Greg continued his series on the kingdom of God and focused on living life moment by moment. All we really can offer to God is the very moment we are in – will we bring our faith into the moment-by-moment reality of our life? Greg discussed Gen. 28:10-13 and 16-17, focusing specifically on the fact that Jacob was awakened (through a dream) to the presence of God right in the very place he stood. We must remember that God is with us right here in the place where we stand, where we work, where we sin, where we worship, everywhere.
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Waking to a Dream
• Greg Boyd
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This week’s message continued Greg’s series on the Kingdom of God. The focus was on living life moment by moment. We may make commitments, promises, and pledges, but all we really can offer to God is the very moment we are in. Will we bring our faith into the moment-by-moment reality of life? Faith is not like magic – we don’t just say some magical words and the results are forthcoming as a matter of course. Rather, we commit ourselves to God and then immediately enter into that committed way of life. The goal is to abide there, as Jesus taught, “Abide in me and I will abide in you.”
As an illustration, Greg reminded us of Jacob’s dream in Gen. 28:10-13 and 16-17, focusing specifically on the fact that Jacob, though God used a dream to do it, was awakened! He was awakened to the presence of God right in the very place he stood. We all need to remember that God is present and with us right here in the place where we stand, where we work, where we sin, where we worship, everywhere. Greg spoke of this awakening as a “reframe experience.” Jacob reframed what seemed ordinary into what it really is extraordinary! Life is a miracle, yet we so frequently seem to miss this in the moment.
We are often so distracted by various sorts of busyness that we fail to notice that God is truly present in the world! Paul makes this clear in Acts 17:26-28 where he states that God is profoundly involved in the goings on of life and that we seek, reach out, and find God who is never far from each one of us – no further than the air we breathe. Other passages that echo this are Ps. 33:5 and Ps. 139:8. The author of these psalms cannot imagine a place that exists without the presence of God! How beautiful it would be to go through life so familiar with the holy that we see it and breathe it in at every moment. This indeed is the life of faith.
Greg’s encouragement to us was that we to would seek this “reframing” of life. Like Jacob, see what is really true, notice the presence of God and God’s angels and grace all around you! Wake up from the hypnotic trance of the ordinary! Don’t miss the blessedness of life as it goes by in each moment.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Kingdom of God, Presence of God
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Focus Scripture:
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Genesis 28:10-13, 16-17
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
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