When I was growing up, I remember reading about end times and God’s Word telling us about the signs of the times. One verse stuck out to me. It is found twice in scripture. I start with its second utterance, when Peter is filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He quotes the original writing from the book of Joel, who was a prophet, talking about the days when God’s Spirit will be given to man and not just an influence.
It was one of the drives that ushered me through my walk with Christ and onto attending Bible College in San Antonio, Texas. I lived in Pomona, California, at the time, I was in my twenties and striving to see the visions the Word of God spoke of, anticipating Christ’s return.
Fast forward and achieving the fifty-year benchmark, I’m having my share of dreams. Now, I’ve always had dreams; it’s what all my novels have been based on. One that I had during my college years stuck with me. I even wrote a short story about it. It was about a man dying, then realizing that he was dead, but never accepted Christ. It was too late. In that dream, I felt what it would be like to be eternally separated. It scared me.
Today, I am ashamed that I don’t share that with more people. There are so many out there who are dying without knowing Christ. There are too many who are lost and think they are safe because they know about Jesus. It is more than knowing about Him. It is about having a relationship with Him. Our sin separates us from Him and only confessing that sin and turning from it can save us.
The truth is that it is simple, but it is a decision that needs to be made that could be complicated. We are the ones who make it harder than it needs to be. Why? Because we are human and want to hold onto our old lives. Or rather, Satan wants to hold onto us and tries to fill our minds with anything that will get us to doubt the freedom we will feel by surrendering our lives to Jesus.
In those last days, it will only become more complicated because Satan knows his days are numbered. We who are in Christ will hear those messages, see those visions, and it is our responsibility to preach His Word to win souls to Him.
I don’t know if my plethora of dreams means anything. Most of them are nonsense. But I do know that I am dreaming more than I used to. I keep a journal. I primarily do that because I am a writer, and as most of you know, those ideas become books. But I know that God gives us our dreams to help us draw closer to him, to warn us, just as he did in Biblical times. Just as he did with my dream and “Waiting,” my short story that I intend to publish soon. And as Peter prophesied, He will do it again in the last days, whether it be today, tomorrow, or another thousand years in the future.
“‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.” – Acts 2:17
Photo by Artyom Kabajev on Unsplash
Moments for the Heart 