The movie loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman, continues to be a surprise to moviegoers. Critics don't really like it very much, yet those same critics are giving it award nominations. (Tuesday's Musical Notes very rarely allows the review of an "accredited", yet very out of touch with the real world, writer to bend its judgement regarding movies and music, we'd rather hear what our friends and family think!) It's soundtrack is the #1 album downloaded at iTunes, and I can hardly wait to see it again! If you haven't gotten the jist, this is a MUST SEE movie for folks who love music and the early days of the entertainment industry. Here's the trailer:
There have been many years of documented studies regarding dreams. (again refer to the aforementioned "accredited" folks) The internet is littered with those who portray themselves as having insight into an interpretation of what these dreams mean. We suggest caution if you engage these sites.
Some dreams are very scary, others provide a state of euphoria that is rarely experienced when our eyes are open. I don't know about you, but I wish I could just sleep some nights, yet, for whatever reason, the subconscious takes over and I've moved to Florida, remerchandised a store, or been chased by a gorilla in our garage. (I woke everyone in the house up with that one!)
However, the dreams spoken of in today's song, "A Million Dreams", speak of the ideas that you can't get out of your mind. Brilliant colors fill your view as you utilize your imagination to see the desire of your heart. These are the ideas that you align your life goals and work towards with everything that you are. They permeate everything you do with a gnawing sense that you must take steps to see that dream to its end to live a filled life. The Notes has tackled the topic of this kind of dream a couple of times:
The Bible has many stories related to dreams of the kinds we have discussed. Most notably, Joseph (Genesis 37 New King James Version of the Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible parallel, Genesis 39-45 NKJV/The Message) and Daniel (Daniel - NKJV/The Message) in the Old Testament and Paul and John in the New Testament.
The disciple John was part of Jesus' inner circle, along with Peter and James who was John's brother. He spent 3 1/2 years in constant companionship with Jesus. He was witness to the trial, and execution of Jesus. He was given the responsibility to care over Mary, Jesus' mother, when Jesus was dying. He was one of the first to the empty tomb where Jesus body had been placed. He also wrote the Gospel of John, 3 letters to churches that John had established as he went about preaching the Gospel, and the book of Revelation that John saw while exiled on the island of Patmos for the preaching he had done about Jesus.
The book of Revelation continues to be one that provides many interpretations, conversations, and occasionally consternation. Jesus promised the disciples that He was going to prepare a place for those who believe He is who He said He is. John saw the events that lead up to the fulfillment of that promise, the world Jesus is gonna make for those who accept His lordship over their life and repent (turn away) from the wrong they do.
"I close my eyes and I can see
The world that's waiting up for me
That I call my own
Through the dark, through the door
Through where no one's been before
But it feels like home"
You many notice that while there were times John was fearful of the events that he was seeing, he had the confidence in Whose he was to continue to view it. John knew that at the end of all of the things he was seeing would be Jesus and the new world that He was building. Imagine how those first readers to Revelation must have felt:
"They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say I've lost my mind
I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy
We can live in a world that He designed"
Dear friend, please be encouraged to read scripture that details what is to come. You may not completely understand it. Do not be intimidated by those passages that seem out of our mind's reach. Imagine how John felt while he was seeing it? We've come along way since the time that John witnessed all of this. Read the prophecies and dreams that are detailed in the Bible with courage and hope, not fear and trepidation. Allow Holy Spirit to provide interpretation for you. He knows you well enough to determine what you can understand. Trust in this and continue to read all of the Bible with that mindset. You never can tell, you might find yourself...dreaming...
"'Cause every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the One I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world He's gonna make"
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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