Interactions with God #87
In the third dream, I found myself standing in space. Yes, standing in space, even though there was nothing to stand on. I was facing the planet earth. Sitting next to me, as if on a bench, was Jesus. He was on my left, while the earth was right in front of me.
It was huge! It was also incredibly bright and colorful. I could see the blue of the oceans, the green and brown of the land. Great white wisps swirled around it. It was more brilliant than any picture I have ever seen of our planet. The most amazing thing to me was the atmosphere. From my vantage point, it was thicker than I would have imagined. It gave the entire planet this bluish glowing halo. I remember feeling seriously impressed.
I looked to my left at my Lord, then back at the planet, than back at Jesus. “You know…You did a really nice job here!” He replied, “Thanks!” Then I woke up. Ok, so on the surface of it, this dream didn’t seem to imply much. Yet, it was loaded. As I said in the two earlier Interactions, this dream also tied all three together.
The message I gave in December of 2000 to the church body of Vineyard North Phoenix was called “Aiming for the Center”. It is still, to this day, my most favorite of the messages I have ever had the honor of delivering. I used to have a tape, but I gave it away. I tried to get a copy from the church office several years ago, but they never seem to remember to get it for me. I finally gave up.
The message was simple. Sin, as is widely known, means “missed the mark”. It is an archery term. The mark is Jesus, who should be the center of our ALL THINGS. This is what He said when He spoke. It is clearly recorded as such in the scriptures. Like any target, this target also has rings. Rings are what guide us to the center. The bible is a ring. Creation is a ring. Church fellowship is a ring. I listed off quite a few that Sunday night. The rings are not the target, but they are needed to guide us to the target.
Sin is the result of missing the target. Though aiming at the rings will also make you miss, the worst reason we miss is because we are aiming at the wrong target to begin with! If we have a poor understanding of God, His love for us and His purpose, then we will find ourselves aiming at a god who is not God. We need to KNOW God. The only way to KNOW God is to seek God. That desire is what sets the arrow to flight. It is the bow.
In the first dream, I struggled with apprehension over how Jesus looked at me. In His appearance, His attitude showed that meeting me was no big deal to Him. It shouldn’t have been for me either. That was the main point of the dream. My view was wrong.
The second dream, I was the pregnant female warrior living in a glass house. I was struggling in a fight that I really didn’t want, but knew I must do. The fight was my struggle to obtain a closer relationship with God. I fought my evil desires, my past and many other foolish thoughts concerning my stature with God. All this to get closer. My struggle is not necessary.
The third dream was the key. I was ALREADY in a close relationship with God. He wasn’t just my God, my King and my Lord. He was my pal. He IS my best friend! Jesus and I have known each other for years! Why would it be any other way? This errant view of ourselves is the greatest deterrent to where we aim. As he said to me once before several Interactions back. The problem is on our end…
Look, He knows your sin. He knows your past. He even knows your future. He knows what you think. He knows who you hate. He knows what you lust after. He KNOWS you better than you do. And He still LOVES you! His only requirement is that we turn to Him. He takes care of the rest.
The aim, the means by which we target the center, is faith. Faith in Jesus, who He is, what He is like, and what He can do. Using the rings we begin to see the target clearly. When we see Him clearly, we will grow in the faith needed to center in on the target. With the desire to connect with Him, we let it fly. How can you miss?