Visions and Dreams
Albert Bogle
June 14, 2019
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Acts 2: 17-24 (NRSVA)
17 “In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”22 ‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— 23 this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24 But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
Peter begins to explain to the onlookers in today’s passage what it is they are witnessing. He tells them something quite amazing has come to pass. He reminds them of the prophet Joel, and how he prophesied that a day would come when God would pour out his Spirit on all people.
He is suggesting it has come. Times when wonderful things will happen. Young people both men and women will have visions of what God is planning. And older people will dream about a world that is free from pain and war.
Yes there will be times coming when the creation itself will appear to change. The sun and the moon will almost exchange places. A red moon and a dark sun. A changing world but a glorious promise for everyone. When in distress all who call upon the name of the Lord will survive.
I can't help thinking this is not a counsel of despair to simply accept climate change and all the distress that it will bring, instead we pray 'Thy Kingdom Come’
Peter continues, reminding his listeners of Jesus of Nazareth the miracle worker, the signs and wonders man has defied death and now his Spirit and power is being displayed in the actions of his followers.
What an amazing insight into the past present and future. It's time for those of us who have received the promise and have encountered the presence of the Holy Spirit to begin to live out the visions and dreams. It's time to be the signs of the Kingdom in our present world. It's time to truly pray and live out 'Thy Kingdom Come’.
God of signs and wonders
God of visions and dreams
Breathe your life giving hope
Into our lives today
Lift us out of dreary predictability
Save us from ourselves
Unsettle us
Turn our worlds upside down
Give us courage
To live through
Dark suns and red moons
Let the glorious dawn of your Kingdom
Inspire our living
Direct our planning
Control our spending
Release our generosity
God of new creations
Waken in us a curiosity
To live by faith
To turn visions into reality
And dreams into action plans.
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