Giants ARE Real -- But So is MY GOD!!

When I was younger, I remember hearing the story of David and accepting it as any other fact of life.  I figured that if God wanted to use a little boy like David to kill a big giant like Goliath, then He could do just that.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think God would have been preparing me to face great big giants of my own... But He was.

Every sorrow, every trial, every situation that occurs in our lives is preparation for bigger trials and situations.  God never puts more on us than we can bear; instead, He gets us ready for the next fight by equipping us with just the amount of strength we need to fight this one.  In our story The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson, we find the main character, Ordinary, struggling with the idea of whether he's even QUALIFIED to be called a WARRIOR, and many of us are in the same place.

How do we prepare ourselves to face the next level of giants who are lining up to oppose our passage to the Dream we've been given?  Do we pretend they're not there?  Hide our heads in the sand, hoping they'll get tired of challenging us and go away?  Or do we arm ourselves with the weapons AND EXPERIENCES the Dream Giver has ALREADY equipped us with, and fight until only one champion is left standing?  Read with us this week and discover,  like Ordinary, the WARRIOR the Dream Giver has placed in you so that you can face every giant with GREAT courage.


Week of August 26th> Facing the Giants

Monday, August 26th> Numbers 13: 17-33; Revelations chapters 7-8

1.   What is the enemy's purpose for making us feel weak, inferior and like victims-- the opposite of the WARRIORS that the Dream Giver says we are?

Tuesday, August 27th> Numbers 13: 27-33; Matthew 13: 54-58; Revelations chapters 9-10

2.  In what way is UNBELIEF a more dangerous enemy to our Dream than the giants that we will face?

Wednesday, August 28th> 1 Samuel 17: 1-11; Revelations chapters 11-12

3.  Why is it important that we ACKNOWLEDGE the fact that our GIANTS are REAL?

Thursday, August 29th> Psalm chapter 3; Revelations chapters 13-15

4.  In addition to giants like "MONEYLESS" and "FEAR", what are some other giants that we cannot afford to run from or ignore?

Friday, August 30th>  1 Samuel 17: 20-37; Revelations chapters 16-17

5.  No matter how big the giants are, how does the Dream Giver PREPARE us for battle through the trials we've ALREADY experienced?

Saturday, August 31st> 2 Corinthians 10: 4; 1 Samuel 17: 38-55; Revelations chapters 18-19

6.  When The Lord tells us to "prepare for battle", what are some ADJUSTMENTS to our thinking might we need to make?

Sunday, September 1st> 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30; Revelations chapters 20-22

7.  What roles do PRAYER, FASTING and FAITH play in the level to which we will be able to witness the MIRACLES The Lord has set in store for us?

A New Place In God

"New levels".  This expression is a catch phrase in our society.  Everyone is excited about "moving up" in the company, "scaling the ranks" on the job, and even "expanding" in terms of our economic status.  But where is the fire when the time comes to apply this same concept in the spirit?  Why do we fight so hard to "maintain", "tread water" or "keep the status quo" when the DreamGiver is calling us higher, deeper, and closer?

These are questions we're compelled to face as we think about where we want our Dream to go.  There are some demands the DreamGiver will put on us -- and rightfully so, since we are His -- that will require these "New Levels".  If you're ready to see where this commitment will lead, and how rich the rewards of submission are, read with us this week as we explore a sacrificial (yet satisfying) new place in God.

Week of August 19th> The Dream Giver Part 3: Finding Sanctuary in Surrender

Monday, August 19th> Psalm 9:9; Proverbs 18: 10; Hebrews 6:18;  1 Peter 3: 8-22; chapters 4-5

1.  Although the Bible describes the Sanctuary of the DreamGiver as a place of refuge, why do many believers tend to avoid going in?

Tuesday, August 20th> Matthew 11: 28; Jeremiah 6: 16; 2 Peter

2.  What are some steps the DreamGiver requires us to take in order to find REST?

Wednesday, August 21st> Psalm chapter 51; Acts 3: 19-20; 1 John chapters 1-2; 3:1-10

3.  As we respond to the DreamGiver's invitation to go higher and draw closer, what are some of the characteristics of the Wasteland that will begin falling away?

Thursday, August 22nd> Psalm chapter 51; Acts 3: 19-20; chapters 4-5

4.  When we allow the DreamGiver's Holy Presence to draw us into this place of refuge, what will we willingly release when He shows us ourselves?

Friday, August 23rd> Genesis 22: 1-3; 9-18; 2 John; 3 John; Jude

5.  Why does the DreamGiver demand that we surrender every Dream to Him rather than keep it for ourselves?

Saturday, August 24th> Genesis 22: 9-18 (ESV); Revelation chapters 1-3

6.  What does our OBEDIENCE in surrendering our Dream reveal about our heart towards God?

Sunday, August 25th> 1 Samuel 10-11; 17-20; 1 Samuel 2: 18-21; Revelation chapters 4-6

7.  In what ways can we expect God to REWARD our obedience and surrender to the DreamGiver?

What Do We Do With Border Bullies?

In chapter 3 of Bruce Wilkinson's book, The Dream Giver, a description is given of certain types of bullies.    Upon hearing the word "bully" in our society, a picture of a big kid picking on a much smaller one comes to mind.  But in this book, the reference that is made  has nothing to do with size at all... rather, it involves a certain mentality within people whom we both know and trust.  It's a certain mindset that threatens to stamp out the fire of our Dream because it threatens or causes THEM to have to change the way they've always viewed life.  Wilkinson calls these people "Border Bullies".

How do we respond to these people who post up and begin to shoot down our Dream from the moment we release it?  Do we put more stock in their words than those of the Dream Giver because they've always known us, thereby backing away from our Dream?  Do we simply dismiss them as "against us" and push on?  Or is there something the Dream Giver wants us to learn from the opposition coming from them?  Read with us this week as we explore the heat and discomfort of Border Bullies, as well as plow through the Wasteland on the way to our Promise.

Week of August 12th> The Dream-Giver Part 2: Bullies in the Borderland

Monday, August 12th> Matthew 13: 54-58; Genesis 37:5-9 and 18-19; Hebrews chapters 3-4

1.  In pursuit of our Dream, why do we find opposition coming from close friends or family-- BORDER BULLIES-- who should be the MOST supportive?

Tuesday, August 13th> Proverbs 3: 5-6; John 16: 33; Psalm 46: 1-2; Hebrews chapters 5-7

2.  Through the Dream-Giver's Spirit, what can be POSITIVE about the Border Bullies' opposition?

Wednesday, August 14th> 1 Kings 19: 1-10; Hebrews 8-10

3.  Why does God allow us to reach a place on our journey into our promise where the favor "runs out", and where the Dream-Giver seems to have disappeared?

Thursday, August 15th> 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8 and verse 10; Philippians 4:19; Hebrews chapters 11-13

4.  Even in a season of apparent lack, why should we be thankful for and confident of the Dream-Giver's provision if we are tithers and givers?

Friday, August 16th> Hebrews 11:1; Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 146: 5-6; James 1-3:12

Why does the Dream-Giver send us FAITH while in the Wasteland rather than a quick answer to our prayers?

Saturday, August 17th> 2 Kings 7: 1-9 NLT; James 3: 13-5

6.  What REWARDS await us when we press through until we move out of the drudgery of the Wasteland?

Sunday, August 18th> Genesis 39: 1-6 and 40-42

7. When our Dream is finally realized, in what way will our CONFIDENCE in the Dream-Giver keep us from RETALIATING against the Border Bullies who may have hurt us in the past?

A Quest to Leave the Land of Familiar

Wake up... Eat... Work... Come home... Watch the box... Eat... Sleep... Wake up... And everything happens all over again.   Many of us spend hours in the Land of Familiar, a very big city in the Wasteland, consumed with life as usual.  We live totally unaware that deep within us lays Something Special: a Dream, given to us by someone even more Special -- the Dream Giver.  We struggle to find Meaning in a very Ordinary life, when God designed it to be the very opposite.

What would happen if, all of a sudden, the Dream we've always had come to the surface, giving us a vision of the possibility to fulfill it?  What would it take to get from Here to There?  Would we be willing to break away from Familiar in order to prepare ourselves for the accomplishment of this Dream?  Even more importantly, would we dare to step across the Comfort Zone where the Dream Giver’s Purpose lies?  Read with us this week as we discover how to line up with the Dream Giver's Plan for accomplishing our Dream.

 Week of August 5th> The Wasteland Part 3: The Dream-Giver

 Monday, August 5th> Genesis 1: 26; Romans 8: 29; Psalm 139: 14 (MSG); 2 Thessalonians chapters 1-3

 1.   What characteristics of the Wasteland cause many Christians to believe they are Nobodies in spite of what the Word declares?

Tuesday, August 6th> Genesis 37: 5-11; Jeremiah 1: 5; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Timothy chapters 1-3

 2.  What is the Dream-Giver's purpose for placing dreams deep within us, even with the possibility that they may be aborted?

Wednesday, August 7th> Luke 14: 15-35; 1 Timothy chapters 4-6

 3.  What sorts of DISTRACTIONS and EXCUSES do we allow to consume our time and energy, potentially keeping us from working towards our Dream?

Thursday, August 8th> Genesis 12: 1-9; 2 Timothy chapters 1-4

 4.  What is the FIRST STEP in moving towards the Dream where the land of Familiar is concerned?

Friday, August 9th > Exodus chapters 3-4; Titus chapters 1-3

 5.  Why is it that God deliberately asks us to accomplish some aspects of our Dream that are far beyond our abilities?

Saturday, August 10th> Exodus chapter 16; The Book of Philemon

6.  Although we may leave Familiar with excitement and enthusiasm, what roadblocks threaten to push us back to what we've always known?

Sunday, August 11th> Deuteronomy 1: 6-8; Joshua 1: 1-9; Hebrews chapters 1-2

7.  What TREASURE does The Dream-Giver give us to push past the Invisible Line of our Comfort Zone (where Fear lives) and into the Land of Promise?