Open Our Eyes Lord

John 9:25 (NIV)  He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

            On May 3, a deer with its head caught in the globe from a lighting fixture was found in the woods in Centereach, N.Y. It was a deer caught not in the headlights, but in the... light globe. Centereach is a Long Island community about 45 miles east of New York City. Officials think the deer had been struggling with the opaque globe – which completely covered its head – for a day or two. The globe did not or would not break. I’m not sure if it was made out of a kind of unbreakable glass or perhaps plastic. The news story does not say. In either case, the deer’s head was trapped inside, leaving it unable to see anything but the inside of the globe. A first attempt by Officer Jeff Hull to help the animal failed. When it slipped out of his hands, the deer ran off. On his second approach Officer Hull tossed his coat over the light globe. When it pulled backwards in fear it must have moved at just the right angle and the globe came free. And, as they say, they all lived happily ever after.

Here is a link to the images from the New York State Department of Conservation: https://www.yahoo.com/news/officer-rescues-deer-had-head-caught-light-globe-201333591.html?nhp=1

            The blind man Jesus heals in John chapter 9 had never seen. His life had been lived without light and highly dependent upon others. The prevailing attitude was that his sin (or someone’s sin) was the cause of his problem. Jesus said that it was there in his life so that God’s work could be displayed. Jesus healed him in love and changed his life. He delivered him from the darkness physically while also delivering him from spiritual darkness. Later in the chapter Jesus calls the formerly blind man to believe on Him. His spiritual eyes need to be opened, for he asks Jesus who the Son of Man was. Jesus responds by saying, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then John tells us that the man believed and worshipped Jesus.

God knows our need. He knows our predicament of being caught in unbelief and sin. He knows we are not capable of getting ourselves out of our own predicament. Sin has a blinding effect on people. He knows our sight is limited in the small globe of the world around us. The more rooted we are in seeing the world through unbelief and sin, the less hope we have of extricating ourselves from it. We think we can handle it because we actually believe we are seeing so well. Yet we are not much better off than a deer with its head caught in a globe. Our condition is desperate and we need a Savior to uncover and open our eyes. We need His help to take away our spiritual blindness so that we may see Him as He is. Jesus is more than able to do this. When we cry out to Him and trust Him His power and grace goes to work. This is true both as we are helped to come to know Him initially and He rescues us from our sin and self… as well as on a day to day basis. His grace is given to us daily that we might see and walk in His path for us. Our enemy will seek to cover our eyes and make us stumble. But the grace of Christ will not let him. Jesus is both our Savior and our Protector. May He open our eyes to all that is true so that we will see ourselves and the world aright, and then follow Him faithfully.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Isaiah 35:3-10 (NIV) ³  Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; ⁴  say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." ⁵  Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ⁶  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. ⁷  The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. ⁸  And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. ⁹  No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, ¹⁰  and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

PRAYER:  Father, open the eyes of my heart I pray. Whatever might be shielding me from seeing my sin or your grace… take away. Give me eyes to see you, myself, and others as you would have me to do. I want for your work to be displayed in me. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

Which Way to Go?

Psalm 23:3 (NIV)  he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

            A few years ago Joanne and I ended up on what amounted to a logging road in the middle of nowhere because I thought the GPS on my phone seemed reliable. I thought of that horrible experience when reading this story in the news…

“Depending on a GPS is a daily occurrence for most drivers. Whether it is by phone, in dash, or a portable unit we all use them. But it goes even further than ‘use,’ we trust these units to take us where we ask. And when it starts taking us into bad places we assume that the GPS knows what it is doing and wouldn't take us to a bad place. Sometimes even the worst case scenario can happen though. The park rangers at Death Valley National Park in California call it ‘death by GPS.’ It describes what happens when your GPS fails you, not by being wrong, exactly, but often by being too right. It does such a good job of computing the most direct route from Point A to Point B that it takes you down roads which barely exist, or were used at one time and abandoned, or are not suitable for your car, or which require all kinds of local knowledge that would make you aware that making that turn is bad news. Most of these incidents don't end in death, but rather in bafflement. A woman in Bellevue, Washington drove her car into a lake because her GPS said it was a road. A man in Yorkshire, England almost drove his car off a cliff. The answers in these circumstances?  - ‘The GPS told us we could drive there.’”

You wonder how many people in our world today are putting their faith and trust in some things that will end up taking them where they don’t want to go. When the results are serious trouble or difficulty they scratch their heads and can’t quite figure out what happened. But whatever they were trusting in told them it would get them there. In the meantime, though, they face danger or even loss of life.

The Lord will never give us a wrong turn or take us down a wrong road. We will never go astray if we follow Him and use His Word as our guide for life. This doesn’t mean we will have no hardships, but it does encourage us to know that we can never be lost and that His abiding presence and guidance is always with us. There are no wrong turns for the person who follows Jesus faithfully.

Psalm 119:9-11 (NIV) ⁹  How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ¹⁰  I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:105 (NIV)  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV) ⁵  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." ⁶  So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

PRAYER:  Father, I confess how often I think I know what I am doing and where I am going, but I’m really listening to myself or something other than you. Keep me focused on your Word, and let my heart desire and love to follow it more than anything else. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

A Dumpster-Diving Savior

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            Have you ever found yourself desperately searching through a pile or a can of garbage because you have lost something important and you think you possibly put it in the trash? Depending upon its value, you may be prepared to go to great lengths – disgusting, smelly, dirty lengths – to recover what is lost.

            The Quincy Patriot Ledger last month reported a story of a Massachusetts woman who had had a roller coaster-like day when she both lost and then found a full set of diamond jewelry. The woman had been cleaning off her 3.1-carat engagement ring, a 1.75-carat diamond pendant and her grandmother's diamond ring in preparation for a wedding anniversary dinner. She was in her kitchen, drying and then rolling each of the pieces up in paper towels when she was finished. She then left them on a countertop. A few moments later, when she heard the garbage truck coming, she swept a number of things into the garbage in a hurry – including her jewelry. She was heartbroken when she discovered her mistake. Upon notifying the waste removal company's authorities of the accident, a transportation supervisor at a transfer station made arrangements for the truck to drop the trash off at the Braintree station. The 51-year-old woman, her husband and a loader operator searched and dug through the garbage until they found the jewelry that was so precious to her.

This real-life event made me think of two parables Jesus told. The first is a very short one in Matthew 13. Jesus speaks of a merchant looking for fine pearls. He finds one of great value and sells everything he has in order to buy it. Though it is not precisely replicated in the true-life Massachusetts story, there is a principle in the parable that relates. Someone values something so much that he will do anything to make it his own. He will spare no expense. While that may be primarily a financial depiction, it also suggests a man who will do whatever it takes to get the object of his desire. The second parable is found in Luke 15 where a woman loses a coin and goes to great lengths to find it, because she values it. She celebrates and rejoices when she finds it.

I believe both parables are about Jesus, and the lengths He was willing to go to redeem us. You could say that Jesus was the ultimate “dumpster-diver”. One dictionary defines dumpster-diving as “the practice of foraging in garbage that has been put out on the street in dumpsters, garbage cans, etc., for discarded items that may still be valuable, useful, or fixable”. Isn’t that a good way of comprehending what Jesus has done for us? Because of sin, we have cast ourselves off from God. Satan has had his way with us and treats us like trash. Other people have “cast us off” in various ways as well. We are “in the trash” and have little or no worth. But when Jesus comes looking for us… when Jesus is willing to get deep into the slime and stink of the world’s sinful trash bin, He reaches out and puts His hand upon us and says to us, “You are precious to me. I’ve come and I’ve found you in order to take you out of here to be with me. I love you.”

In spiritual terms, that’s pretty close to what Jesus has actually done for us. When we could not deliver ourselves from the trash truck of sin that was heading toward the dump of hell, Jesus reached in and plucked us out and cleaned us up. And as nasty as that got for Him – because the cross was the only way He could do this – He endured it all. What does all this say about Him? It makes us want to exclaim, “Wow! What a Savior! What a friend! What love is this? Praise God for His dumpster-diving Son!

Luke 15:8-10 (NIV) ⁸  "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' ¹⁰  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Matthew 13:45-46 (NIV) ⁴⁵  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, thank you for the lengths you went to – I will never comprehend the depths of such love – for me. May all that you have done for me bring glory to the Father. In Your precious name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

Trusting Prayer

Psalm 143:1 (NIV) - O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.

            Being helpless is not fun. To love someone deeply and know they are hurting… and then to know you are not in a position to do anything about it is frustrating, to say the least. More likely it leans toward being emotionally painful. Many people confess to a built in “fix-it” mentality and disposition. When something is wrong they just want to step up or step in and make it all better. They often are “take-charge” people who know how to get things done in an efficient and effective manner. But when you are 600 miles away from the hurting person and cannot get to them… when they are in trouble or in some kind of bad situation… you know you cannot fix it for them. Then you feel helpless.

            When you feel helpless like this you are typically in a situation over which you have no control. What can you do when you have no control? You could panic or have a meltdown. You could take out your frustration on those nearest to you. You could have a pity party. You could self-medicate. You could resort some habit that gets you through.

            A better response to helplessness, in my view, is to trust God and to trust to prayer. It is not actually true that we are helpless. Perhaps we ourselves are not in a position to solve a loved one’s problem or help them escape a troubling situation. But we are not ultimately helpless. Is not the Lord aware of that situation? Is not the Lord there in that situation with the one we love? Is the Lord not strong? So often I catch myself thinking or saying, “All I can do is pray.”… as if it was nothing much to offer. How very opposite the truth that is. Words like that and the attitudes that go with them reflect a poor, limited view of God that basically thinks of Him as nothing, or nothing very important.

            No, feeling helpless is not fun. But to feel helpless without turning to God is like living next to a lake when your house is threatened with fire and thinking you have no resources to draw from. You really just need to know how to access the water. How might we say God and His unfailing and unlimited resources are “accessed”? By serious, deep, heartfelt, sincere, trusting prayer.

            For the last 12 hours I have felt helpless for my daughter stranded overnight in a New York City airport with a 9-month-old sleep-deprived child, running out of diapers and baby food, uncertain about when a flight home will be possible, sick to her stomach, having had no sleep herself. I know she is strong and capable. I know she will get through it. It’s a difficult situation, but others have endured far worse. Yet I still feel for her and feel so limited in what I can do. Nevertheless I am not helpless. Nor is she. The God who created all there is knows her and loves her and is with her. He will sustain and strengthen her. He will do for her all that she needs as His will in her life is worked out. Therefore I will trust Him and lift her up to Him.

            If you know and trust to the value of prayer, are you involved in your church’s prayer ministry? Does your church need you to start one? Are you committed to praying much for others, as we are directed in 1 Timothy 2? Are you willing to go to God on behalf of other people in need? In our church this is fairly easy… just ask and you will be placed on our prayer team email list. Then pray when asked. Though it is quite “easy”, it is serious business, and matters in deep and eternal ways. It’s a joy and a privilege to pray for others. And it certainly is not helpless.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV) ¹⁴  Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. ¹⁶  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Psalm 38:21-22 (NIV) ²¹  O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. ²²  Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.

Psalm 145:17-18 (NIV) ¹⁷  The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. ¹⁸  The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV) ⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:  Father, when I have no control, let me see that you do. Let me rest in you and trust you fully. Let me see your glory made known in all of that which can trouble my soul. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott