His blood was shed for us

I had a vision. There was blood spilled all over the floor, and my instinctual reaction was to rush to clean it up. Instead, a voice told me, "Stop."

What does it mean? I think that my wife had the best interpretation. She said that Jesus Christ's blood was shed for us, and that we can stop trying and trying. He is the only one who is perfect. . .

A Minnesota housewife's 9/11 dream

Jill Herringshaw and her son Matthew had quite a prophetic dream on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The story is shared in the book "Nine Ways God Always Speaks":

Jill woke suddenly in the middle of the night. The room was dark, and she was alone in bed. In her dream, she had seen a plane crash and burn, and then saw herself walking through the wreckage. Human bodies were buried in the debris. When she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she realized it was just a dream. But even awake, the images haunted her. Not knowing what else to do, she prayed.

Though her husband had been out of town for the past two days, Jill knew he was driving through the night and would be home in the morning. Feeling calmer, she pulled the covers up and went back to sleep.

It was still dark when Jill was awakened again; this time by her eight-year-old son Matthew shaking her arm.

'What's the matter Matthew?'

'I had a bad dream.'

Jill sat up and hugged him. Safe in his mother's arms, he told her the details.

'There was a man with a whitish robe and a long gray beard. He broke into our house. We chased him down the street, but I was scared.'

With her husband not yet home, Jill rolled over and made room in the bed for Matthew.

'I had a scary dream too. Let's just give them to Jesus and go back to sleep.' They both prayed, and then fell back to sleep for a few more hours.

That morning, as Jill stood in the kitchen making breakfast, she turned on the TV. The screen was filled with images from a breaking news story.

The date was September 11, 2001.

Are you kidding?

What was Jill supposed to do with that?

... even if Jill and her son had realized their dreams' meaning, what could they have done? Could they have called the FAA and told them of their mutual nightmares? Or driven to the airport to see if they could find men with gray beards and white robes and make a citizen's arrest?

Did God really expect Jill and Matthew to stop the atrocities of 9/11? She was a Minnesota housewife with no aeronautical or political connections. Matthew wasn't even a Boy Scout. And the Department of Homeland Security was not yet in existence.

No. Even if they understood the meaning behind their dreams, they would have been considered crazy. No one would have listened. Frankly, even after September 11, Jill is still hesitant to mention the dreams because people are often skeptical.

So what's the point behind a dream like that?

What was God trying to say to Jill and her son through two such inexplicable dreams and their timing?

Jill's husband, Mark Herringshaw, is a pastor at North Heights Church in St. Paul, Minn.

God talks through a dog

In The Daily News of Newburyport, Rev. Kevin Leach wrote a column about how God talked to him through his dog. Leach related how it had been a long time since he had given his dog a bath, and that the bathing process was difficult for his dog. There was a lot of tangled hair that needed to be brushed and cut, and his dog did not like it. Leach compared this process to God cleansing us of our sins:

What did God say to me through this process? He reminded me of the time when he first revealed to me just how dirty I was. My sin was so great and then Jesus said, 'I will wash away all that dirt and make you clean.' Once the cleansing was over, I said to myself, 'It's all over now.'

Little did I know that the process had only just begun. Since my initial cleansing, the Lord has continued to work on me — like that long process of brushing out the matted hair. When God calls us to follow Him, He completely cleanses us from all our sin and yet, there is ongoing work to accomplish in us. Sometimes this work of transformation really hurts, and we might protest (sometimes loudly).

God patiently speaks to us, saying, 'Trust me, this is for your good.' After some assurance, we 'lie back down' and let the Lord do His good and necessary work. This process of unsnarling and detangling (which is God's work of sanctification — that is, making His children holy) continues in me even after 30-plus years of following Christ. Even though it hurts at times, I know it is well worth it because God cares for me more that I can imagine. I am learning to trust Him fully.

Although it's not easy, it is for the best when God takes us through the cleansing process.

A life together...lost

Karen Kelly and her ex-convict boyfriend, Rasheed M. Watson, were planning a life together with their daughter and her three boys and girls.

Unfortunately, Watson was killed by a bullet to the chest after going to settle a disagreement. A Williamsport Sun-Gazette story tells how God related the bad news to Kelly:

Kelly said she fell asleep that night and was awakened just after midnight Wednesday morning by one of her daughters, who said, 'Mom, Wop's been shot.'

Wop was Watson's nickname.

'I started crying and praying to God, and God spoke to me that he was gone. God told me, 'Karen he's gone. He's gone.''

A female friend of Watson contacted Kelly at the scene and told her the news.

'I said, 'He's been shot,' and she said, 'No, he's dead.''

Watson was planning on giving Kelly an engagement ring for her birthday at the end of September.

From the preacher's perspective

I have not really thought about things from my pastor's perspective, but an article by Dr. Ray Pritchard on crosswalk.com points out that after the sermon is over, most pastors are curious and worry about how their message went over with the congregation.

Pritchard suggests that pastors use the time after services are done on Sunday to answer five questions:

1. What happened during the sermon that surprised me?


2. What response (beyond the ordinary) did I receive?


3. What did God speak to my own heart through my sermon?


4. What should I remember if I preach this sermon again?


5. What should I be thinking about regarding next Sunday?

I would think that it would be challenging to be a pastor. I bet a lot of people ask a lot of questions, like Ned Flanders does of Rev. Lovejoy.

Helping kids with disabilities in Peru

Dr. Anthony Lazarra was unfulfilled with his career at Emory University in Atlanta. So in 1987, Lazarra opened Hogar San Francisco de Asis, a children’s clinic in Chaclacayo, Peru. His vision is to cure as many poverty stricken children as possible.

Children in the Hogar suffer from many diseases, including: brain tumors, clubbed feet, asthma, malnutrition, leukemia, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, cleft lip and palate and tuberculosis.

In addition to Lazarra, the clinic has a full staff of day and night nurses, two cooks, a doctor and a spiritual intercessor, Theresa Stowers. She was called by God to her position, according to an article in the Flagler College Gargoyle:

'My mission is to pray, intercede and take care of the doctor who is taking care of the kids,' Stowers said. 'People say we are a good balance.'

She prays with the children, shares her love with them and believes that she is carrying out God’s plan for her.

'Being in Peru is a mission given to me by God,' Stowers said. 'I was enjoying my life in my comfort zone when God spoke to me in my heart one day. When God tells you to do something, you do it.'

The clinic is looking at expanding. Its facility is made for 45 children, but houses more than 60 at times because Lazarra never turns anyone down.

Serving God for 50 years

How do people know that they are supposed to become pastors? For James Hill, it was a message from God. Hill, who recently retired from First Baptist Church in Graham, Texas, told his story to The Graham Leader:

'...at the age of 13, I had gone to bed, and I couldn’t go to sleep. I just knew God was dealing with me about answering His call to the ministry. About midnight, I went to my mom and dad’s room and woke them up and told them what God was telling me. They called my pastor, and he came over that night.'

When Hill told his parents and pastor that God was calling him to be in the ministry, they all had the same reaction — praise God. A week later, Hill went in front of his church and announced that he would be following God into the ministry.

Coincidentally (or not), Hill's wife Betty was told by God when she was 13 that she was going to marry a preacher and teach. In addition to marrying a preacher, Betty was a teacher for 38 years.