Acts 20:20

I had a dream last week. It was a strange dream, and though I don’t remember all of the details, I remember one thing very clearly.

I remember there being a verse from Acts. Acts 20:20, to be specific.

As soon as I got up and remembered the verse playing a part in the subconscious meanderings of my mind, I looked it up.

You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. (Acts 20:20 NIV)

Let me say here that it is not uncommon for me to remember parts of my dreams. Usually, though, the parts I remember are bizarre and incoherent. Sometimes they are easily deciphered into clear symbols of things going on in my life, and sometimes the resemblance is more blatant. Rarely, though, do I remember anything like what I remember from last night.

Acts 20:20. In another translation, it reads like this:

I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. (NLT)

And in yet another, like this:

I didn't skimp or trim in any way. Every truth and encouragement that could have made a difference to you, you got. I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes. (MSG)

I don’t quite know what to do with this. I’ve never had anything come to me in a dream like that…much less something that seems, in an odd twist, to actually apply to my life. I speak in front of my church, and I write for you here; in both settings, I try to share the encouragement God has given me and pass on any lessons I feel might draw you closer to the life you’re meant to live. I’ve been meditating on this for a few days now, and take this verse from my dreams as affirmation that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing right now. Really, that’s all I can hope for, so I’m happy.