ENCOURAGEMENT 34 February 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida edition "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" is an excerpt of the famous speech delivered by Martin Luther King almost sixty years ago. "I had a dream last night, it was weird; is God talking to me?", so asked Julianne this morning upon waking up. Dr. King was sharing an aspiration, a vision, a desire and a hope for the future. My wife was explaining mental imagery and experiences, possibly a window to her subconscious mind, that transpired during sleep. Her experience was not something that occurred while sleeping but rather what kept her from sleeping. Spiritual dreaming Julianne is a seasoned spiritual dreamer. She can recount the most minute details of what her brain conjured throughout the night; moreover, they have a substantial shelf life, given she can narrate many of them years after their occurrence. One of my main duties as a husband is to listen attentively every morning to stories that often seem absolutely absurd, and I will listen! My consolation for participating in this ritual is that dreams are associated with building memory, processing emotion and mental housekeeping, among other benefits. But most importantly, this is the mechanism by which the Word and the Spirit perfectly align for her. The Lord speaks to her in a cherished, cozy loving manner, and I am blessed to be her earpiece. The "natural" reaction here is to track this path with some skepticism, given this is mostly foreign to me. My idea of "following my dreams" is to take a nap. How can one follow their dreams if they can't remember what they were? I can count on one hand the dreams I can remember throughout my lifetime. But I understand the Lord has used dreams throughout Scripture in a mighty way to speak to His people and to make His desires known. The Bible contains 21 separate dreams depicted in the books of Genesis, Judges, 1st Kings, Daniel and Matthew where the recipients experienced revelations, counsel and direction, words of caution and mostly the love of God. Thus, I am truly privileged to share life with a spiritual dreamer. Hearing God in unexpected ways On the other hand, God has to virtually "speak over me" to get His message across, for I take my verbosity from the public square all the way into my private camp. One can safely say that I love to hear myself talk, given that all of my reading, prayers and private doubts are expressed out loud; I have been talking to myself for decades. So, recently I was studying Scripture (audibly, of course) when I heard myself utter the question, "Who am I to you?" It was my voice, but they were His words and His query. Stunned, the room went silent in what seemed like an eternity, but in time I continued to cautiously articulate. And in the chapters that followed, I heard confirmation through His Word. "You are the bread of life, the light of my world, the door to salvation, my Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way and the Truth and the vine." Interesting, for I recognized the answers from prior Bible readings but never in response to this question; the context here contained eternal consequences. Eternal questions And today we find ourselves staring at the "month of love." Most trial lawyers always caution not to ask a question in court unless you know the answer, for fear it may "open the door" for the witness on the stand. So, when Jesus asked Peter "do you truly love me more than these?", it would be safe to say that He knew the answer. As we confront the commercialization and trivialization of the word love, we note the depth of the query to the apostle. Jesus knew that Simon loved him deeply despite the betrayal simply because Christ loved and knew him first....as He did me and you. Our minds cannot comprehend such intimacy; but we do possess a brain that is capable of loving Him despite its limitations. So I am now left with no earthly dreams and two basic questions... Who am I and Do you Love me? And as I struggle to follow through and live the answers, I also pine for the day when all my dreams will come true, when I will be able to commune with him for eternity. He truly is the God of Love. God Whisperer - Omar Aleman - Aleman and Associates
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