dreams

Where Your Focus Goes, Your Energy Flows

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8 Today we are thankful for the national holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King. We acknowledge and celebrate his accomplishments as a humanitarian, a global bridge builder, a dynamic minister, and a peacemaker. I remember many years ago when world-renowned motivational speaker Les Brown preached at the Crystal Cathedral. He shared some of his hardships growing up as an African American, including a learning disability in school and growing up poor. Yet, he had this dream to buy his mom a house. As a youngster, he would go with her to these big beautiful houses where she would clean and cook for the families. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t live in a big beautiful house, too. And

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Designing Your Life

“The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!” – Psalm 118:23-25 In grade school, I discovered the power of zero, but thankfully, we don’t have to experience it as Christians. Let me explain. Zero is a powerful number. Take any number you can think of; multiply it times zero, and the answer is zero. A valuable lesson I learned in school was the day I turned in four assignments and one of them was graded a zero. For the first three assignments, I received A’s. The fourth one was a zero because somehow I forgot to turn it in. And what does that make the total grade for my class? The answer is a D. You get A, A, A, and one zero turns

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A World Full of Possibilities

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’ ” – Mark 10:27 We all have people in our lives who impact us, and long after they’re gone, we carry their spirit and memories in our hearts; in many ways, they mold who we are. I think fondly of my grandpa Schuller’s impact on me, and I attribute part of who I am to him. Essentially, his dream was to bring the message of a loving, hopeful God in a world full of possibilities for you, just as you are, to millions — and he did it! I remember at my grandma Schuller’s funeral being seated next to Pastor Rick Warren, whom I had never met. He was head of Saddleback Church, one of the largest churches in the world. As one of the other guest pastors spoke,

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Faith Builds Dreams

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.” – 1 Corinthians 3:10 We’ve all had dreams for our future, whether it’s regarding our businesses, careers, ministry, and of course our families. But the question is, how can you build these God-given dreams and aspirations? Faith opens our whole life, much like a hand opens to embrace a friend. Similarly, faith opens our hearts to the Kingdom of God to pursue our dreams, and to love and serve our neighbors. How can you have an idea that’s bigger than you if you don’t have faith?  Our dreams give us a reason to wake up in the morning and also something to live for. I know there is something you can picture in your mind that if you were able to

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What is Your Calling?

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 Today I want to answer the question that so many people ask: What is my calling? In this series, we will unfold many aspects concerning this important topic. It’s a question you may continually ask, especially when you feel like you’re in a rut, in a middle or gray area, or maybe you just lost your job. Or, perhaps you’ve been at your job for a long time and you used to love it, but now you no longer enjoy it. It still pays well, but you’re unsatisfied and maybe you’re ready to do something else. You pray, “God, I’m thankful for this assignment, but was I born to do this? What is my true calling?” The heart of this question signifies

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A Different Kind of Person

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Matthew 6:24 Growing and living every day with God is the best kind of life we can live. I was blessed to attend Business School at a Christian college, while at the same time working at a real estate investment company. These worlds were polar opposites. In both spaces, I made friends who were on a journey to success. There were two in particular, whose stories went in opposite directions.  One guy I worked with, we’ll call him Brian, was a real go-getter and I was convinced that he would become financially successful someday. His dream was to own a Porsche 911 turbo and make money. I admired his drive to move into that

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Stay Focused on the Dream

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” – Genesis 50:20 As we conclude this series about dreamers today, allow me to reiterate that dreams from God will annoy people and get you in trouble, but so what! Joseph had two significant dreams: ”We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” Also, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” As God brought Joseph’s dreams to fulfillment, I don’t think he pictured becoming the Grand-vizier of Egypt, but God did. Joseph had no idea that the gauntlet of betrayal, suffering, deception, and abandonment, were all preparing him for the moment of saving many lives. 

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Ignore the Dream Destroyers

“Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” – Ephesians 5:15-17 Today, I am excited to continue talking to you about dreams and dreamers. If we want to achieve our dreams and live a great life, discipleship is the doorway through which we enter into the kind of life we’ve always dreamt of. It won’t be perfect and there will be suffering and challenges, but what God offers us through discipleship is a reward He calls eternal life. The mistake we make is to limit eternal life to just heaven. Eternal life is also the quality of God’s life now, in the present, and this includes our dreams. God is a dreaming God and He gives people dreams; it’s all throughout

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We Need More Dreamers

“ ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’ ” – Genesis 37:19,20 Today, I want to continue talking to you about dreams, and will do so the next couple of days. If you have a dream, and it’s from God, first understand that your dream is a gift. Second, know that it will annoy people and will get you in trouble! It’s okay to just say “So what!” This was great advice Jesus gave to dreamers! Jesus said in Matthew Chapter Five: Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil because of me. Why? Great is your reward in heaven for that is the way they treated the prophets who

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Have a Dream in Your Heart

“For God does speak — now one way, now another — though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds,” – Job 33:14,15 It is said that we dream all the time, not just when we’re sleeping, but also when we’re awake. There is a truth to this if you think about it. For example, if you were sitting at a quiet bus stop with no one around and no distractions from electronic devices, you’d begin to daydream. You would begin to think of your immediate concerns, maybe your groceries or a family need. But if you sat there long enough, you’d begin thinking and picturing other aspirations. These actions are important as they happen daily, moment by moment in our imagination, which is a gift from God.  When I think about our

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