Friday, November 23, 2007

Bad Dream?



Dreaming


Dreaming, we all have dreams, dreams of one day have a family, one day have a home, one day go work for so and so company... But for us who are believers in Jesus do we dream about God? Do we dream about where God is taking us, how God want to use us, what kind of man or women God want us to mary to bring Glory to Himself?
I don’t dream about God like how I used to.

When I was first saved (2003), God given me a very clear dreams about how I can bring glory to Jesus. I remember my pastor Mark Hagen sharing us about George Whitfield, on how he would share open air about the cross of Jesus, without mic in front of thousands, how he would preach multiple times a day, even on his honey moon, he would still share at least once, on the last days of his life, he was so sick after sharing some one had help him to get on his horse, the day he died he still shared the grace of Jesus on the cross. I remember hearing stories of Charles Wesley, how he and his brothers in Christ would rode horses all across America going from towns to towns to share about the Cross of Jesus.


My Dreams


I remember there was an fire burning me up inside, while I was hearing those stories of weak man in the hands of the Great God, I remember pleading to Jesus, “Please use me like that Jesus! Let me just to be burned up for you Jesus!”

I started to have dreams on how God can use me to share the Good News of Jesus on that Cross, I want to work for an oil company that would send me out around the world, to the places people who have never heard or seen the love of Jesus, so I can share and show them the love of Jesus. I want to be married to a women who is just as sold out as me, who will come along side of me, who is everything that I am not, who’s strength is my weakness, and my strength is her weakness, so together we can reach this world for Christ in the way that we can never able by our selves. We would be together in a foreign nation on a mission, we each would build friendship through the love of Jesus with people we meet, we would invite our friends to our home to love them like Jesus, to share life with them, and to share this great God who died on the Cross for the sin of the whole world and to give life and freedom to who those who are enslave to sin. That together me and my wife would go and make disciple of all nations, and share the abound life Jesus has showed us.


The Great Commission

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-Matthew 28:16:20

What Happened


Since those days, its been about 4 years (2007), life continued to unravel, time flow by like snap of finger, I graduated from University, God given me an awesome job with an excellent oil company, I got to travel with work but to East Texas, Louisiana and South Texas. I dated girls and tried to date girls, who I thought had fire burning inside for Jesus, some of the relationships worked but I quickly realized they didn’t have that passion and desire to serve Jesus, and those who really seems to have a passion for Jesus nothing seems to worked out. I was teaching bible study on sunday morning with bunch of well off 13 year old kids from suburban Houston. I started to look at my dreams, did I dream them wrong? Was my dream too ambitious, was my dream too crazy, was my dream unrealistic...


The Venable Story


Recently on a trip to Florida to visit my best friend Richard Venable, and his beautiful wife Hannah. Me and Richard was reminiscent the old days in University of Texas, at that little dorm called Simkins, how we dreamed those crazy dreams. He had dream about Marrying Hannah, at that time Hannah told him “No, I never will have romantic feels about you.”, how Richard dreamed working for an video game company to make video games and impact people who make video games for Jesus with a 2.2 GPA.

How I dreamed to work for an well respected international oil company to be send out all around the world to share Jesus, with a 2.7 GPA.
How absurd, how crazy, how ambitious, how unrealistic was our dreams!?!? And now (2007), after two year of rejection Richard and Hannah is married, how despite of his low grades Richard is working for EA the world largest video game company, his name is already in the credits of Madden 2006, 2007, and now he and his wife Hannah is hosting a weekly fellowship time at their home on sunday nights. How absurd, How crazy, How ambitious, How unrealistic is our God!

God’s Dreams Will Not DIE!


After that trip visiting the Venables in Florida, I started to careful examine my dreams once again, I see that yes my company has not send me all around this earth, but they are providing me a generous salary, a generous vacation schedule so I can go to place like China, Cuba, and Italy to share the gospel of Jesus this past two years without the need to raise support, I just pray and God told me to go, I pick up my bags and I went, I see how God used me to bring honor, glory and praise to Jesus, how God used me to change peoples life, to love them with the love Jesus has shown me! I realized God wasn’t slow, He was fulfilling my dreams about Him already.

I realized my dream to have a Godly wife to be my helper in doing God’s work is not absurd, in fact that is the promise God promised to the first man Adam.


The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." - Gen 2:15-18


I can not settle for anything less.


A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.- Proverb 31: 10-11, 29-30


Even thru nothing have seems to worked out yet, but I can not give up, I can not give up dreaming about God, I can not give up dreaming about serving God together with a Godly women, a wife of nobel character! There is nothing wrong with desiring that type of women, I am suppose to be attracted to that type of women, who will be my helper doing the work God has laid out for me as He promised Adam.
I will not give up dreaming dreams about bring honor, glory and praise to my Savior Jesus who died on that Cross for me to give me a new life!

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14