dream

What in the World Did I Eat?

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You know how we joke after having a bad dream about what we ate the night before? That is what I was asking myself the other day. The dream had me sitting in a classroom. Somehow, I knew it was a college class. I was sitting in the back of the room, which was usually my custom when I did attend college.

A humorous part of the dream was when the professor entered the classroom. Wallace Shawn portrayed that role. Don’t recognize the name? He is an actor who has played Dr. John Sturgis on the sitcom “Young Sheldon.” His role in the show is that of a nerdy professor.

In the dream, he walked into the room and asked, “What is the cost of a man?” After a few students attempted to answer his question, he began to write a series of formulas on the chalkboard. There were at least four rows of them. That is where he lost me! He came up with the solution of “0.02.” I’m not sure what that means. I woke shortly after that.

Whenever I have a dream that I remember, I will usually ask myself, what does that mean? I have taken a class on dream interpretation. Most of them are about yourself and tend to reflect what is currently going on in your life. In this case, I had to answer the question from God’s point of view before knowing why I had the dream. When that happened, I knew I had to share the answer in a blog post.

The cost of a man is “Jesus.” What? You see, God made man, and therefore man belonged to God, but God gave that ownership to man when He gave him “free will.”  When man sinned by disobeying God, man transferred that ownership to Satan. God did not want man to die in a sinful state and, therefore, perish forever.

So God gave man His only Son. Jesus came to Earth as a baby. He matured in the word of God and the ways of God. Jesus walked the area teaching others about His Father, about real love, and a better way to live. He promised those who believed in Him and asked for forgiveness eternal life. Then, after the religious leaders became fearful that Jesus’ popularity would take away their power and control, they killed him.

The cost for a man to have eternal life again was the brutal death and then resurrection of Jesus Christ. His death purchased the right for man to live eternally. But once again, God has allowed man, via free will, to decide for himself if he wants to accept His gift of His Son. Jesus’ selfless action of love is the only way to have the hope of true life, eternal life.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

The Cheapest Dream in Town

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Photo by: Paulo Diniz via Pixabay

Playing Powerball is popular in America. The jackpots grow these days to outrageous dollar amounts. Most people hope to win it. There was one such winner last night from California. They won $1.73 Billion. That’s, of course, if they take the annuity option, and yes, they have to pay federal and state taxes first. Otherwise, they can take a one-time lump sum, which would pay out much less but still more than most Americans can earn in their lifetime.

When the lottery topic came up in my old workplace, one man often reminded us, saying, “Playing the lottery is the cheapest dream in town!” He was right. And I have to admit I have played before and have joined those who dreamed of how they would spend it. I would first get out of all my dept. Then, I would give an offering to my local church and help some family members if needed. From there, I would carefully seek the Lord on what to do with it. (NOTE: I said “offering” to the church instead of a “tithe” because I would not have labored for the money. In other words, playing the lottery isn’t my job.)

Some people play because they are desperate to change their current life. Whether they are deep in debt for several reasons, need a life-saving surgery, or any otherwise impossible situation. They hoped their financial woes would end overnight. Others might play to make a large purchase of something they want but don’t need.

I have heard when someone wins a large sum of cash, they trade one set of problems for another. Like out of the blue, they have millions of friends and issues with family members who don’t get enough of the money to suit them. I heard from a trusted source that one wealthy and famous ex-TV host gets hundreds of requests daily for financial help.

“According to Ohman, most lottery winners spend all their winnings and end up in a worse financial position than before they won.”

That is sad to learn about most lottery winners. So what is one to do? For those who believe in God, it is better to put your trust in the Lord. He knows what you have need of and will provide it.

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat. 6:31-33 (KJV)

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Prov. 3:5 (KJV)

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Ps. 55:17 (KJV)

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
    with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
    and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Prov. 3:9-10 (NIV)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

It’s Christmas at Denny’s Tonight

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I dream of what my life might have been, if only…

Do you live with regret?  I could, if I allowed myself to.  I sometimes wonder what the church would look like if I had stayed on track and became the pastor I believed God had called me to be.  Would we, the people of the church be an Acts chapter 2 type of church?  Believing in, and walking out the power of the Holy Spirit.  Would we see souls saved daily?  What about signs and wonders?  If only.

But instead, I stopped holding on to, waiting for the promises of God, and I accepted the devil’s substitute for my life, because it was there, now, in the moment.  I just had to believe the lies he was telling me that it was okay.  Kind of like accepting the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  As I mentioned in my last blog post, Satan tempts or attacks us where we are weak.

Life didn’t end there, for me, as I imagined it would.  I could have become a shell of a man.  I didn’t.  I received God’s forgiveness, asked that his Spirit not depart from me, and moved on.  That is what one should do when things don’t work out the way we think they should.

I read a post on Facebook the other day.  A young woman just had a child in the hospital, but after returning home her and her husband came down with Covid.  The baby was fine, but had to be separated from his new mother.  The baby’s father had to return to the hospital, this time in the intensive care unit.  The young mother wrote something along the lines of, “We dreamed of hiking in the mountains with a tour guide.  But now we are hiking through this with the Lord as our guide.”

Life is not going the way they dreamed, but her focus remains on target.  On the Lord.

That is the only way to deal with potential regret.  Give it to him, and continue to seek him for guidance, for his leading.  He knows the way.  Life may feel like Christmas at Denny’s, but it doesn’t have to.  It comes down to your perspective.  Your view of life.  Is your current situation a set back?  A delay?  A roadblock, or simply a detour?  No matter what it is, God can speak into your spirit and say, “Recalculating.”  God knows the way.  He will get you through the storm and to the other side.

Trust in the Lord completely,
    and do not rely on your own opinions.
    With all your heart rely on him to guide you,
    and he will lead you in every decision you make.
Become intimate with him in whatever you do,
    and he will lead you wherever you go Prov. 3:5-6 (TPT)

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.