Holy Spirit – 153 Fishes and Me

A Dream in Which God Showed Me Something

This dream occurred a few nights ago and for some reason I didn’t write it down until now. Usually I like to record dreams that I find to be powerful or significant right away so that I don’t lose any detail.

In this dream, God permitted me to see what it was like for him to have to condemn sinners to hell. He made me see it through his eyes and see how very sad he was that he had to condemn these people, because he had created them and knew them all personally. He wanted nothing but the best for them but they chose a life of sin. They were given chance and chance again to turn their lives around but they chose not to. Free will is real.

It really hurt him to see them go to a place of everlasting suffering. I felt his immense power and strength but I also felt the overwhelming sadness when one of his children was condemned. And there were many.

I awoke from the dream with a new perspective, of course. We have always heard that he knows us all individually and that he cares for us as well (see this link for Scriptural references) but I got to witness it and feel it first hand (you know how real dreams can feel).

Are these dreams from God? I believe so. The Scriptures tell us that dreams are one of the most common ways he speaks (Numbers 12:6) and that they are made accessible to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:16-17).

I always feel blessed when I have dreams that involve the Lord or Jesus. I often will pray at bedtime that he reveal something to me as I sleep.

~ Brad

Why Have Jewish People Not Accepted Christ as Their Saviour?

I was laying in bed last night and this question occurred to me, as it has many times before. As a Christian I have always respected Jews as “The Chosen People” and have respect for their culture. I am not angry at them for “killing Jesus”, like some people are, because that was the prophecy. That was what was supposed to happen according to the good book. Just like Israel falling, being scattered and then reforming, it has all come true.

I ended up Googling my query and came upon some forums where people discussed the topic. I then ended up with two videos. The first is a Jewish man explaining why Christ is not accepted as the Messiah.

His reasoning seems pretty flawed to me and subject to argument. I searched further and found a different video that shows why they are having a hard time connecting Jesus with their Bible. It’s because Isiah 53 is a chapter that has purposely been withheld from them. The video below is made by a Jewish fella and really does a fantastic job of walking a handful of people through this fact. It’s a powerful video that I highly suggest watching.

As you can see for yourself at the end of the video, 500,000 Jews have formally adopted Christ as their savior so it can happen and is happening.

A Thought Occurred Me Today – What Earth Actually Is

I was laying in bed this morning and thanking God for another day on his beautiful planet, something I try to do every morning, and this morning I felt the power of Lord moreso than most mornings.

As I lay there I could feel the warmth wash over me and I was unable to continue with my morning prayer. The power of the Holy Spirit made clear formulation of words hard to accomplish. That got me thinking about the seraphim (illustrated above) which constantly fly around the Lord in heaven. They are only able to repeat “Holy, Holy, Holy” over and over again. Perhaps they are so overwhelmed by the power of the Lord this is the only thought that gushes from them. I found myself only able to repeat those same words when the power of the Lord washed over me this morning as well.

This also got me thinking about life on Earth. Maybe it is a gift to be in a sort of outpost from heaven. This space allows us to have free will and to choose our path. If we were simply born into existence near the Lord our God we would be heavily influenced by his sheer power. Here, you are in as neutral an environment as you can get. You can choose good or bad. You can prove to the Lord that you want to be with him.

‘Earth is a middle-ground’ or ‘a testing-ground’ is a concept most all Christians are familiar with. The cynical may try to look at God through human eyes and assigning him human thoughts, so they think there is some self-entertainment motive there. To look at the God, who is almighty and all good, in that sort of way is blasphemous. We will never be able to understand the mind of the almighty. The best we can do is worship him and pray.

Near Death Experiences from Very Credible Scientific People

Some of the better near death experiences (NDE’s) or after-life experiences you will ever hear are from people who were either skeptics or are trained and practicing scientists. They have solid reputations and there is no angle to be had by confabulating a story.

Today, I want to share two of those stories here on this blog. Both are profound. Both occurred to Doctors. One Doctor was a witness and the other experienced it first hand.

It can be said that since these guys went on to write about their experience and sold books and that this was their angle the entire time. But I assure you that that they were making great money already and did not want to invite the inevitable ridicule from their colleagues.

Hippie Girl Finds Jesus in Most Unconventional Way

One of the Youtube channels to which I am subscribed belongs to a documentary filmmaker who was very active from the 1960’s until the 2000’s. He often posts interviews he conducted of people who were young adults in the tumultuous 1960’s.

Recently, he created a mashup of people giving their interviews and released it on Youtube. One woman in particular really stuck out to people, so much so that they contacted the filmmaker and asked him to post her entire interview. He obliged.

From the moment you hear and see this person speak you will be able to tell how intelligent, bright and well-spoken she is. Her path to finding the Lord Jesus Christ is so very interesting. She basically had to take the long way around but she had one experience that is truly fascinating and was powerful enough to make her a follower of Jesus for the rest of this life. Please enjoy.

Listening to the Word on Your Mobile Device

One Place really Does Live Up to Its Name – This is not a paid endorsement

Two of my preset stations in my automobile are set for local Christian stations. They rotate modern Christian music in with sermons from nationally renown (and sometimes local) preachers.

As far as streaming to your mobile device goes, there is one app that really does a fantastic job. Its called OnePlace. They also have their website OnePlace.com from which you can stream. Its totally free and you can play in the background while your screen is off. I usually do exactly this when I am walking in the trails to get my daily physical exercise.

Two preachers in particular that I love listening to are Adrian Rogers and Dr. Charles Stanley. What I love about these two gentlemen’s message is that it is not sugarcoated. They specifically rail against softening the message in order to attract as many followers – like other famed personalities do. Mr. Rogers specifically will get very excited at times and his voice will become powerful and really drive home the point he is making.

I hop this information helps you find the message you are looking for and helps you deepen your devotion to Christ.

Fearing God – What Does it Mean?

I was going for my nightly walk through the wooded and sandy trails of nature while listening to a video on Youtube. Sometimes, you don’t have to actually watch the videos as they are great for listening while doing other activities at the same time. Anyhow, this particular video is from a preacher named Francis Chan. He is on my radar because I watched some of his videos on Right Now Media, a free Christian media service.

Anyway, my opinion on Francis is this: He is empowered by the Holy Spirit. He speaks with such conviction and certainty he must be. I also think that he isn’t afraid to say what he thinks. I think the way he is able to speak to young people, in their own cadence, is a gift. Continue reading Fearing God – What Does it Mean?

Prayer Book from 1915

Now that we are all stuck at home, I have had plenty of time to go over items in my folders and steamer trunk. It is fun going through old pictures that felt like they were taken yesterday but are actually from 25 years ago.

I came across a very important keepsake of mine. My great grandfather’s prayer book from the year 1915. My grandmother gave it to me and she has held on to it all these years so I was honored when she let me have it.

It is pretty well weathered but is still in OK shape considering he carried it around so much. I have included some photos of it below.

The folded marked page has “Prayers to be Used in Families: Morning Prayer” and is followed by what many of us now refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer”. Continue reading Prayer Book from 1915

Never Underestimate the Power of Your Intercession

Contributed by Gary

This story took place in 1982 in Omaha, Nebraska

At this time, I was working at the school where I had attended as an art student.

There were two young men both of which were around twenty-two years old. They both had been involved in the occult, one to a much higher degree than the other. They new of my faith and would at times question me. This day they came to my office to have me check some of there work and started to ask questions again and thus a new story began. Continue reading Never Underestimate the Power of Your Intercession

Holy Dream from Last Night

Contributed by Brad

I had a dream I traveled domestically and when I came back to my home airport I had then accidentally got on a flight that took me far overseas. I was panicked to say the least. The people on the plane were trying to comfort me and did a good job.

Finally somehow, I ended up in the Middle East and I was trying to find my way back. The airport resembled more of a children’s circus than an actual airport. I was with a young woman who I could not quite identify (You know how dreams are, they fill in some blanks later). We were then taking a tram of some sort. A guy overheard our conversation and said he would help. The girl had to go somewhere else and it was just he and I in the train car. The were no doors in this tram car and they were small. They would fit 6 people max, like a theme park ride.

Suddenly, I look in the background and saw a huge towering church steeple, but it was indoors. I was overcome with the powerful feeling of God himself and began to cry in happiness. There was a super bright light up high. The guy with me, his demeanor changed and he said “its alright, let it out.” Afterward, he agreed to drive us to some of the areas holiest areas for money. We agreed. Continue reading Holy Dream from Last Night