stop learning about God." Then, he offered a piece of advice. He said, "If your conconscience is clear, there is no need to worry." How could he have known? I hadn't told him about the scripture God led me to ponder earlier the same morning. We said "goodbye" and I quietly smiled as I walked to my car.

Later that night, I decided to watch a little television before bedtime. I turned on TBN and noticed that the movie "King of Kings" was playing. The movie was more than halfway over, so I flipped through the channels to see what else was on. Soon, I found myself watching TBN again. Just at the moment I returned to the movie, Jesus started to speak to the people. I chuckled out loud, and looked up towards the heavens when I realized Jesus was speaking the words of Matthew chapter six. Then, Jesus said, "Which of you by worrying can add one inch to his life?" Under my breath, I said, "Okay Lord, I understand. I'm Sorry. From now on, I'll put all of my trust in You!"

Perhaps the Lord was offering me a gift through the dream I had. I realize now, that worrying is useless. Because I have surrendered my life into the Lord's hands, I know now, I must learn trust Him.

To read my personal testimony, please go to:  

www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781613791936

What is Heaven like?

Yesterday morning I awoke to an inspiring dream. It was one of those dreams you desperately try to fall back asleep to. In my dream, my cousin who died in a car accident when I was 18, entered the room I was in. Even though I was dreaming, I was aware that my cousin had passed away. When he approached me, I immediately requested, "Jimmy, please tell me about heaven."

My cousin looked right at me and said, "It's beautiful, the ground is made up of crystals and there's a mist in the air." Before, he could go on, I interrupted and requested, "Jimmy, tell me about Jesus!"

My cousin looked me and then slowly shook his head back and forth. He smiled and said, "He really likes you!"  I woke up with streams of tears running down my face.

Clouds to Heaven

To read my personal testimony, please go to: 

http://dlouyoung.blogspot.com/p/my-personal-testimony.html