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Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Universal Life Church

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What Do Dreams Mean?

I am not feeling well tonight. I took some Niqel and laid down to go to sleep and couldn't. I came over to the computer and a very loud thought came to me, "What do dreams mean?" So, here is the momentary inspiration that came to me. I believe this is for someone in particular, however maybe you will get inspired or encouraged from it.

What do dreams mean?
Have you ever wondered this? Sure we all have the dreams that make no sense. Others we have inspire fear, confusion, weeping and laughing. These are not the dreams that I speak of. In my opinion most of our dreams are a way our mind blows off steam and helps us start each day with a clean slate.

There are dreams that are inspired by evil. We live in
a world of two realities: Physical that is experienced though our physical senses and spiritual that is experienced by our spiritual senses. It is important to be able to wash something’s from our mind and know that it is nothing but an attack and attempt to gain access to our thoughts to bring fear and confusion. These dreams, that leave you troubled -- pray over them, walk with caution and entrust it into the hands of God. Rebuke the Devil in Jesus Name, plead the Blood of Jesus and quote scriptures of praise and hope. Sometimes the Devil shows his cards when he attacks you in your dreams and you are able to walk with wisdom and no what ever he says, there is no reason to fear because he is a liar and the father of them.

Dreams that mean something, what do they mean?

I have over the years had a number of dreams that have stuck with me.
A few I can recall small details and they played out in my mind like
a riddle that caused me to ponder over them and wonder, “What does this dream mean?” I have met a few people that seemed to have some insight into dreams, however more often than not; I still was left a little unsettled, because I knew this was not the meaning of it.

In living for God, often a dream can be the source of confusion, because we grasp on to some detail of it, and when things don’t pan
out just like we anticipated our grip on where we are can be shaken.

An example of this is when I was in Bible School; I had a dream of my future wife and I. We were married and living in a house that we in time moved in when we got married. In this dream, I came in and found a little red headed girl greeting me. So, for the time that transpired from this dream, I always knew I would have a red-headed little girl. Over five years transpired and my wife and I got married, moved into this house that was in my dream and we were expecting our first child. We chose not to find out ahead of time, and I basically told everyone, “I know it will be a red headed little girl.” That day on delivery, I walk through the door and I am as much surprised as happy when I am carrying a silver haired little boy. I remember that moment in the delivery room, and the Doctor is holding it up by his little leg, and I see as he proclaims, “Mr. Phillips you have a baby boy.” I remember saying, "I thought it would be a girl."

Many of the things in this dream came true, but the ending of the dream and my interpretation was not true. I still don’t know what that little girl means, however I know that God gave me the dream, but it did teach me a lesson way back then, “Things are not always what they appear.”

If you look back in scripture, the dreams God shares with us are an allegory of sorts and leave the dreamer in wonder. That is one thing that I pinpoint as a dream that has meaning in it, because there are facts in it that cause me to go hmmm. And I am able to recall it into the day and days later.

The next thing, is unless God wants you to know what it means, the dream serves as a confirmation for some future event that God has ordained and planned for you.

Example, I have a friend who a few years ago was assisting a large thriving church. In the dream he walks out, or sees out the doors of the Church he is at then and looks into row upon row of cornfields.

People begin to walk out of the field and find salvation. He thought, “We are about to have a Revival here.” They did and are having revival in that church. However ironically, He recently was reminded of this dream. He now pastors and lives in a town that as far as the eye can see surrounding this town is row upon row of corn. The other day in prayer or ministry, God reminded him of this dream and it served as a marker of confirmation, ”I am in the will of God.”

It is my opinion, dreams are not meant to direct our lives, but later in life to bring confirmation of where we are and what we are doing.

Joseph, we don’t see that he ever understood the meaning of his dreams. He only told the details of the dreams; he did not ever elucidate the meaning. However, in that moment, when his brethren were kneeling before him he had a revelation toward his brothers, he was able to exclaim without laying blame.

This is important to grasp, our lives experience pain and hardship, however God is able to take the most terrible things in our life and use them to place us in circumstances where we could not have gotten otherwise. We should follow Joseph’s example and release the wrong and understand in faith, “I can be thankful for this, because it is setting me up for a special blessing.”

Joseph said it this way: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (KJV)

This is the purpose of most divinely inspired dreams. I would say this is the purpose of most things that come into our life from a spiritual source, prophecy, visions and Words from the Lord. Don’t relegate your life to a dream or a prophecy.

Live your life, take everything one step at a time and be led by God. Just as Joseph could not have conspired his way into a position, if it is a God given dream or prophecy it will happen if you will just do what is right.

Don’t second-guess where you are or what you are doing because of a dream you had years ago. There are some things we don’t know and never will know. It could be that the dream helped you in some unforeseeable way, warned you or prepared you for something that was about to happen or will happen.

The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.

What God has for your life is a plan of goodness and grace. Who can know what God is doing and the why of it all? At times I consider the little girl in my dream. I wonder over it and laugh at myself. I have many things that I am anticipating that are a product of something that was inspired by God through dreams and impressions in prayer.

I have one dream that the whole dream is a picture of harmony and peace then everything goes haywire. In the end, I have killed this giant and from its decapitated head I am pulling souls that it devoured. There is simply no way for me to know what the allegory of all of it is, but I do go forward in caution and confidence, knowing in the End I win.

For whomever this is for, don’t worry over the details of your dreams. Just keep doing what you know to do and one day it will all make sense. Until then, I am going to bed. Sweet Dreams,

In Him, By Him, Through Him,
Scott Phillips

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