Amazingly, we are who and what we are. No argument! Every action besides spontaneous reflexes are thought out! To demonstrate this fact – A reflex is an automatic and often inborn response to a stimulus that typically involves a nerve impulse passing inward from a receptor to the spinal cord and then passing outward from the spinal cord to an effector (such as a muscle or gland) without reaching the level of consciousness and often without passing to the brain.
Our actions are not reflexes , we just stated that. What is an action? To Webster’s we go:
- The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.”He vowed to take tougher action against persistent offenders”
Synonyms: Steps, measures, activity, movement, work, working, effort, exertion, operation”they recognized the need for local community action “act, take steps, take measures, take the initiative, move, make a move, react, do something”still, there is pressure to take action regarding food labels”
2. A thing done; an act. “She frequently questioned his actions”
Synonyms: Deed, act, activity, move, gesture, undertaking, exploit, maneuver, achievement, accomplishment, venture, enterprise, endeavor, effort, exertion; work, handiwork, doing, creation,performance, behavior, conduct;reaction, response “there can be no excuse for their actions”
We mull over our proposed actions!
What are dreams? Hope’s, ambitions, goals, wants. How do we attain these? We plan! What is a plan?
A detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. “The UN peace plan”
Synonyms: Scheme, plan of action, idea, master plan, game plan, proposal, proposition, ploy, suggestion, project, program, system, method, procedure, strategy, stratagem, formula, recipe, scenario, arrangement, schedule, agenda; way, means, measure, tactic, tack, plot, device, maneuver, ruse;
archaic Shift “He had a new plan for raising money”
2. An intention or decision about what one is going to do. “I have no plans to retire”
Synonyms: Intention, aim, idea, intent, objective, object, goal, target, hope, aspiration, ambition
“Her plan was really just to find the hotel”
- Decide on and arrange in advance. “They were planning a trip to Egypt” Synonyms: Organize, arrange, work out, think out, design, line up, outline, sketch out, map out, chalk out, draft, prepare, schedule, program, formulate, frame, project, develop, set up, fix up, shape, build, devise, concoct, contrive; plot, scheme,cook up, hatch, brew, mastermind,orchestrate, choreograph; slate;rareexcogitate”plan your route in advance”intend, make plans, aim, propose, mean, be resolved, have in mind, hope, want, wish, desire, contemplate, envisage, foresee, envision, expect; Formal purpose “He plans to buy an apartment in the city”
- Design or make a plan of (something to be made or built).”They were planning a garden”
- Synonyms:design, draw up a plan of, make a drawing of, draw up a layout of, sketch out, make a map of, map out, make a representation of; plat “There are many things to bear in mind when planning a new garden”
We have an understanding of the difference between a reflex and a plan? A plan can be a reflex, when we are seated in Christ, Amen.
Give thanks in ALL things, that is The Will of The Father. ALL things have a season/purpose, Amem. Here we can refer back to the book of Ecclesiastes written by Solomon. The very awesome thing is Solomon’s wisdom, given by The Creator.
Solomon in a “dream“, after praying was asked what he desired. He sprang to answer: “Discernment”. Glory!!!
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a sonto sit on his throne this very day.
“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
We aim to answer our question; what is a ‘dream’? Many authors have preceded me in defining, explaining, assessing the concept ‘dream’. All I aim to do is simply share what I have come to realize.
In my coma, I was in a dream. I dreamed many things. Pointedly, there was no ‘time.’ As I have attempted to explain, there was a ‘Day’ with no beginning and no end. Hours long at the most. Having operative cases in the morning, I sought to ‘wake up.’ Yes! It was the most AMAZING ‘dream’ I ever had! Bar none.
Responsibilities are a key factor in what we do! BIG/MAIN point! Why are you? We could go around/about this many different ways! But a direct answer is called for.
We may ask “Why was I born? Was it only to have trouble and sorrow, to end my life in disgrace?” Jeremiah 20:18
In other words, why are we even born if we are only to die some 70 or 80 years later? Isn’t there more to life than to say, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die?” Probably not if you believe the earth was created from a “Big Bang,” that man evolved from amoebas millions of years ago, or that there is no Creator. Science is even discovering that the universe is getting old. It’s dying, just like man, and it’s not going to last forever. Something makes us wonder, “Why am I here?” That something is God.
In the beginning God created the heavens, the earth, the humans, and the amoebas. The Bible tells us that God specifically created man and woman in his image and that he desired to have “fellowship” (companionship or friendship) with his creation. He “blessed them” and gave them “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:1-28). We are here to tend the earth. We are also here for God’s pleasure, which ends up being pleasurable for us—if we know him personally.
There is more to just living and dying. Each person is born in God’s image, which is personable, able to love, to laugh, to feel, and to think. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent (2 Peter 3:9). What is repentance and why do we need it? When the first man Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone (Romans 5:12). Without recognizing that we inherited that sin status and trusting that God made a way through Jesus Christ to change our status through repentance, we can never have a relationship with God; for he is holy and we are sinful. We are here on earth to honor God, to know God, and to share the benefits of this experience with others while on earth so we can ultimately spend eternity in a place called Heaven. We can only do that if we know Jesus as our Savior.
We have strolled away from our question, but it is all a key part of the answer.
Dreams are a key part of life. Many do not dream, but they tend to focus on our activities in life! Very much so!
Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. Genesis 41:1-7
The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” Exodus 3:2-3
“After forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT Sinai, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH. “When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look.Judges 7:13-15
When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.” When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”
It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”1 Samuel 3:2-15
But in the same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,2 Samuel 7:4
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish me to give you.” Then Solomon said, “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.1 Kings 3:4-15
Isaiah 6:1-8In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Ezekiel 1:4-14As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. Within it there were figures resembling four living beings And this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings.
Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal.Ezekiel 8:2
And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea So the vision that I had seen left me. Then I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me. Ezekiel 11:24-25
Ezekiel 37:1-10The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
“However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.Daniel 2:28
“I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. Daniel 4:5
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;Daniel 2:19
Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, “Lord GOD, please pardon! How can Jacob stand, For he is small?” The LORD changed His mind about this. “It shall not be,” said the LORD.Amos 7:1-9
Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit ” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel I will spare them no longer. “The songs of the palace will turn to wailing in that day,” declares the Lord GOD “Many will be the corpses; in every place they will cast them forth in silence.”Amos 8:1-6
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, “Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.Amos 9:1
I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. Zechariah 1:8
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Zechariah 3:1
He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;Zechariah 4:2
And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” Zechariah 5:2
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.Zechariah 6:1
And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. Matthew 2:12
Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” Matthew 2:13
While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”Matthew 27:19
As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;Acts 9:3
A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”Acts 16:9
And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; Acts 18:9
and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’Acts 22:18
“For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,Acts 27:23
Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man–whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows–2 Corinthians 12:1-4
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,Acts 9:10-11
About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”Acts 10:3
On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground…Acts 10:9-17
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;Revelation 1:12