Golden reflections and yellow hues filled the room. I could feel the warmth of the sunshine just beyond the windows and enjoyed the calming sense it created around me. A subtle quietness hung in the air. Everyone was gone. The space was all mine.
reflection & refreshment
Wandering to my favorite room, I quickly settled in for a time of peaceful prayer and reflective study. Time seemingly stands still in such moments. Yet before long I was quickly snapped back to the reality that the house would soon fill once again with voices and activity.
Hearing voices as the house began to fill again, I emerged from my reprieve of solitude. Then I suddenly realized I had not yet dressed for the day. Soon lunch would be expected, so I decided to dress quickly. That was when everything changed in a moment.
Dark grey, rolling clouds filled the sky. Flashes of lightning illuminated everything around me as though a million cameras flashed simultaneously. And just that quickly, in the blink of an eye, the house was no longer what it had been. Instantly, I was left standing alone in the room. Warm colors and soft, comforting furnishings were no longer there.
Instead, I stood in an empty space, with only hues of grey and black. The window covering hung like shreds of what just a moment before had been lovely. I recall feeling as though I were suddenly transported to a haunted house. But I knew this to be the space where I lived. The floorplan, the footprint were the same, yet nothing else was.
Where was everyone?
What happened? Where did everyone go? Why am I standing here alone? How was everything turned in a flash to a heap of ashes? Why does my home now look like a haunted house? I wondered. Then I began to frantically pray. O Lord, please don’t take Your Spirit from me! Is this what life looks like without You?
Within seconds, I awoke.
It had been a dream – or clearly a nightmare! The images swirled in my mind for hours. What did it mean? Abba, are You trying to tell me something? What is it?
For a few days before the dream, I had been led to share devotions about the second coming of Christ. These were posted to social media in typical fashion. I wondered if the return of Jesus was heavy on my mind and heart and worked its way out in my subconsciousness through the dream. Then I wondered if my daily time of devotion and prayer was ineffective, thus leaving me ‘undressed’ to meet the challenges of each day. On and on my mind processed and dissected the scenes, seeking answers, trying to make sense of it all.
Finally, I remembered this passage:
‘In the last days,’ God said, ‘I will pour out my Holy Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams. Yes, the Holy Spirit shall come upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they shall prophesy. And I will cause strange demonstrations in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and clouds of smoke; the sun shall turn black and the moon blood-red before that awesome Day of the Lord arrives. But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.’ Acts 2:17-21 tlb [emphasis added]
While I don’t claim to be an old man dreaming dreams (giggles), God does still speak to us through dreams – through His servants, men and women alike. And this dream, with all its Halloween like feelings and features, just might be a wakeup call to me, to all of us.
Jesus will come to the earth again. We know this because He said He would:
… Then the high priest asked him. “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”
Jesus said, “I am, and you will see me sitting at the right hand of God, and returning to earth in the clouds of heaven.” Mark 14:61-62 tlb
So, my nightmarish dream may be our wake up call. In a moment, the blink of an eye, everything will change when Jesus returns. Will we be ready? Will He find us clothed and awaiting His entrance? Or will we suddenly be left behind, finding everything in our world changed as quickly as in a flash of lightning?
And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns. Philippians 1:6 tlb
And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love does toward you. This will result in your hearts being made strong, sinless, and holy by God our Father so that you may stand before him guiltless on that day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns with all those who belong to him. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 tlb
Reflective Resource
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Rogue is the study of Barak & Jael, a story in which one man’s shady backstory and one woman’s courageously decisive actions became the catalyst to ancient Israel’s freedom. Like most of us, facing the shadows of past experiences or mastering a routine chore was probably of little interest to Barak and Jael. We all have those annoying little things that have to be done, and we do them because we have to although, often we would rather not. Yet for Barak, his ability to overcome his past, and for Jael, her ability to successfully complete a routine task became the defining moments of their lives.
We will observe them as we walk in imaginary ancient sandals alongside them, witnessing subjugation, hardship and cruelties that fueled their passion to help free their burdened neighbors.
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