I Have A Dream
"Man your just dreaming now!" When do you usually hear that statement? It is usually made when someone says something that no one else believes will ever come true.
Dreaming is a fascinating thing that many people study and often come up with some strange ideas (Or at least strange to me) from those studies. Dreaming has been around I would guess as long as man has been here. We all dream. Not just dreams in the middle of the night that are just plain weird, but dreams for our future and plans that we want to see accomplished. We all dream of great things for our children. We dream big for ourselves.
I guess one of the most famous things ever said in the history of this nation had to do with a dream. It was delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. The following is an excerpt from the Martin Luther King Jr. Speech known to us as "I Have A Dream."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."
We have seen in our lifetime that dream of equality come to pass. I know that we are not in a perfect world and that there are still problems, but this shows me that dreams really do come true.
It is with that preface that I want to share a dream I have had this heavy on my heart for a long time. It was sparked again by some things that happened at Pepperdine concerning a subject that Martin Luther King Jr. was enamored with---UNITY. At Pepperdine, I witnessed a Christian church preacher and a "Church of Christ" preacher speak in the same pulpit in a show of love in Jesus Christ like I have never witnessed.
Here's my dream. You guys who know my area well who read this may say, "Man you really are just dreaming," but here goes anyway. I am dreaming that one day all Christian believers can meet together in a show of unity in the Shoals area. I'm talking about a simple meeting on a regular basis, even if it is twice a year, to show that we can get along "IN THE NAME OF JESUS." For once we would be showing the world that which I think goes on more than we think. We need to do what our Lord prayed for in one of His last utterances on this earth. He said, (John 17:20-21 NCV) "I pray for these followers, but I am also praying for all those who will believe in me because of their teaching. {21} Father, I pray that they can be one. As you are in me and I am in you, I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me."
His point was that all could come together in Jesus name and that until that happened (notice the "then" in verse 21) and not until that happened would people believe that Jesus was sent from God. I know that coming together in a building was not necessarily the point. Nor was it His point that all believe the same thing doctrinally speaking. I am simply saying that until we are able to worship together and get along in the fact that Jesus is the reason for who we are, people in the world will not listen to the saving message we have about Jesus.
I have a dream. I dream that we can one day put aside our differences and eat at the same table of unity in Jesus. That our names come off our buildings and Jesus be put in their place. I dream that leaders will rise up amongst us that will take us into a world where Jesus is magnified, I am humbled before Him and the only claim that matters is the death, burial, and resurrection. I have a dream of an understanding be prominent that says, "the grace that I receive like all other Christ-followers is my only hope of salvation." I believe then and only then will people be the most open to the message of Jesus that they possibly can be. I pray that God allow me to see that happen in my lifetime and TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOR ALL GOOD DREAMS!!
Dreaming is a fascinating thing that many people study and often come up with some strange ideas (Or at least strange to me) from those studies. Dreaming has been around I would guess as long as man has been here. We all dream. Not just dreams in the middle of the night that are just plain weird, but dreams for our future and plans that we want to see accomplished. We all dream of great things for our children. We dream big for ourselves.
I guess one of the most famous things ever said in the history of this nation had to do with a dream. It was delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. The following is an excerpt from the Martin Luther King Jr. Speech known to us as "I Have A Dream."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."
We have seen in our lifetime that dream of equality come to pass. I know that we are not in a perfect world and that there are still problems, but this shows me that dreams really do come true.
It is with that preface that I want to share a dream I have had this heavy on my heart for a long time. It was sparked again by some things that happened at Pepperdine concerning a subject that Martin Luther King Jr. was enamored with---UNITY. At Pepperdine, I witnessed a Christian church preacher and a "Church of Christ" preacher speak in the same pulpit in a show of love in Jesus Christ like I have never witnessed.
Here's my dream. You guys who know my area well who read this may say, "Man you really are just dreaming," but here goes anyway. I am dreaming that one day all Christian believers can meet together in a show of unity in the Shoals area. I'm talking about a simple meeting on a regular basis, even if it is twice a year, to show that we can get along "IN THE NAME OF JESUS." For once we would be showing the world that which I think goes on more than we think. We need to do what our Lord prayed for in one of His last utterances on this earth. He said, (John 17:20-21 NCV) "I pray for these followers, but I am also praying for all those who will believe in me because of their teaching. {21} Father, I pray that they can be one. As you are in me and I am in you, I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me."
His point was that all could come together in Jesus name and that until that happened (notice the "then" in verse 21) and not until that happened would people believe that Jesus was sent from God. I know that coming together in a building was not necessarily the point. Nor was it His point that all believe the same thing doctrinally speaking. I am simply saying that until we are able to worship together and get along in the fact that Jesus is the reason for who we are, people in the world will not listen to the saving message we have about Jesus.
I have a dream. I dream that we can one day put aside our differences and eat at the same table of unity in Jesus. That our names come off our buildings and Jesus be put in their place. I dream that leaders will rise up amongst us that will take us into a world where Jesus is magnified, I am humbled before Him and the only claim that matters is the death, burial, and resurrection. I have a dream of an understanding be prominent that says, "the grace that I receive like all other Christ-followers is my only hope of salvation." I believe then and only then will people be the most open to the message of Jesus that they possibly can be. I pray that God allow me to see that happen in my lifetime and TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOR ALL GOOD DREAMS!!
posted by Keith Davis at
11:16 PM
1 Comments:
Keith, I have been dreaming that for the Shoals area for a LONG time. Your class 2 weeks ago was really great when you talked about that some. Charles F class on Wendesday Nights on 1 Corinthians is awesome! It is amazing the problems they had back then are very similar to the problems we face today. Hang in there Bro! Alot of Creekside is dreaming the dream! CS
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