Do You Hear What I Hear?

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought I'd take a few moments and update on what's been happening in my life, and more importantly, the life of the people of God.

I'm very tired right now...not to whine or complain, but the last 2 weeks have been made of nights filled with dreams (which doesn't really allow for much REM sleep, and thus, rest). And quite honestly, they're getting more and more descriptive. What was once just a handful of images and the odd face here or there has become a series of dreams with amazing amounts of detail. Often, I find myself taken back by how much I recollect of the dreams, and I can't help but think that God is trying to tell me something. And I don't mind saying that though these dreams seem silly when describing them to others, in the moment, they're very real and quite frightening.

I also can't help but think of the passage in Joel 2:28-29, in which the prophet of God speaks God's own point-of-view of the future.

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit."

Now, I'm not one to make it sound like "hey, it's me, Jimmy...you know, that super cool guy who dreams dreams and sees visions? Yep, that's me!" However, I do wonder if God is not using my dreams to not only speak to me for me, but also for the world I'm in. Come to think of it, I have experienced more of an urgency in almost every area of my life to be a "fuller" vessel, someone who is zealous AND knowledgeable in the Word and who has a great heart to see the world around me change because of the Christ who lives in me. I'm really dying to see this kind of change happen.

Honestly, nothing else matters to me.

And let's talk about the Bible, eh? Remember my post about the lame beggar, how when we even turn a little tiny bit towards our Creator, He immediately sets us to a task that He knows we can handle and will stretch our faith? There is NO growth apart from the Word of God, and now, for the first time in my life, I see it...we ask for answers, and yet we don't want to look at the place they're waiting for us in. I'm not here to berate anyone on their study time, or lack thereof, but I assure you, I've found that reading the Bible is a MUST HAVE for my daily sustenance. Grab a good, godly commentary, talk with trusted ministers and Christians (preferably older in the faith than you are), and dig in. The more I read, the more I'm convinced that although the Church hasn't been doing many things right for centuries, God still has control and the remnant of His chosen people who love Him for Him are hearing His voice. I don't know about you, but I want to be one of the remnant.

My heart has been struck with a passion to worship Christ, too. This sounds really bad at first, especially coming from a leader of worship, both in my home church and on the road, but I assure you, it's real. It's amazing how little I really know, and how much Christ really wants me to know. How compassionate and patient He is with me!

It's March now, and there are so many other things going on right now in my head and heart that I can barely keep them in order. But, the wonderful thing of it all is this: Christ is changing me. Not church. Not a particular subject study. Not a great band or a stunning speaker. Not even the people around me. And I can almost hear some of you out there asking, "But Jimmy, doesn't Christ speak to me through all these things?" And my answer is "yes." But that's not enough anymore.

You see, I've typed all of this to get to this one vitally crucial point: The mature Christian, the true man of God, the lover of Christ is the one who spends time alone with Christ and learns to hear from HIM first...then all the other modes of communication are just icing on the cake, or rather, more and more reassurance that what happened in private actually took place. I'm ready to hear the voice of God speak to my heart directly from His with no middle-men. That's not to discount the way He uses other people or things to speak...rather, it's a wake-up call to go deeper with Him until all the other ways He speaks shore up the truths He's told us in secret. It's intimacy, really.

Think about it...Christ went up to be alone on hillocks, mountains, and the countryside to hear the voice of God the Father directly. And it WORKED. And we're told to be holy as He is holy. It can be done. My challenge? To listen for God with only His Word as your source of hearing. Get in there and grab the answer He's already ordained you to have from the foundations of the world.

I hope you're excited. I know I am. And by the looks of this post, though it be piecemeal and scrapped together, I can see the outline of a beautiful story being told, and I'm just waiting for the next piece of the puzzle. Tell someone you love them today. Share what God's saying now to you. And go somewhere by yourself to hear Him tell you what you'll tell them next.