Author: elizabethprata

Christian writer and Georgia teacher's aide who loves Jesus, a quiet life, art, beauty, and children.
Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Golden Girls go Sonny & Cher: A story of sanctification

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m 56 years old so I came up in the 1980s. I was not saved then. The Golden Girls was a television show that ran for 7 highly successful seasons before one of the stars, Bea Arthur, decided to leave. The other three stars were Betty White, Estelle Getty, and Rue McLanahan. Arthur, Getty, and McLanahan have all passed on. Betty White at age 95 is still going strong.

The show’s premise was a co-living, roommate situation where widow McLanahan had advertised for two roommates to help offset costs of living in her large Miami home. Bea Arthur’s character moved her 80-year-old mother character (Getty) into the house during the first episode.

Even though the show was about four older (or elderly) women (three widows, one divorcee) it was well-written and hilarious. Others thought so too:

The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Each of the four stars received an Emmy Award (from multiple nominations during the series’ run), making it one of only three sitcoms in the award’s history to achieve this. The series also ranked among the top-10 highest-rated programs for six of its seven seasons.

Being an Educator, I’m at home in the summer when school is out. During my down time, I watched a lot of the Golden Girl episodes. I also watched documentaries about the show, like how it originated, the biographies of the actresses, and the writer’s process

The show is funny, witty, and intelligent. It is also evil, gross, and of the world.

In one of the documentaries, Bea Arthur was talking about how they wrote the show to address social or moral issues that the writer, producer, and actors wanted to use to present their point of view. Do not ever think that television and other media are neutral. They are of the world, and they most certainly present satan’s point of view.

The show addressed HIV-AIDS, (“it’s NOT a judgment on bad people or sexual activity!” cross dressing (it’s OK), homosexuality (It’s OK), sexual promiscuity (it’s OK), same sex marriage (normal!), assisted suicide (duh, OK!) and so on. In one interview Bea Arthur proclaimed about how the show advanced understanding on these social issues for the betterment of society.

No. It didn’t. It advanced satan’s agenda to normalize sin, or at least de-sensitize us to it. Anyway none of this is anything new, except for the perspective. Oftentimes as I review my day, plead to Jesus to accept my confessions of sin, beg the Holy Spirit to grow me so I sin less against Him tomorrow than I did today, and then nearly despair because I cant see any progress in myself, I look back. Way back.

I distinctly remember enjoying the TV show and agreeing with all its premises. I thought it was the height of wit and worldliness- worldly in a good way. I’m saved now. After re-looking at the show these many years later, I’ve grown enough to be absolutely disgusted with it. After viewing  some episodes, I stopped watching.

Only God can clean a soul to the degree where we not only can see the sin we used to love for what it is, but be repelled by it. Over time, you should see progress. The trajectory might be bumpy, or it might be smooth and steady, but either way, your sanctification will grow- up.

Sanctification means to be set apart for holy things. If you are saved, you are being sanctified, meaning, you are growing in holiness. We cannot sanctify our own self because there is no part of ourself where we are not touched by our sin. Our entire nature is drenched in sin. Therefore the Persons of the Trinity sanctify us. When we confess Jesus is Lord and ask for forgiveness of our sins He installs the Holy Spirit in us as a guarantee, and off we grow. (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Corinthians 6:11). Our part is to actively obey in trust.

The world loved and still loves the Golden Girls. I loved it but then again I was part of the world. Thank You Lord for taking me out of the world.

PS: Even though the show overall promotes things of satan and is crass…this one skit had me doubled over laughing. If you remember the singing duo Sonny & Cher, the formerly married couple had a variety show in the 1970s in addition to a singing carer that spawned many top charted hits. Cher had some tics and quirks in performing that here, Bea Arthur reproduced spot on, even her walk. It’s hilarious. The studio audience goes so crazy because Arthur really nailed it.

Below the GG skit parodying Sonny & Cher is the real Sonny & Cher. After retiring from show business, Sonny was elected mayor of Palm Springs California. Cher was known for her skimpy (and I mean skimpy!) costumes and belly button baring outfits on her show. Six years ago I wrote about the unfortunate decisions Cher’s daughter Chastity was making in becoming transgendered. Sin, sin being of the world, the world loves its own,…and the beat goes on.

Posted in prophecy, Uncategorized

Some more Pre-Trib comfort

Posted on by elizabethprata

Once again I’m presenting comfort in the hope of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

At a certain point in earth’s history to come, it is promised to us that Jesus will lift His church composed of Christians dead and alive, into heaven to be with Him. Then he will hurl His stored-up wrath upon earth to punish the unbelieving nation Israel, and the sinful Gentile world. Some people say there will be no rapture at all. Others say that it will happen at the end of or in the middle of the time of wrath (AKA the Tribulation, or Time of Jacob’s Trouble). Since the rapture is in the Bible, and since it is a single even that is promised to occur, it can’t happen both before the Tribulation and at the end. Therefore one of those positions is right and one of them is wrong.

It is correct to interpret that the Bible teaches that the rapture will happen before Jesus begins the last days punishments. Paul taught this in his treatment of the subject in 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians 15:42-57, it’s in Revelation, as well as being taught implicitly throughout other books of the Bible.

The event is supposed to be a hope to believers, and an encouragement, said Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:18. When you look around the dark world with its sin and evil, take hope in the knowledge that Jesus has a plan. His plan includes filling a quota for His Church (Romans 11:25). When that occurs, He will remove His Bride from the wrath, because we are not appointed to it. (Revelation 3:10). We will appear before His Bema seat to receive rewards for our service to Him while we were on earth, (2 Corinthians 5:10), and then enjoy the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:7–10). Meanwhile on earth, the Tribulation will have begun.

You will hear these things mentioned in the 19-minute video below. Enjoy! Be encouraged!

FMI:

11 Reasons for a Pre-Tribulation rapture

 Reasons for a Pre-Tribulation rapture

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

The Campaign for Joy

Posted on by elizabethprata

Joy is apparently the new trend in advertising buzzwords. It’s everywhere. This product will bring you joy. That product will make you happy on your search for joy. This campaign promises ease on the road to joy. That item is joy. Et cetera.

Johnnie Walker Whisky

The Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky people did a little something different that the other companies are envious of and are now copying. They hired a psychologist to give their ad executives insight into what makes people tick, so as to better point their products to the lack in their lives. Here is just one headline touting the new trend:

‘Joy’ Marketing Is Hot Thanks to Psychologists
Reddi-wip Is the Latest Brand Tapping a Psychologist for Campaign Insights

Well, 93% of Americans want to find more ways to experience joy, and 83% would like to experience small amounts of joy daily vs. larger, occasional doses.

What the psychologists discovered is that people want to find joy. However, joy as an end in itself is not the main goal. The venerable liquor company now “aims to promote the idea that finding joy is part of the recipe for success.” The psychologists found out that having money doesn’t necessarily make you happy. Possessing the largest house isn’t necessarily joy-inducing. Getting the promotion in your career won’t absolutely bring contentment. Those things are part of the recipe for success, and the recipe’s biggest ingredient is joy. If you have joy, the other things are just so much sweeter and your chances for success in life increase. Joy becomes a means to an end.

It’s a new take on the old problem: what makes a person lastingly happy? And from what source does this joy come? I’m sure it is not from Scotch Whisky. King Solomon tried that and poetically and poignantly wrote about drinking in Ecclesiastes 2:10-

I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

His conclusion: finding cheer in wine is folly and vanity.

Reddi Whip

Reddi Whip Company immediately got on the Johnnie Walker bandwagon and their take on joy is that if you have joy, sharing it brings more joy. Their ad was to show a winning Little League team sharing their winning joy with the losing team by smearing them all, and some food, with the whipped product in a massive food fight on the field.

Solomon said that apart from God who can have joy in their food? (Ecclesiastes 2:25)

Cadbury Chocolates

I said at the opening that joy is the new trendy buzzword but as Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.  Ten years ago, Cadbury Chocolates kicked off a content-led campaign including the titles of “Gorilla”, “Eyebrows” and “Trucks”.

The new direction moved CDM from being a manufacturer of chocolate to a producer of joy. It also created a debate around whether creating “joyful” content rather than “persuasive” advertising featuring chocolate actually works or not.  “Eating Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate mirrors the same physical and emotional experience of pure joy.” (Source)

Did it work? Did creating joyful content incite people to buy the chocolates as a joy-experience rather than simply buy an item to eat? Yes, their payback was 171% higher.

We know that Solomon said that all is vanity, striving after wind. We usually look at the word vanity but today let’s look after striving.

Striving in this context means longing or grasping after. Man in his endless enmity against God is always seeking to fill that “God-shaped hole in their heart”. As GotQuestions explains,

The “God-shaped hole” concept states that every person has a void in his soul/spirit/life that can only be filled by God. The “God-shaped hole” is the innate longing of the human heart for something outside itself, something transcendent, something “other.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 refers to God’s placing of “eternity in man’s heart.” God made humanity for His eternal purpose, and only God can fulfill our desire for eternity. All religion is based on the innate desire to “connect” with God. This desire can only be fulfilled by God, and therefore can be likened to a “God-shaped hole.” The problem, though, is that humanity ignores this hole or attempts to fill it with things other than God.

Joy is serious advertising business. In addition to Whisky, Reddi Whip, and Cadbury Chocolates, we have people expressing that “the last time they felt real joy was when they were a kid”, drinking Coke. A BMW is joy. Sherwin-Williams says the right color paint is joy. And so on. Hoy is important to people on earth. The restlessness in seeking it but never quite finding it is palpable and palpable.

Whisky, chocolate, desserts, toppings, money, career, toil, friends, sensual pleasures, all are vanity, said the preacher in Ecclesiastes.

There is a difference between possessing joy and experiencing its effects. One is permanent, the other is temporary. You feel joy in buying and driving your new car for the first time. In sharing the news you’ve been promoted. Winning the lottery and having more money. These things bring “an experience” of joy, but its effects wear off.

When our joy rests on an experience, it dissipates. Joy isn’t lasting when it’s attached to things that pass away. When we strive after things that break down, (cars), that disappear, (money), that don’t last (food…careers) the joy experience is seen to be what it is, wind.

Where is joy, then?

There is nothing new under the sun – except Jesus. His mercies are new every morning. The only true joy there is exists in Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9).

The verse is telling us that “The Christian’s joy is bound up with love to Jesus: its ground is faith; it is not therefore either self-seeking or self-sufficient” [Steiger]. The joy we possess is bound up in glory. It is an eternal, lasting, glory-joy that is inexpressible because its source is from God.

The outcome of our faith is Jesus Himself. Knowing Him is joy.

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

A Quiet Life

Posted on by elizabethprata

I have another blog called The Quiet Life. It is named after the verse from 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12,

But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Growing up, there was a set of unsaved women friends of my father’s who were loud. They’d drink a lot and then they got even louder. My father called them the Decibelles. Clever name, and apt.

I like quietude. I don’t like loud people, raucous laughter, a hectic home, or bells, horns, or traffic. (Jake brakes, ugh). I know, I’m picky, and sometimes unrealistic about how quiet I want things. But the Thessalonians verse is still important to me.

However, I learned that the verse doesn’t mean simply quiet in terms of decibels. Volume is not in view here.

In Walvoord’s Commentary on Thessalonians we learn that a quiet life means in terms of an inner restfulness.

First, his readers should lead a restful life. The word translated quiet (hēsychazein) means quiet in the sense of restfulness (cf. Acts 22:2; 2 Thes. 3:12; 1 Tim. 2:2, 11), rather than quiet as opposed to talkativeness (sigaō; cf. Acts 21:40; 1 Cor. 14:34). The former means “undisturbed, settled, not noisy,” while the latter means “silent.” Paul was telling the Thessalonians to be less frantic, not less exuberant.

A person who is constantly on the move is frequently a bother to other people as well as somewhat distracted from his own walk with God. The latter can lead to the former. But a Christian who strives to be at peace with himself and God will be a source of peace to his brethren. Such quietude constitutes a practical demonstration of love for others.

Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures.

Have you ever noticed what Walvoord mentions? A person on the move all the time is a bother to others? I have noticed that. There are people who are like a bird, flitting here and there, and never landing anywhere. I want to be a source of peace to others. I want to exude a quiet confidence that comes from the source of peace in my heart. We know that the peace Jesus brings is a rest from the long ar we had against Him as sinners. Now saved and forgiven, we no longer have enmity with God, but peace.

As John MacArthur preached on this 1 Thessalonians verse,

I mean, we live in an agitated, upset, disoriented, messed-up world so why would agitated, upset, disoriented Christians have anything to offer it? But Christians who are characterized by love, who lead quiet, peaceful, tranquil lives, who mind their own business with great care, and who faithfully discharge their duties as they were, are going to show a lifestyle to the world that may make Christianity attractive. Isn’t that interesting?

Yes, that is very interesting. Are you a source of clamor to others? Or a source of peace? Something to think about.

dinghy

Posted in prophecy, Uncategorized

Old Testament Prophets: Resources for you!

Posted on by elizabethprata

The OT is full of marvelous poetry, wisdom, history, narrative accounts, and of course, prophecy, like the prophecy above from Isaiah. As we know from the Bible, all scripture is profitable for correction, education and reproof. But sometimes the prophecies, which are embedded within ancient history, and sometimes use highly figurative or symbolic language, can be a challenge to read, understand and interpret.

I’d like to first encourage you all by saying that we have THE interpreter available to us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. If you pray and ask for wisdom when reading the scriptures, it will be added to you without reproach. (James 1:5).

The prophetic books can be a challenge though, and there is no problem whatsoever in consulting commentaries, historical books, or sermons from the greats that came before us. The Holy Spirit raised them up to inspire their generation and the generations after, namely, us. So don’t feel inhibited if after reading some passages that challenge you, and after prayer and your own study, in seeking good resources. To that end, here are a few suggestions if you are feeling intimidated by some of the less well-known prophetic OT books.

Dr. James Montgomery Boice has preached through almost all of the Old Testament prophets (of course many other books too). His simple, clear preaching carries the listener along in ancient days when the prophets lived and preached. You can hear him at The Bible Study Hour. Want to hear about Daniel? Habakkuk? Haggai? Other Minor or Major Prophets rarely preached on? All of his series are here. They are trustworthy.

Dr. John MacArthur is known for his Holy Spirit supported feat of preaching through every verse in the New Testament. It took him 42 consecutive years, beginning in 1969 and concluding with Mark in June 2011. Though he has not preached through OT books, he has substantively preached from many of them, notably Daniel and Isaiah. On the right is a list that is available of sermons from the Old Testament prophets (and other books) from John MacArthur. The sermons are transcribed, too, so you can follow along in print, print them out or download the sermon itself for later listening. The OT books covered by MacArthur are listed to the right. They are trustworthy materials, here.

Dr. S. Lewis Johnson is an excellent teacher of all texts and preached much of his career at Believer’s Chapel in Dallas TX. His sermons were recorded and remain free and open to the public. His sermons were also transcribed, so you can follow along or print them out if you desire. Many of the OT prophets are exposited through his calm and reassuring teachings, here.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached 133 sermons from the Old Testament thorough his fruitful career, many of those from the prophets. The list of MLJ’s Old Testament sermons is to the left. They can be found here. You can also search for his sermons by book.

Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Bible teacher on Truth For Life, which is heard on the radio and online around the world. His ministry is called Truth for Life, and his simple, clear teaching is always a joy to listen to. The British accent doesn’t hurt, either 😉 He can be heard here, and in addition to many of the prophetic books, Pastor Begg also has preached from Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Lamentations, books that also do not get a lot of love or attention. His OT list on on the right.

So I hope that helps for a list of credible sermons from the OT books, the prophetic books particularly. They can be challenging, but they are so worthwhile. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon said in his sermon ‘Christ in the Old Testament,

“The Old Testament was Christ’s Bible, and it is a Bible full of Christ.”

Enough said!

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

No matter the darkness, Jesus and His Light is with you

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Chris Powers at Full of Eyes, making free visual resources for the Global Church. More information about this ministry below

Psalm 13:1,5, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?…But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.“

In the darkest night of the soul, our hearts cling to the steadfast love declared on Calvary, and so have invincible hope in future joy.

full of eyesBy Chris Powers at Full of Eyes (fullofeyes.com) and Youtube. About Full of Eyes:

Full of Eyes is a ministry that seeks to create Christ-exalting, Biblically-submitted, heart-haunting imagery about the glory of God in Christ. This looks like creating free animations, study guides, pictures, and tracts intended to serve the Global Church in its work of evangelism, discipleship, and missions.

Check him out at his website or support his art work on Patreon.

Posted in prophecy, Uncategorized

Oliver B. Greene on the pre-tribulation rapture

Posted on by elizabethprata

 
(This essay first appeared on The End Time on July 10, 2014.)

Oliver B. Greene published a wonderful verse-by-verse exposition of Daniel in 1964. I’ve enjoyed reading it, because the book of Daniel is so hard for me to interpret. I was struck by Mr Green’s certainty and fervency regarding the pre-tribulation rapture.

A Pre-Trib rapture is biblically correct. The rapture itself has been in the bible all along, notwithstanding assertions that it was a made-up doctrine from the 1800s. And the rapture’s timing happening prior to the Tribulation has always been biblically evident too. It was only lately that man began to shy away from the clear teaching of this and muddy the waters to the extent that people now are hesitant to be dogmatic about it- so much so that they think they are being pious to show uncertainty. Look at Mr Greene’s statement on the subject (I kept his exact emphases):

The Great Tribulation has nothing to do with the church; the Church will not enter or go through any part of that terrible time. Any preacher or teacher who suggests that the bride of Christ will be subjected to any part of the reign of the Antichrist is definitely wrongly dividing the Word of Truth. God pity the preacher who will accuse Jesus of allowing the Antichrist to reign over His bride-and the Church IS the bride of Christ!

We have the blessed promise, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10).

In the writings of Paul we are promised. “For God hath not appointed us to WRATH, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:9). The Great Tribulation has to do with the nation of Israel, not with the Church.

If the Church were to enter or go through any part of the tribulation, believers would be commanded to watch for Antichrist, not for THE CHRIST. We would be commanded to watch for the great tribulation, not to wait for God’s Son from heaven. (1 Thess. 1:10).

Posted in book review, Uncategorized

Book review: Randy Alcorn’s Deadline

Posted on by elizabethprata

My summer began at Memorial Day and for most people the summer still has 5 weeks to go until Labor Day, the traditional ending of the travel and stay-cation season. My summer break from school ends on Monday, when I return to work on July 31. I’ve been making the most of the time off, after spiritual duties and pleasures, to engage in some of my favorite past-times: reading and movie watching. Here is a review of one of the books I’ve read this summer.

deadlineRandy Alcorn’s Deadline

First published in 1994 and re-released in 2009, I’d bought this book on sale for my Kindle.

Alcorn has written The Treasure Principle, a small book of his that I have and We Shall See God: Charles Spurgeon’s Classic Devotional Thoughts on Heaven which I have read. Alcorn is most well-known for his book Heaven, which explores in detail descriptions of heaven gleaned from all over the Bible, along with quotes and commentary from famous preachers and authors. Coming in at 560 print pages, Heaven is a hefty book, one which I’ve also read. Deadline was the first piece of Alcorn’s fiction I’ve read.

Deadline starts well with a fast-paced scenes setting the foundation of three men’s life-long friendship, all of whom figure prominently in the book, though reporter Jake Woods is the central character. The other two characters are Doc (Gregory) and Finney. As we learn of each man’s background, Alcorn also does well describing the scenes where Woods served in Viet Nam, getting inside the head of a soldier and a man. All three characters have been friends since grade school, and now all of them are near 50, established in their careers, married (or in Jake’s case, divorced) and have children. Along the way Finney has become a born-again Christian, while Doc (Gregory) has evolved into an atheist. Jake is on the fence. Alcorn does well showing the difficulty in maintaining friendships with people who do not share Christ as a unifying thread.

Early in the book, there is an car accident with the three men in the car. The rest of the book is consumed with unraveling the mystery surrounding the car accident, which Jake learns was no accident.

Finney and Doc eventually die. The rest of the book shows scenes in heaven where Finney is, and one short scene where Doc is shown in his place of torment. Meanwhile on earth, Jake and his police friend Ollie Chandler work to solve the car accident mystery that killed his two friends.

Review:

On a Kindle you don’t know how many pages you’ve read, only percents. I’d noticed that the first 1/8 of the book moved fast, the opening scenes among the men, jungle in Viet Nam, and the accident itself were very interesting and gripping. And then it bogged down. I read and slogged and read and noticed that I was only 17% through. I looked up the page length online and the print version is 448 pages.

Using Jake’s interview and columnist skills as a pulpit, Alcorn exposits and expounds and preaches endlessly. As Jake the reporter gathers information for his column and interviews Planned Parenthood abortionists or NOW women, his interviews go on for pages and pages, exposition that exists only to preach at the choir and do not push the story forward, are laden throughout the book. These lengthy scenes explore journalistic bias against conservatives, abortion, AIDS (it was 1994), homosexuality, and teen sex.

The book could have been cut by 200 pages and been fine. I noticed that Publisher’s Weekly gave the book a good review in its original version but mentioned that Alcorn “is long-winded”. I agreed with Amazon readers’ few one and two-star reviews all mentioning the same thing- long winded preachy narrative bogs the book down.

  • “The book is more about “preaching” than it is about a story. I wholeheartedly agree with his stances, but way too much of it for my literary taste.”
  • “Can you say…Get to the point…”
  • “I found this book to be boring and “preachy”. The author goes on and on about abortion, teen sex, and the consequences of each. I am a Christian and I don’t need a 300+ page book to tell me of all the arguments against abortion and pre-marital sex. This is like preaching to the choir, if I wanted to read on the subject I would buy a NONFICTION book on those subjects.”

Since this was his first fiction book I thought maybe a good editor would help Alcorn with his next book in the trilogy, Dominion. Nope, Dominion is longer, coming in at 626 pages. The third book in his series, Deception, is 490. Really, no one needs to write a fiction book at 600 pages except maybe Stephen King.

I really enjoy a good Christian yarn but haven’t read a good one since (and don’t flog me for this) Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness. Alcorn can write well, as mentioned, the scenes in Nam and of the accident were great. The scenes at the end where the killers are hunting Jake are excellent, and several the scenes in heaven were breathtaking. But man, Alcorn needs a really good editor.

Not recommended.

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

Let’s stop supersizing “our dreams”

Posted on by elizabethprata

Megan Miller assures us that “God desires to fill our hearts with big dreams.”

In my opinion I believe He desires to fill our heart with holiness and righteousness of His Son.

Certified life coach Holley Gerth assures us that “there’s a God-sized dream knocking on the door of your heart”. Plus, she “shows you how to forget the lies and expectations the world feeds you and instead believe that God loves you and has even bigger plans for your life than you’ve even imagined.”

Before I was saved, I had not just big plans, I had huge plans for my life. After salvation, God showed me how puffed up those dreams were. Thank you, God.

Michelle Cox prays for us that that He might “Open God-sized doors so that I can accomplish those big things You want me to do…”

Now in addition to God-sized dreams we have God-sized doors? Why all this supersizing?

Paula Casill asks us “Did you know that your dreams and goals are important to God?”

Maybe so. Personally I can’t say with the same conviction as Paula does of what God considers important because I can’t read His mind, only see what He has declared important on His pages of Holy Writ. I do know He considers important being a follower of His plan and will, which is to pursue holiness and be an obedient participant in His sovereign global and eternal plan for His Son.

I don’t know about the motivations of all these people who write book after book about having God-sized dreams. In fairness, some of them write about being obedient to God when the ‘dream’ (I wish they’d just call it a plan or a decision) means they want to do a big scary thing, like start an orphanage or to rescue sex-trafficked girls, or do missionary work in the 10/40 belt, etc.

But for many of them what they mean when they say we have a God-sized dream, is that we have a big, personal dream we want our Big God to fulfill.

Supersizing our dreams is not a good idea. Nowhere do I read in scripture that God has big plans for my life other than the already big adoption into the most perfect family ever, inheriting all things in the universe, and having the Perfect Father, Friend, Brother, Priest, and King who saved us from the wrath that we deserve. I think that is pretty big.

But it goes on. He makes a place for us, will give us perfect work to do that will not be toil, changes our desires from our own dreams to His (hint, hint, you God-sized dream people :)! And much more. He gives us His Spirit, His love, and grows us in holiness. That’s pretty big. Why isn’t that enough for people? Must we have huge dreams too? Must we encourage each other by saying God has huge plans for our lives? Because sometimes His plan for our life is not a fantastic rollercoaster of supersized dreams, but difficulty, humiliation, rejection, and heartache.

I think of the Prophet Ezekiel. “Ezekiel, God desires to fill your heart with big dreams!” He was living a nice life with his wife whom he dearly loved, and who was the “delight of his eyes”. Yet one day God’s word came to Ezekiel and God said in Ezekiel 24:15-18,

The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

Would today’s kind of evangelism-slash-encouragement about how God is going to fulfill your God-sized dreams given Ezekiel any help?

Isaiah was having a nice life. Did someone come along and tell Isaiah that “there’s a God-sized dream knocking on the door of your heart” that God wants to fulfill? No, in fact he was called to preach for many decades and told that no one would believe him ever- Isaiah’s ministry would seem to be a failure. Worse, he had to go naked in public for three years as a sign (Isaiah 20:3-4) and many other less-than-dreamy sized things happened to Isaiah.

I think of the Prophet Jeremiah. Did someone come along and tell him that his “dreams and goals are important to God?” After his call to the office of prophet, things got very difficult for him. Same with Joseph, Moses, Abram, Hannah, Job…

In the NT, young Mary had God-sized dreams, the upcoming marriage to her betrothed and a nice life with children. However soon enough she was nearly divorced and disgraced, then had to flee her country for her life, live in exile, return and then as an old woman, see her Son crucified in a horrific manner. Saul/Paul had dreams, and he fulfilled them. He was at the top of his profession as a lawyer-theologian in the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee’s Pharisee. Then one day he was struck blind, rebuked by the Living Jesus, and told he will be beaten and jailed in almost every city he comes to for the rest of his life. His life would be one of pain and suffering for the sake of the Name.

I think the biblical record and my own experience give me the confidence to say that after salvation, our personal dreams are either shown to be puffed conceit or are taken away and substituted with ‘dreams’ that are from God and in fact are personally difficult to follow. In many cases, the person’s life got worse after their call or after salvation. Why tempt people in evangelism or encouragement with something that isn’t really borne out in the biblical record?

My dreams are not God-sized. I don’t know what size they are. I pray that the Lord removes the fruit flies from my kitchen. I pray He will resolve my headache. I pray He will provide enough money for me to get to the end of the month. But are those puny dreams and wants? He said He will provide. (Matthew 6:33). He said to cast ALL our cares upon Him. (1 Peter 5:7). Trusting Him and obeying Him is huge.

When I pray for others, those dreams are puny also. I dream that the heart of my family be converted to Christianity. The heart, how big is it? Small. 9 ounces? 5 inches? It’s a small thing, the heart. But a very big God can convert that heart from one of stone to one of malleable, forgiven clay. Conversion is a God-sized dream. I pray He will use me as salt and light to show Himself to others. Salt is small, but God makes it big when He uses it. Puny sized dreams aren’t they? But they are God-sized because only God can do those things.

Are founding orphanages and witnessing with a scimitar aimed at your head the only kind of “big dreams” one can have? Isn’t salvation a God-sized dream? We should hear more about those kind of dreams.

Are my dreams lesser, smaller, just because I dream of having a quiet and modest life, persevering in faith in the day-to-day mundane? 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 2 Thessalonians 3:12, 1 Timothy 2:2 say otherwise. Tell a homeschooling mom of four that God has God-sized dreams for her and she’ll likely say that a shower, or a nap, or putting on clean clothes at some point during the day or eating a meal all by herself from start to finish is good enough dream.

So let’s stop rambling on about the size of our dreams. Let’s dispense with personal dreams and focus on Jesus and His commands. If we intuit that the “dream” in our mind is one that Jesus put there, whether it is to stay behind and live a quiet, comfortable life within our sphere that has little regional influence, or is one that makes a huge splash in the difficult areas of the world, so be it.

As for dreams themselves, the Bible says,

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. (Proverbs 16:3).

dreams