Divine Dreams
     This essay deals with the “picture shows” we get at night while sleeping. So, What are they? Why are they? Are they good for anything? A conservative Gospel lecturer/author named Ira Milligan has done a great job of analyzing the dream phenomenon. These are thoughts from his book “Understanding the Dreams You Dream”, 2010 Destiny Image Publishers: “. . . Most dreams are indeed meaningful and helpful, although not all. (Dreams are) . . . God’s most common method of communication. Elihu of Job (33:14-16) states that God gives us sealed instructions in the form of dreams . . . sealed (within parables) we seldom recognize them as being from God . . . The way God communicated with people most frequently in the Bible was through dreams. . . There is one obvious way of checking a dream to see if it is from God . . . messages are always consistent with His written Word.” Milligan’s book is a good read & is available thru Amazon.com for about $11.
      The Bible has interesting refs. about dreams:
--   Genesis 31:11  “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’”
--   Genesis 37:5  “Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they only hated him              the more.”
--   Job 33:14-16 “For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.  In a dream,          in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while they slumber on their beds, then he            opens the ears of men, and terrifies them with warnings, “
--   1 Kings 3:5 “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I        shall give you.’”
--   Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons          and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see          visions.”
--   Matthew 1:19-20 “. . . her husband Joseph, . . . resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered        this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not          fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;”
--   Matthew 2:12 “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own              country by another way.”
     There’s lots more scripture refs. on dreams ALL of which are revealing of God’s communication with people. I do not know why in our day folks generally put little “stock” in their dreams and don’t look for God’s message. I have received much useful info from mine - some before the “Born Again” event of Feb ’72. In addition to my “lucid” spiritual/religious content dreams, (which have been amazing), God has given practical help & guidance in dreams to me. And the messages were clear, and to the point. I’ve lost a few to time & memory, but at least these six remain:
**  "The big one" for me was a vivid dream of Jesus Christ - (See "I Saw The King" link 7)
**  Revelation of spiritual character – extreme liberal associate in ministry exposed in a dream to be            possessed w/the wrong spirit. (see “Imposters” link 57)
**  Confirmation of major life/job change – I “saw” associates in ministry D.H. & B.S. in a dream 2-3              days before meeting them. (see “The Chaplains” link 70)
**  Correction of dangerous path – God can get a graphic message to us in dreams using a similar or              symbolic disaster scene that applies, and He did.
**  Closure on failed romance – long lost love can be settled in a personal & discreet manner by Divine            dream, and it was.
**  The blessing of God -- grape vines in 3 rows in front yard of a previous home of ours - beautiful              clusters of green-blue large grapes.
     Well, this essay can only “scratch the surface” of Divine Dreams. But I should say that “Seeking God” and being open to FAITH & Divine Guidance may easily bring value to one’s dreams. And my personal Born-Again experience really seemed to activate dream communication with God. It’s sad that so many folks neglect something that’s free & useful . . . Choose Jesus, He is Alive. Connect with a package of benefits this old world knows nothing about. See “What’s In It For Me” link 28.

Many other Titles:  www.gospelnotes.org                                                                       * * F. J. Stone * *
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