Fresh Mannaby Pastor Tim BurtIt’s fun to dream. I'm not talking about sleeping dreams. I mean dreaming of things we desire in our hearts—imaginations of what we want to accomplish and what we hope our future will look like. Dreams help propel our hearts and our outlook and energize our motivation with a greater sense of direction and focus. It’s only when dreams never seem to come true that we become afraid and put up walls to serious dreaming because we can’t take the disappointment. Proverbs 13:12 TLBsays, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy.” Proverbs 13:19 NLT echoes this truth that dreams are good. It says, “It is pleasant to see dreams come true…” I've separated the first half of that verse from the second so you can momentarily focus on each half. It is pleasant to see dreams come true! But this verse finishes revealing why dreams often don’t come true. “… but fools will not turn from evil to attain them.” People pursue dreams for many reasons, the majority of which have to do with making themselves happy or rich. That's where the problem lies. Mark 8:36-37 NKJVsays, "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?” Some of the most incredible man-made inventions, scientific breakthroughs, and medical discoveries happened because of people looking to help others—not themselves. That was my desire when I created and patented the very first commercial infant changing table you now see worldwide on public bathroom walls. Parents needed a place to change their infant. Why did I think that? I did because I had four children, each two years apart, and no matter where we went, we often needed a place to change a diaper. And that was my dream—to create the invention that would solve that problem and be a gift to parents everywhere.
When the love of God for helping others is the motivation for your dreams and life, God fuels your dreams. He ignites your vision. He helps guide your steps and moves you toward your dreams one step at a time. He does so because you are focused on building a better life for the world and for those Gods placed in your sphere of life—not just to obtain riches and blessings for yourself or your family. 1 John 4:10-11 (NIV) says,"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." When that kind of love fuels you, God promises to bless you in what He leads you in. Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV reveals God’s purpose behind our success—the establishment of His covenant, which is us representing Jesus and the gospel on this earth. “But you shall remember the LORD your God: for it is He that gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto your fathers, as it is this day.”
Proverbs 13:19NKJV says, “…a dream accomplished is sweet to the soul! For some people, in order for their dreams to come true, they will need to take classes or lessons, or get coaching and then practice what will help them succeed in their dreams. When I retired from 35 years of pastoring in 2017, I immediately began to pursue an unfulfilled dream. I went back to school. I enrolled in the University of Minnesota's Master Gardening program and became a master gardener, a volunteer program designed to be a blessing to others. It had been a dream I knew I wanted to pursue when the time came. It was sweet to my soul!Some need to quit wasting so much time thinking and step out and pursue what they truly want to do. Others will have to begin reading a book and studying or taking some classes. Others may need to develop technology skills in order to pursue the dream that stirs in their heart. There are so many people who have let themselves slip into life's unprofitable time-wasters that they've become the fools mentioned in Proverbs 13:19. “…fools that will not turn from evil (or the unprofitable) to attain them (their dreams.)”Don’t let the devil steal your dreams and joy with unprofitable time wasters or practices. Begin to pray and ask God for the grace to prioritize what would help make your dreams come true, and hate and despise the time wasters and unprofitable things in your life. It took five years to receive my first patent, and I knocked on a thousand doors before I could get people to believe in the need for a commercial infant changing table. But after five years, McDonald's took off with it and then every Sears in America. And now you can't find a public restroom without one!God will help you because He shapes your desires when your heart is to glorify Him and serve others! As you pursue your dreams, ask Him to help you be a light for Him along the way, praying, seeking His wisdom, and having faith in His love and leading you in every step!Psalms 37:4 (NLT): "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires."In His love,Pastor Tim Burt
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