Tag: dreams

His Eyelids Test the Sons of Men

Leviticus 14-15

*Psalm 11

Matthew 24

            Today, as you are reading this devotional, it’s my birthday which is a little ironic because as I am writing this particular devotion a week before it is released, it’s on the anniversary of my death day (2/14, see my devotional on 2/5/26 for details).  It’s an interesting contrast when you consider it.  I am alive by the grace of God.  Today when I woke up, my wife asked me (as she normally does when she wakes up) “How are you today?”  My response was, as it normally is, “I am alive!  I’m wonderful, I should be dead but I’m alive.  God is good.”. 

            If you think about it, we should all share that same sentiment: God is good, we exist at all because of His goodness and mercy, we are alive simply because He wills it.  There are things you don’t even know about that God probably did to ensure that you woke up today, opened your eyes, and breathed.  There are times in your life that you might have died, whether you are aware of them or not, when God saved you and let you live up until right now, today.  What a blessing! Sometimes we take that for granted, please take my advice: don’t.  Life is precious, and if you are reading this, it’s a gift that God gave you directly because He wanted to.  Be grateful.  This too shall pass, enjoy it now.

            Today we’re going to discuss something weird.  It might even be considered controversial and a little disturbing by some, but we’ll draw our conclusions from scripture.  We’re going in for a deep dive today, are you ready?  Listen: I know that it’s a lot more time consuming, but it will really help your understanding if you look up all of the verses listed today, as we’ll be going to quite a few other scriptures to get a “holistic” understanding.  They’ll all be in bold font.  Our focus today will be Ps 11, read that in it’s entirety, and then let’s consider Ps 11:4 specifically, which says “Yahweh is in His holy temply; Yahweh’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” (LSB). 

            We all know and understand the “His eyes behold” portion, and know that God sees mankind and gauges our actions (As proof texts read the following and don’t take my word for it:  Ps 33:13-15, Ps 14:2, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Prov 15:3, Zech 4:10, Hebrews 13:2, Mal 3:16) it’s a constant theme throughout scripture.  God Himself, or His agents, are observing our actions constantly.  How else could He rightly judge?  The whole earth is His, and everything in it (Ps 24:1).  But what does it mean to say “His eyelids test the sons of men”?

            Jesus explains in Matt 5:28 that if you sin in your heart, it’s still a sin.  James 1:14-15 explains that our hidden desires, when fed, lead to sin and then death.  Wrong thinking leads to wrong doing.  I can’t speak for you, but I can speak for myself personally and say that even when I have done no physical sin, I constantly struggle internally to be holy.  I sin in my heart constantly, and I’m really trying not to.  Whether pride, or lust, or envy, or greed.  YOU can’t see it, but it’s there, and I’m painfully aware it’s there because for the last couple years I’ve been trying to purify my heart and follow Jesus in every way.  Here’s the thing, though: God sees it (1 Sam 16:7), because His eyelids test the sons of men.

            Q: How, though?  A: In your sleep.  Have you ever been asleep and had a dream that you recalled briefly upon waking that involved a moral dilemma, or course of actions that you had to choose between?  That was what I call a “dream test”.  God tests your heart, almost constantly, many times in dreams or “visions in the night”.  Not only that though, but He instructs us as well.  You very seldom recall it, but once you start paying attention, you’ll notice more of it.  Sound crazy?  Check these scriptures out : Job 33: 14-18, Ps 7:9, Ps 16:7, Ps 17:3, Ps 139:1-4, Is 26:9, Jer 17:10, Matt 1:20, Acts 18:9-10, Rev 2:23.    My point is this: you can clearly see, through scripture (and scripture cannot be broken) that God not only tests us but instructs us in our sleep.  In dreams, in visions of the night.

**As a sidenote Job 33 is my favorite chapter in the bible because it is MY story, and the story of God’s grace and mercy: it was written for and about me.  It’s also where I discovered this concept.  See Job 33:14-30 if you’re interested.

            I think it’s important at this point to note that even if we have a revealing dream, we must always test the spirits to make sure they are from God (1 John 4:1).   Since we are engaged in a spiritual war (Eph 6:12) it is absolutely plausible and probable that your enemy may test you as well, or try to divert you.  For an example of this read Job 4:12-21 very carefully, consider the source, and recall that later Eliphaz is chastised by God because “you have not spoken of Me what is right” (Job 42:7).  This stuff is a little scary, but remember that Yahweh God is “Most High”, and protects us fiercely as a loving Father (Zech 2:8, 2 Thess 3:3).

            Your creator, He who formed your heart, knows your heart…better even than you yourself do.  This is why David asks God to reveal to him his hidden faults and cleanse them in Ps 19:12; David understands that God knows him better than he knows himself.  We are called to not just act right, but to be right.  Even in our hearts, where we think no one else can see, because GOD SEES.  This is the most challenging thing, for me, because I’ve found that if you’ve immersed yourself in the world you begin to think in worldly terms and it’s hard to change your perspective.  We have to be born again (John 3:3, keep your finger here), to repent (change course) and be born of the spirit (John 3:5).  THIS IS A REQUIREMENT TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD, not an optional career path as a Christian (John 3:7 ok, you can move your finger now).

            God is trying to teach us, He is testing us and helping us pass the future tests by giving us instruction and direction when we are sleeping.  Sometimes, if we listen closely, He will instruct us when we’re awake (Is 30:21, Ps 32:8).  He also speaks to us every time we read the scriptures.  The problem isn’t that God isn’t speaking to us, the problem is that (particularly among the distractions of this evil age) we’re not listening hard enough.  So what can we do to listen to God better?  Well, funny you should ask…

PRACTICAL STEPS TO ACTIVELY LISTEN TO GOD:

  1. Pray before you sleep, ask God to speak to you.
  2. Read scripture right before you go to sleep to prepare your heart and your head to listen
  3. Keep a journal by your bed to write down dreams or messages (Trust me.)
  4. Expect it: God has been and will continue trying to speak to you.  LISTEN.

Reflection Questions

  1. How many times a day do you hear the voice of God?
  2. How many times a day do you actively seek to hear the voice of God?
  3. Do you think there’s a correlation between those two, and how can you increase both?
  4. Have you ever had a dream and knew that it was from God immediately when you woke up?
  5. If answer to the question above is “yes”, did you journal it to remind yourself? (Please consider doing so, if you don’t already).

PRAYER

Father God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, please instruct me.  Teach me, Lord.  Open my ears that I might hear, and open my eyes that I might see.  Help me to do your will, to be humble before you, and place You in the rightful spot on the throne of my heart.  Grant me wisdom in equal portions to the mercy You grant me daily.  Be my shelter, Father, and protect me in this evil time.  Please forgive me when I fall short in my heart, and lead me along the path that enters Your kingdom.  I thank You and I praise You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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More Than You Can Handle

OLD TESTAMENT: Daniel 2

POETRY: Psalm 136 (all week)

NEW TESTAMENT: John 7:25-53

The next time someone asks you to “go above and beyond” at work, or to “give 110%” in a game, just be thankful your boss or coach isn’t Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon in Daniel 2, had a dream and wanted to know the meaning of the dream. But instead of telling his dream to his wise men, he expected, even demanded, that *they* tell *him* the dream. Notice what the wise guys say to the King. “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand.” (2:10)  My friends, that’s *exactly* the point. Only “the gods” or more accurately, only God, can make know the contents of the dreams of the King. But the wise men of Babylon don’t know the God who knows all things, they don’t worship the God who sees everything, even into the hearts of people. 

The King even asks Daniel “Are you able to make know to me the dream?” Daniel replies “No… no one can.” But “there is God in heaven who reveals mysteries… This mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king.” Over the next few days we will try to understand what is going on with the Kingdoms of the world in Daniel and try to understand this vision better, but today I want to make this very practical. 

Sometimes people tell us ideas that are not entirely Biblical because they are trying to be nice. One such idea is that “God will never give you more than you can handle.” It sounds good; we will never be overwhelmed and we will always succeed. However, as soon as our lives meet the real world, we find out that God consistently “gives us” situations that are overwhelming; try balancing getting good grades, doing extracurriculars, volunteering to pad our college applications, and then getting into and maintaining relationships, not to mention work! It’s overwhelming to write; how much more to live. But beyond the normal chaos of life, there are times when people we love are sick, when we need surgeries, when we have huge doubts about what is happening next. Just like the King demanding that the wise guys explain his dream, the world very often gives us far more than we can handle… *on our own*. 

What God has promised is that we are never on our own. No one can handle this world with joy, hope, peace, and love *by themselves*. But there is a God in heaven who gives the joy, hope, peace and love we are looking for. There is a God in heaven who gives his spirit to his people, not because we are wise or smart, or pretty, or popular, or good. God gives because we trust him, and all of our faults doesn’t stop him from loving us, and he does not leave us on our own. The world often gives us more than we can handle; the world can NEVER give us something God can’t handle. 

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. What differences do you see between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar? Are you ever more like Nebuchadnezzar than Daniel?
  2. What characteristics of Daniel’s do you admire? Which would you like to work on growing in your own life? How would one go about that?
  3. When has the world given you more than you could handle? In what ways did God provide what you needed? Thank Him!
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What’s in a Name?

matthew 2 13

MATTHEW 2

 

In the Bible, there is be a great deal of naming done for the sake of conveying a purpose or message.  It could tell the story of a birth (Samuel: God has Heard), a unique physical trait (Esau: Covered- with hair), to make a theological point (Abraham: Father of Many), or a prophecy (Yeshua: Saving One); nonetheless, these men and women (Ruth; Companion) are born-to or given to testify of the the glorious God we serve.

 

In the first two chapters of Matthew, a name that appears in equal amounts to the name of Jesus is Joseph.  As discussed yesterday, Matthew 1 is the genealogy of the line of Joseph, but equally important to note is Joseph’s role in the early part of Christ’s story – the announcement, advent, and escape.  This man entrusted with the care of Jesus was named, whether coincidentally or purposefully, for his famous great (great, great, great…) uncle Joseph, who was the famous dreamer and interpreter. It is then fitting that Joseph is given the word of God, not by messengers or a family member as we see with Mary (Luke 1), but in a dream.

 

Between Matthew 1:18 and Matthew 2:23, or a span of a couple of years, Joseph is recorded as spoken to by God in a dream on four different occasions. He is told not to be afraid to take Mary as a wife (1:20), move to Egypt (2:13), move to Israel (2:19-20), and finally, specific guidance to stay away from Judea, and go to Nazareth (2:22). Joseph, who may have initially been filled with doubt, becomes incredibly faithful to the will of God.  Just like his liked-name predecessor, He goes hither and yon to follow the will of God. At times, he looks incredibly foolish. He goes from the comforts of home to the foreign land of Egypt, yet ultimately, he brings glory to his father, for OT Joseph, Jacob, and for NT Joseph, YHWH.  In so doing this, he lives up to his name – not Joseph – but the one carried by his Son he so carefully protected.

 

While our name is not Joseph, (well, most of us), each one of us also have a calling on our name too (Rom 8:28).  We are not all named for the same reason – some have the name of a biblical figure (like me), and others are named for a special relative, and even a few are named for a Fleetwood Mac song, but God has purposed and fashioned us all (Psalm 139:13-17) to be faithful to him.  Joseph played his part in making sure there is one name that supersedes them all. We might seem foolish to some, we may be called to go hither and yon, leaving behind the comforts of this life, but ultimately we are bringing glory, not to our name, but to our Father in heaven. Does it matter what others call us? Or even what we think of ourselves? In the words of Shakespeare, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” How much more does your Father in heaven know this? He has a plan for you. He wants a relationship with you, and truly, it began long before you were ever named. No matter the expectation, or lack thereof, attached to our name, there is truly only one name that matters under heaven: The name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12) because it is the only name by which we are saved. Like Joseph, it is now our time to play our part, hold onto Jesus, and carry the Son wherever we’re called to go.

-Aaron Winner

 

Aaron Winner is a worship leader and a middle school teacher in Upstate South Carolina.  He has been married to his wife Jennifer for 13 years today – yay!  Aaron is also a songwriter, currently working on his fourth album, “Wonderful”.  Additionally, he hosts his own blog at elattruthfillintheblank.weebly.com, which combines thoughts from his work at school and church; however, he is happy to write for us this week at the start of our 2019 Bible study!