An Evolution of a Dream

When I was younger I had several dreams that I wanted to accomplish. One was to have a second home on the beach in Grenada. I wanted to be able to stay at this home for several months each year. Another part of this dream was to have a sailing yacht and be able to sail the Caribbean when I was down at the beach home. I wanted to earn enough money to decide what I did when I wanted to do it and with whom I wanted to do it with. I do not think there is anything wrong with having a dream like that except that it did not involve helping anyone else except in the context of making more money.

When I thought of these dreams I could almost smell the salt water and hear the waves on the beach. I could almost feel the rocking of the sail
boat as it moved through the Caribbean sea.

For some reason though I could not fully get motivated by these dreams. Something was missing.
I would not discover what that something was until I was in my 50s.

In 1999 my wife, Kat, and I began to attend a different church called the Vineyard Church located in Overland Park, KS. We had just left a church that we had spent over 15 years attending and we were beat up and discouraged. All we wanted to do was go to church each week and worship God and learn more about how He wanted us to live.

Over the next four years a vision of what He wanted for my life began to develop. Here is what I found the above dreams are not bad in themselves nor is a desire to make a great six figure income. What makes them wrong is having a motive to use that money for one's own personal pleasure while ignoring those who are in need. Money is not the root of evil but the love of money is ( 1 Timothy 6: 120 ). I found my dreams were based on making money but I was not achieving them because my heart was not in it.

A vision placed in my heart by God began to grow and I was moving from a purely knowledge based faith to a heart based faith supported by knowledge. I found that my dreams went from having a beach home and a sailing yacht to using the gifts and talents I have been given to help others.

At this point I have not fully achieved my dream but I am moving toward it a step at a time. I have formed a small group that ministers to men, a small group that ministers to couples and this blog called REAL Men RoCK. I do not believe my dream is a destination but a journey and over the remaining years of my life it will change as the Holy Spirit moves my heart.

Here is my vision today: I want to live in the modest home that Kat and I have while I serve others in whatever way God desires for me to. I want to be able to take Kat on a vacation each year to a place where we can be energized for the next year. I want to spend time with my grand kids and my daughter. I want my daughter and sons and grand kids to discover a relationship with Jesus and then grow in their faith. I want to grow old with Kat and die in her arms after living my remaining years serving God by serving others. I want to do these things as I focus on building the following dream found in Matthew 25: 34-36 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

I have already received salvation through Jesus Christ and that is the greatest blessing one can ever have and it is that blessing that drives me to the dream listed above.

I encourage you to take a long hard look at your motive for the dreams you have. What are they rooted in? Who will they bring glory to? I would be interested in reading about your dream and vision for your life.

The Devil Made Me Do It!!

Have you ever thought about how often we give more credit to the devil or evil forces than we do to God?

For example: I have heard Christians say I am being spiritually attacked and I believe we can be spiritually attacked. When I ask them what is going on they tell me they suddenly came down with a tooth ache or they had am important meeting at church but were late because of traffic.

Now I fully believe that we can experience spiritual attacks and even these the examples above could be a result of one. But what I am talking about is when we give credit to Satan for every problem or situation we find ourselves in. I truly believe if we really looked at some of the things we blame on the devil we would find that much of it is the result of either our or someone's poor choices, a lack of planning or just natural causes.

I believe we should be instead focusing mainly on those things that God has caused to happen in our lives and minimizing those things Satan or his kingdom brings into our lives. If we don't we will become like Flip Wilson's character "Geraldine".


I believe it is important to realize Satan and his kingdom can only do what God allows them do to and we find an example of this in Job.

Job 1: 6-7 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan, who was the Designated Accuser, came along with them. God singled out Satan and said, "What have you been up to?"

Satan answered God, "Going here and there, checking things out on earth."

8 God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil."

9-10 Satan retorted, "So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can't lose!

11 "But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He'd curse you right to your face, that's what."

12 God replied, "We'll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don't hurt him." Then Satan left the presence of God.

I think too often we are giving credit to Satan for messing with us when in reality we did not plan good enough, counsel long enough or life happened to us. I would rather focus on giving God the credit for the good things that happen to me and be equipped to battle when Satan does bring his forces against me. We find how to do that in Ephesians 6: 10-18.

A Fight to the Finish

10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18 Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

I encourage you to focus more on giving praise to God and less on giving credit to Satan for the hassles of life.