Imagine 1Ch 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: There he was, on the top row of the winner's podium, wearing the gold medal. He had defeated the world's best and was now seen by people all over the world as the champion. But, this was not the first time he had been seen on this stand. This was the celebration of the opening of her new clinic. She had completed years of study and hard work to become a physician, and was now able to bring help to the many needy people of this foreign, third world country. There were pictures being taken of her and her staff in front of the new facility, but this wasn't the first time this scene had been viewed. Having just won the national election that had placed him in the highest position in the land, he now had this other word that would forever be spoken in from of his name- President. His image would now be placed alongside the many that had come before and he would occupy a place of prominence in worldview through his next few years of service. But this would not be the first time he had been seen in this position. Standing over a family that had just lost their lives by his hand, he was now ready to also take his own life. All meaning had been removed from existence and desperation had clouded his vision to the point that the only solution for him was to end it all. He would be found and his image viewed in the media as the one having committed this terrible act, but it would not be the first time he had been viewed as such. There is this incredibly powerful force that has been given to each of us in the ability to see ourselves in the theatre of our imaginations. It is not possible to accomplish or achieve without first having multiple viewings of ourselves in this place. The athlete, physician, President, murderer, and anyone who is moved to do something beyond the status quo will spend numerous moments in this personal viewing place long before others will ever observe what they do. Their choice of what to view has directly determined the course and direction their life would take. When given the option of choosing the showing of themselves as doing nothing at all, they turned instead to the action feature that depicted them doing the extraordinary. Their imagination was taken to the realm of possibilities, and they were empowered to live in reality what was seen there. As there was an opening of the heart in the initial discovery of life in Christ, there was something imagined and there was something seen that preceded the action of choosing to make Him Lord. Before there could be a step taken from the meaningless of the old life, hope for something better was communicated in the telling of a story, the singing of a song, a real life experience, or the touch of the holy Presence of God. In this communication there was an awakening of the mind to a whole new way of living. There was a very natural heart response to the image of what it might be like to be loved by the Father and live the life of His son or daughter. As this image was given full focus and attention, the choice became very clear, and the action of choosing Him was easily and naturally taken. What a joy it was to make the move from the old way of death to the new way of life, discovering those first few moments of really living what had been imagined-union with and acceptance from our Father in forgiveness and complete love. Though the possibility had been there all along, there had to be a choice made and an action taken that first required the screening of our preview. As that first step was taken with great reward, there are endless subsequent steps to be taken in order to really live the life of abundance provided in Christ. There is a whole realm of possibilities just awaiting a choice and an action. Each one of these steps, though, is very much like the first, requiring the choice of what will be imagined before anything may be experienced. In hearing what the Word says regarding an issue of life, there is an option presented that allows focus on an image of success and victory. As that image is given full focus, there is a very easy and natural choice made to accept and live what had once only been imagined. God seems to particularly enjoy using this part of our makeup, because if He can only get us to respond in faith to an image of His greatness, He will surpass what we've been able to conjure up and totally overwhelm us with abundance beyond our greatest dreams. What we choose to imagine will drive subsequent choices, whether for evil or for good. For those of us who have experienced that first step into Christ, inspiration and motivation will continue to flow as we allow ourselves to be drawn into the theatre of faith, where great things are first imagined by us and then surpassed in reality by our Father. Rather than suppressing the activity of imagination, He wants to empower us through it to achieve and accomplish extraordinary and wonderful things in Him. In all the imaginations that might come to pass in our lives, though, the greatest by far will no doubt be those thoughts of Him, His infinite greatness, and intimate nearness. Our supreme reward will be Him alone and He will far surpass any of our most extreme expectations. Oh, the places we will go! Dream on. Job 11:7 "Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty? Job 11:8 God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend, Job 11:9 Stretching farther than earth's horizons, far wider than the endless ocean. Job 22:21 "Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine. Job 22:22 Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart. Job 22:23 Come back to God Almighty and he'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil. Job 22:24 Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury. Job 22:25 God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine.