Category Archives: Dreams

January 27, 2009

I give you my life…

By Roye Glass

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I give you my life and all that I am  – But what have I to give  – So I hand you a candid photograph of this little boy  – ’cause I have nothing to my name  – But I can give you that. (Derek Webb, “Somewhere North”).  Photo taken while I was in Seminary (1994).

I began this post several days ago in “Where’s my Mind?“  While praying that day my thoughts went back to those days while in seminary.  It was a tremendous time of growth and testing.  (I’m not just talking about all the tests I had to take either).  God allowed quite a few tests in my life outside of the classroom.

So I hand You a candid photograph of this little boy  – ’cause I have nothing to my name…

If you spend anytime around me at all, you will know I talk alot about the past… probably too much.  The past that I think about is full of dreams serving the Lord.  Those dreams aren’t gone.  But God has me living in a new day. I choose to give Him my life.  To stand firm and to not let life steal what He purposed to give.  I choose to grow where He plants. 

If you do not read Oswald Chambers devotional My Utmost for His Highest, I highly recommend making it a part of your daily life along with reading your Bible.  These are a couple of quotes from today’s devotional,

“Consider the lilies of the field . . .” (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things…

…Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?. (January 26).

…But I can give you that.

Leave a comment | posted in Derek Webb, Dreams, Future, Hope, Obedience, Oswald Chambers, Trials and Testing, Trusting God

January 24, 2009

Embrace this God-life

By Roye Glass

It seems like for the past 5 years I have been running around in the same circle.  The circle I’ve been running now is well marked.  Kind of like the rut you find on the ground around a merry-go-round at the park.

Faith.  What does it mean to live by faith?  Do you really know what that means? That’s what I ask myself… and anyone else that may be listening.  I have these set of verses that keep coming up as I read the Bible.  It’s the same set over the past 5 years that keep surfacing.  My heart races a bit when I read them.  I remember situations in the past when I read them, prayed, waited, and acted. 

Read Mark 11:22-25 with me,

Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.”  (The Message).

“Embrace this God-life.”  I continue to hold on.  I question, “Do I really have faith?”  Mark 9:23-24 is another set of verses that continue to come across my eyes when I read Scripture,

23Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”

 24No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”

There’s this cry for something from within me… something that reaches out that gives me the assurance of meaning and purpose – which leads to me knowing I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.  This comes so easy for some… and so difficult for me. 

I think a part of the problem for me revolves around one of the words found in the Mark 11 verses listed above.  “Forgiveness”.  If I’m going to really embrace this God-life I’ve got to let some things go… and forgive.

Leave a comment | posted in Bible Reading, Calling, Confidence, Dreams, Faith, Forgiveness, Prayer, The Bible, The Message

January 20, 2009

Where’s my mind?

By Roye Glass

It’s somewhere north of here!

There are a few songs I really like to listen to when I drive… especially when I am going through a contemplative season.  It’s that season again.  “Somewhere North” by Derek Webb is one of those songs. 

It’s a muggy night in Houston
And all the intersections are like full service stations
I’m on my way to a familiar place
It’s cold in Kansas City
And you can no more hear me than I can see your face
How I wish it was just you and me

We wouldn’t have to talk above the crowd
We wouldn’t have to talk so loud

Chorus
I give you my life and all I am
But what have I to give
So I hand you a candid photograph of this little boy
‘Cause I have nothing to my name
But I can give you that

I don’t miss the driving
Seems like forever
And I’m always driving in my mind
And wearing out the road that gets me there

And I’m driving till my eyes just can’t see straight
But I suppose that it’s getting late

Chorus

I may never find the sleep
I’ve lost all feeling in my hands and
Feet may touch the ground but
My mind’s somewhere north of here

I saw Derek Webb perform at Berry College with Joel and Jason last winter.  Webb was awesome!  I don’t recall if he sang this or not… I assume this song is about a relationship with a girl.  I have another take on it for my life and will write about it in Part Two.

4 comments | posted in Christian Music, Conversation with God, Derek Webb, Dreams, Faith, Fear, Future

January 4, 2009

A time of waiting…

By Roye Glass

I can’t state it any better than Oswald Chambers.  My words I have tried to put together are worthless to go with this quote.  So, I’ll just let Chambers do the talking. 

There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.

At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move. (My Utmost for His Highest, January4).

1 comment | posted in Calling, Confidence, Conversation with God, Dreams, Focus, Future, Oswald Chambers, Vision, Waiting

December 28, 2008

Kyrie Eleison (pt. 2)

By Roye Glass

In The Message, Genesis 42:9 states, “Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them…”  I don’t know for sure but it sounds like Joseph didn’t dwell on the dreams.  As I read this verse, I began to think that maybe he had let them go but due to the circumstances he recalled the dreams he had.

It almost sounds like the dreams he had as a teen allowed him to understand the circumstances that he was  living in many years later while serving Pharaoh.  God was there all of the time in the middle of it all.  Psalm 1:6a, “God charts the road you take.” (The Message).  There is comfort knowing that no matter where we find ourselves God is there.  He is in the middle of all we experience. 

In Psalm 23 we read that God is our Shepherd.  W. Phillip Keller states in his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23,

To think that God in Christ is deeply concerned about me as a particular person immediately gives great purpose and enormous meaning to my short sojourn upon this planet. (17).

Yet the staggering fact remains that Christ, the Creator of such an enormous universe of overwhelming magnitude, designs to call Himself my Shepherd and invites me to consider myself His sheep – His special object of affection and attention.  Who better could care for me? (19).

Job has always fascinated me.  I still have a difficult time grasping his life and the things that transpired.  After-all he was a man totally devotedto God.  Yet through all of the circumstances in his life there was so much pain, disappointment, heartache, and gut-wrenching questions.  At the end of all of it all Job answers God.

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans.  You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’  I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head.  You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’  I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!  I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”  (Job 42:1-8, The Message).

Job – a man totally devoted to God – came to know God in a way he would have never known had the road he traveled not had a life changing struggle.  He got to know God firsthand through the devastation, pain, loss, and struggles he experienced in his life.

In Genesis 42:7, Joseph’s brothers bow to him – not knowing at the time that he was there brother.  His brothers sought food to take back to Canaan.  When Joseph reveals to his brothers who he is – he tells them not to despair over what they had done- that it was all in God’s plan.

“Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt. (Genesis 45:4-8, The Message).

My take away from reading these chapters is that Joseph remained true to who he was in loving God.  He stayed true to the purpose for his life… despite his circumstances… despite the things that had happened to him that made him a slave in Egypt…

Ultimately, Joseph’s circumstances were the result of the road God had prepared for him to travel.  Many times we blame others, ourselves for “bad” decisions, and we blame God for the circumstances in our lives (especially when the circumstances are less than desirable). 

When I was young I thought of growing old,
of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road,
or only wished what I could be

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I’m going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

1 comment | posted in Book of Job, Books, Dreams, Joseph, Mr. Mister, Psalms, The Bible, W. Phillip Keller

December 24, 2008

Kyrie Eleison

By Roye Glass

I want to understand more about how God has spoken to others through dreams.  As I read the Bible I am coming up with more questions.  I am reading in Genesis 37 and the chapters to follow about Joseph and the dreams he had been given as a teenager.  He was also given the opportunity to be used by God to deliver the interpretation of dreams.

As it pertains to the dream he was given, I wonder what ran through Joseph’s mind as he lived each day.  Did he know in his heart of hearts that his brothers would really bow to him?  Did he ever regret telling his brothers and father his dream?  Did he think it was going to take so long to see the fulfillment?  Should he have kept the dream to himself?  Did he prematurely speak about it?  No matter what the answers are – the dream was real and the dream became reality. 

But before the dream became reality – what was on the mind of Joseph?  How did he live the way he did… where did his hope come from?  Did the dream stay on his mind?  Did he never think about it again?  Was he looking daily for it to become reality? Or did a set of circumstances down the road bring him back to his teenage dream?

As I have been reading for whatever reason ”Kyrie” by Mr. Mister keeps playing in my head.  The words Kyrie eleison keep coming to my mind.  I realize Joseph was Hebrew but I wonder if he would have prayed these words, Kyrie eleison?  I’m sure in some way he must have prayed, “Lord, have mercy.”

(kĭr‘ēā‘ əlā‘ēsŏn‘, –sən) [Gr.,=Lord, have mercy], in the Roman Catholic Church, prayer of the Mass coming after the introit, the only ordinary part of the traditional liturgy said not in Latin but in Greek. It has nine lines: “Lord have mercy (thrice), Christ have mercy (thrice), Lord have mercy (thrice).” As the first invariable hymn, the Kyrie is often the first piece in a musical Mass. An English version is used in the Anglican liturgy and in the reformed Roman Catholic vernacular liturgy. The phrase Kyrie eleison used by itself is, of course, common in the Eastern rites, but without the phrase Christe eleison.The corresponding prayer in the Russian Orthodox church is often called a Kyrie.

Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie

The wind blows hard against this mountain side,
across the sea into my soul
It reaches into where I cannot hide,
setting my feet upon the road

My heart is old, it holds my memories,
my body burns a gemlike flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine,
is where I find myself again

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I’m going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

When I was young I thought of growing old,
of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road,
or only wished what I could be

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I’m going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I’m going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

1 comment | posted in Bible Reading, Conversation with God, Dreams, Genesis, Hope, Joseph, Mr. Mister, Random Thoughts, The Bible

December 20, 2008

Dream Keeper

By Roye Glass

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do something I don’t do anymore… Gas prices and time keep me from this activity. 

love, I get so lost sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place You are (Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”).
I was ahead of schedule for attending Walker’s Christmas party at school.  I indulged in the drive… I took the extra ten minutes and while driving I was reminded of a dream I had.  When I got to thinking about this I became to experience some great feelings of hope.  This reminder got me to thinking about Joseph… and all of the years, situations, and circumstances in his life before the dream he had became reality.

Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had. We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine.”

His brothers said, “So! You’re going to rule us? You’re going to boss us around?” And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked.

He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: “I dreamed another dream—the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!”  (Genesis 37:5-9, The Message).

God – He is the Dream Keeper.

2 comments | posted in Bible Reading, Conversation with God, Dreams, Genesis, Hope, Joseph, Peter Gabriel

November 9, 2008

Harvest Community Church/Soul Rio Celebrates….

By Roye Glass

…it’s 10th Anniversary.

So much of my life has been shaped by the 5 years of my life spent at Harvest Community Church.  I moved to Albuquerque with my family in September 1999.  We arrived not knowing what God had in store for us.  No home… no job… no money… no money… just my good friend Jason who was leading worship at Harvest and let us crash at his house the first couple of nights.  It was a rough start for us but God blessed the ministry and my life tremendously through Dan Lewis (lead pastor), Jason Taylor, and Mike Goff. Thanks guys for taking me in!!

This video tells the story of Harvest Community Church now named Soul Rio.

Leave a comment | posted in Calling, Church Planting, Dreams, Faith, Friends, Making memories, Obedience, Prayer, Small Group, Spiritual Growth

October 30, 2008

Do you live with vision?

By Roye Glass

At Catalyst, Andy Stanley quoted Michael Hammer in the quote below.  I now have it in my office.  This quote has challenged me about my own life vision… my dreams… my future.

When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near.

I have a good friend (Mike).  Mike is one of the most encouraging people I know.  I worked with him in Albuquerque.  There was this one phrase he said often that stuck with me.  Anytime we were getting ready to do anything he would say, “Let’s make a memory.”  Living with that mindset one is always looking toward the future.  Do you live with vision or do you live with the memories?

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Leave a comment | posted in Dreams, Focus, Leadership, Making memories, Vision

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