Chris Howlett

Dream Dreams

"Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind.” – The Rolling Stones

Deep inside each of us is a God-shaped and God-birthed dream. It is a dream of who you could be, of what you could do, of how you could impact the lives of those around you. It is a dream of seemingly infinite possibilities. The sad thing is, though, that many of us have allowed our dreams to fade away. Life happens. Disappointments come. Destructive decisions are made. Possibilities seem to disappear.

But we forget that we serve a resurrection God, a God of redemption and hope. Just think about the dreams of the first followers of Jesus as his body lay in the tomb. Their dreams were dashed. Their hopes, seemingly over. They had scattered, hiding, fearing for their own lives. That’s what happened to followers of Messiah pretenders, they too died.

But God wasn’t through. Suffering was part of the journey, but it didn’t define the journey. Hope was not lost. Dreams would live again.

God wants to resurrect your dreams. His Word promises in Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (ESV). What is God’s dream inside you?

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Thoughts on Feast and Fast on Fat Tuesday

“Never forget that there are only two philosophies to rule your life: the one of the cross, which starts with the fast and ends with the feast. The other of Satan, which starts with the feast and ends with the headache.” – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Today is Fat Tuesday. I think the above quote is appropriate. There will be lots of headaches tomorrow due to overindulgence today!

Lent is upon us, a time of focussed self-inquiry. What in my attitude and behavior needs to change so that I can more fully reflect God’s goodness in the world in which I live?

Jesus told us that in order to follow him we would need to deny ourselves and take up our cross. Sounds like fun! But it actually is because it is the narrow path that leads to life. The other path, the wide one that most people are on leads to destruction and who wants that? No, I want to discern the way of the cross and follow Jesus.

The fact is that we are all sinners. Everyone of us has done our own thing, ignored God’s leadership, and rebelled against his good purposes. Each one of us has given into our shadow self, our false self, the self that is narcissistic and self-destructive. Because of the Fall, each of us is burdened with a sin-nature that opposes health, wholeness, and life. And, if we are to live the lives Jesus wants to set us free to live, then it will take a measure of self-discipline and focus in order rise above our brokenness and live in the light of the love of Jesus.

So this Lent, choose the way of the cross. Travel the path of obedience. Fast so you can enjoy the feast.

Wait? For What?

“The perfect time to start something never arrives.” – Jason Fried & David Hansson

I wonder how the apostles felt on the day of Ascension. The risen Jesus, their mentor and friend, and now they understand him to be savior, is leaving. He promises the Holy Spirit and takes off. But before he leaves he says to them to go and make disciples of all peoples. "Later guys!"

They must have felt so fearful and full of more questions. But Jesus, what should we do when…? How do we handle…? What about…? If Jesus had to stick around until all their questions were answered and all their doubts were overcome, the work of the Kingdom would never have gotten started. So, he left. And they got started.

What is God calling you to do that you’ve been waiting to do? Waiting for more training, more education, more courage. In the words of Larry the Cable Guy, “Git R Done!”

There will never be a perfect time to start a new ministry, start a new family devotion time, start a new small group. We need to learn that obedience is more important than preparation. Preparation is important, but in a very real way it is never finished. We prepare as we do, we learn as we go, we sense the empowerment of the Spirit when we take that first step. So, what are you waiting for? It will never arrive. Let’s employ our faith!