Putting on Spiritual Glasses

I think I started wearing glasses when I was 11 or 12. When I first got them it was amazing what I could see that I hadn't previously been able to see clearly from a distance. My mother has told me how I exclaimed over things that she took for granted because she was able to see them. She said it made her feel bad that she didn't realize before that time that I needed glasses. That is something that I couldn't fault her on because I never told her that I couldn't see clearly because I didn't realize that I couldn't see clearly. To me not being able to see individual leaves on a tree or clearly being able to see birds or flowers in the distance had become my normal and I didn't realize that it could or should be different. My problem with my vision has always been about distance; as I have always been able to read or do close with without my glasses. In fact, to this day I take my glasses off to read, do computer work, sew or any thing that I do that is within an arm's reach.

Today I headed to church early and decided to stop by this little local coffee shop and have a coffee and a tea cake. As I sat there drinking my coffee and eating my cake I took off my glasses so that I could play "Words with Friends" on my phone and to talk with my family via texting/messaging. It was probably 10 or 15 minutes of sitting there completely absorbed in my electronic communication when I heard the words, "John was the precursor to Christ" and my head jerked up and I kind of saw some figures sitting across the room. Since I did not have my glasses on I could not clearly see them but as I reached for my glasses to see who was speaking about the Bible the Lord spoke to me. He told me that so many times we get caught up in our lives and situations that are close. We allow our focus to be only on those things that affect us directly or that are within arms reach. When we allow our focus to be on only ourselves, our struggles, our pain, our joys and our sorrows, we fail to clearly see the struggles, pain, joys and sorrows of our harvest field. When we do not allow God to open our spiritual eyes we fail to see our co-workers that are hungry for a Savior or our neighbor that is stricken with grief. Without the eyes and heart of Christ we fail to understand or feel burdened to pray for the orphans of the world, or those that are suffering a life of slavery or torment. Without seeing as Jesus sees, we are like the man who had his vision restored but saw men as trees walking (Mark 8:22-25). We must fine tune our vision with the compassionate love of Christ and the boldness of faith and the fervency of knowing the times. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision the people perish..." so if we do not get a clear, compassionate vision of our harvest field then those people in that harvest field will be lost.

Let it be your prayer today and every day that God would open your spiritual eyes to see the world as He sees it and that He would give you a clear vision of your harvest field.

The Power of Yielding

"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Romans 6:13

Each day I go through life I consciously or unconsciously yield to many things. Some things that I yield to are for the good and some things are to my hurt. There are times I yield to faith, compassion, love and mercy but there are times I find myself yielding to offense, anger or disbelief. Yielding is simply ceasing resistance to something. If I am yielding myself to the lack of faith then I am finding myself to be resisting the scripture "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." If I am yielding to weakness and fear then I am resisting the scripture, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and a strong mind." When I find myself yielding to offense then I am resisting the verse "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Am I really shining the light of Jesus to my harvest field if I do not yield myself to the scripture "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy."  When we yield to unforgiveness and holding a grudge we are resisting the scripture "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Life is really full of yielding and resisting. Today what am I going to yield to? Will I choose to yield to annoyance and scorn when I see a mother with a screaming child at the store? Or will I yield to compassion and say a prayer for that family? Will I yield to anger and bitterness when I see the rise of the wicked or will I instead emulate the love of Jesus and pray for their souls? Will I yield to frustration and anger when someone cuts me off in traffic or will I use it as an opportunity to pray for that person that crossed my path? As I step out the door this morning I want yield my members to "right living" and not unto sin. When I am yielding to God then I am standing on the promise "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Willing to be Healed

This morning on my way to church I was feeling grateful and excited about how far God has brought me in my healing process. The past year or so has been extremely difficult and my heart, mind and soul had gotten quite battered, bruised and broken. There have been many times that I wondered if it was even possible to be healed completely. This morning as I thought about where I have been in the past year I could only compare it to a person who has been through an horrendous fire. The skin is burnt and melted and the healing process is excruciating.The process/treatment for this type of injuring is usually through debridement, which is removal of the dead skin from the wounds. There are times that patients who have gone through the debriding process have decided that it was too painful and they want to just stop and let whatever infection that will set in just happen because the treatment to heal them is just as painful as that fire. That horrendous pain and stench of death is the only way I can express where I was 10 months ago. I was in debilitating emotional pain that brought the stench of death to just about every area of my life, especially spiritually. So my ability to rejoice and be thankful for my emotional and spiritual healing, knowing where I had been, was and is a big thing. As I was thanking God for the incredible healing work he has done in my life He brought to my mind that one spot. You know that one emotional spot that you try to protect from hurt so you keep it hidden. The one little area of your life that is so painful that you try to pretend isn't there. It is that one sore that refuses to be healed. As I spoke with God this morning I knew that it was time to give that one spot to Jesus so that I can be whole, so I could be restored. In case you are wondering, God never does anything by half measures but confirms His Word, with His Word. Pastor took his text from Mark 8 this morning.

"And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored and saw every man clearly." Mark 8:23-25

After Jesus spit in the man's eye the man was no longer a blind man. He couldn't see properly but he could see so therefore some could argue that he was healed. But Jesus wasn't satisfied with a half-measure healing. He again touched the man's eyes so that the man was restored. Jesus isn't interested in just the surface of a person, he is interested in healing that part that no one can see. God cares about that little wound that you keep covered so that people don't realize that you are hurting. Jesus showed us with this blind man that he wasn't interested in merely giving sight to the blind but to restore all, including sight to see clearly. But the blind man had to be willing to be healed. In order for Jesus to touch him and restore him, this blind man had to seek out the Healer. He also had to be willing to be led by Jesus, even though he could not see where Jesus was leading. For us to be healed of our hurts, pains, losses and diseases, we much first be willing to be healed. We must seek the Lord and be led of Him in order to for Him to restore all. It is in our surrender of ourselves to Him that we can be made whole and find clarity in His calling.

Doing My Job

I must admit that I have a bit of an issue relenting control sometimes. There are times when I feel that if it is going to get done then I just have to do it. Last year about this time we were planning our family reunion. At the time I was working 7 days a week and ususally 12 hours a day, with almost an hour commute each way. I had no time but I was local so they asked if I could plan it and I said yes. Because of cost and the fact that 80% or more of the family did not live locally it was decided that we would self-cater. I had a plan and it was a good plan (if I do say so myself) but I didn't have time or energy to really implement the plan so I had to do something that was very uncomfortable to me... I had to delegate. I had to ask my daughter to make about 50 pounds of pulled pork. I had to ask people to make side dishes and desserts. Then I had to ask one of my sisters to decorate the social hall. I was very much out of my comfort-zone. But you know what... everything got done and it was beautiful and lots of fun. It didn't take me having control of every single facet of the reunion for everything to be perfect.

About 20 years ago I worked in a warehouse. Regularly we would get container trucks in and it was the warehouse staff's job to unload it. The boxes weren't heavy as they were just boxes of gloves so we would create an assembly line and toss them out. My job always seemed to be inside the truck and tossing them to one of the guys. So I would pick up a box and toss it to him and he would catch it and stack it on a pallet. My job was not to toss the box, run down to the end and catch it and then stack it on the pallet. My job simply was to toss the box to my co-worker and he took it from there. Amazingly it worked out perfectly, even without me being in completely control of the process.

Several months ago I was praying about what I should do. My job, though making very good money, was slowing killing me spiritually, emotionally and physically. I was working too much with no choice about it. Every day it seemed that the first things out of my mouth were, "God, what am I to do?" Every day there didn't seem to be an answer. Day after day my heart and soul cried out to God wanting to know what I was to do. For what seemed too long there didn't appear to be an answer. Then there was THE MOMENT when God spoke to me. He told me to do what I am supposed to do and he would take care of the rest. A deep sense of peace came over me and I knew that regardless of whether I was to stay at that job or go somewhere else I would be content knowing that it wasn't my responsibility but God. So I stepped out in faith and applied for jobs, praying that God would close any door that I was not supposed to go through. But I knew that having a different job was only one aspect that needed to be changed in my life. I needed a deeper understanding of God's word and people in my life that would challenge me, teach me and encourage me to stretch out of my comfort-zone and pursue that which God called me to do (whatever that may be). God directed my path and put the people in my life that I needed. And it wasn't but a few days after that the interview call came and then the job offer and then the job. The job and the people are exactly right for this stage of my life but it still isn't easy. I now make about 1/3 of what I used to make so money can be a bit tight at times. My drive to church is farther than before (see the previous sentence about making less money). BUT it is still the right thing for me to do.

When I think about how I can only control what I can control and only God can do the rest, I realize that my job is only to do the right thing. My job isn't to provide for all my needs. My job isn't to make sure that I stay safe and secure. My job isn't to make sure everything happens exactly as logic says it should. My job isn't to fix everything. Rather, my job is obeying Christ today. My job is to pray for those in my harvest field today. My job is be in God's will today. My only job is to do MY job. My job is simply to do that which is right. Once I do my job it is then up to God to do the rest. It is God's job to provide for my needs. It is God's job to put people in my harvest field. It is God's job to protect me. It is God's job to heal those that He leads me to pray for. It is God's job to do everything that is not my job. The stressful part of life is when we start taking ownership of a job which is not ours. When we start trying to take responsibility for a job that only God can do, then we start feeling overwhelmed and stressed. So instead of trying to do the job of God, focus on doing YOUR job. Focus on doing the right things and relinquish the job of God to the Creator of the Universe. I believe He is big enough to handle it.

Taking the Fight to the Streets

Today as I was headed to church I was praying for the city and asking God for revival. But my desire and prayer wasn't just for the local church that I attend but for every church; that God would reveal His Word and there would be a mighty move of His Spirit throughout the city. While praying I knew within my soul that if we are to have a mighty revival we must go to battle in the spirit. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." We must put on the armour of God and go into our harvest fields, our cities, our places of work and bind the spirits of darkness that has a strangle hold on our world. We are not going to impact our communities by staying within our safe little congregation and having well-organized church or special programs. The only way to truly reach the harvest field is through entering the spiritual battlefield that is uncomfortable, unpleasant and doesn't smell too nice. If we truly want to change our world and see a change within our cities, we have to vow to take this spiritual battle to the streets. We must be committed to doing what it takes to bind the spiritual powers that seek to destroy our children and young people. We must unite in fervent prayer and fasting as Jesus told his disciples in Mark 9:29 "And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting." To reach our families, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, or those people in cities and countries that you will never step your foot in; we must do what it takes to fight in this spiritual warfare. So I challenge you to take your prayer to the streets. Claim the promise that God gave to Moses and to Joshua "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." (Joshua 1:3) Pray while you walk through your neighborhoods. Pray through your work place. Pray as you walk the halls at school. Pray on your way to the bank. Pray while shopping. Wherever you go and whomever you see, pray. Pray... that is how the battle will be won.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through god to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Luke 18:1

God's Friend

"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend." Isaiah 41:8

"And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Exodus 33:11a

Whenever I read the scriptures of how God spoke with a Moses as a man would talk with his friend and how God referred to Abraham as His friend, my heart is filled with longing to have that close intimate relationship with God. My own humanity immediately tells me that my desire is one of impossibility because Abraham and Moses were pillars of the faith. Abraham had such great faith that it was given to him as righteousness. And Moses... well... he led the children of Israel out of Egypt, brought water from the rock, and parted the Red Sea and so many more big important things. My own thoughts tell me that I am just a mere mortal with so many flaws and so many short-comings that surely God doesn't see me as a friend, surely God doesn't long to talk to me face to face. My own unrelenting insecurities tell me that I am too flawed to be more than an acquaintance of the Creator of all and I should just be content with that. But when I continue to read on in the Word, I understand that God is more faithful and more merciful than my insecurities. When God robed himself in flesh and came to this world He showed the world, and me in particular, that it is possible for me to have that intimate relationship with Him that I long for. Scripture after scripture, He tells me that I loves me specifically and calls me friend. "The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" Luke 7:34  Jesus came to be a friend of sinners, just like me.  He didn't come to save the righteous but to save people like me. Proverbs 17:17 says "A friend loveth at all times," and God has shown me time and time again that he loves me, even when I am unlovable. Even when I do not deserve His love and mercy, he still loves me... just like a friend does. When I have failed to be His friend, He has been faithful to be mine. The ultimate declaration of His love and desire to be my friend is His willingness to become flesh and bear my sin on His sinless back and die in my place. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend" John 15:13 Jesus picked up that cross and carried it up that hill, bearing the sin and shame that was mine to bear, and allowed them to kill His body simply because He loves ME. I have no reason to doubt that the Creator of all, and the Savior of the world love me, in particular.

When you start feeling small and the thoughts in your mind tell you that God is too big to really care about you or to even notice you, just remember that He died on that cross because He longs for you to be His friend. He loves you specifically and there isn't anything that is too big to keep you from Him.  Regardless of any mistakes you have made or any temptation that has overtaken you, He loves you enough to forgive and still be your friend. Simply trust His Word when He says, "Ye are my friend, if you do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14)

Getting God's Strength

When you commit your life to God and the Biblical plan of salvation, your life doesn't suddenly become perfect. You might get a flat tire, or get sick or have relationship troubles. Following God does not make us immune to the storms of life. The Bible says in Matthew 5:45b "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." There are things in life that happen that we cannot necessarily escape. But during those difficult times we need the strength of God. It takes strength to be a Christian. It takes strength to forgive. It takes strength to turn the other cheek. It takes strength to have a soft answer. It takes strength wrestle with principalities and powers. It isn't ordinary strength that we need but godly strength... strength that only comes from the only Omnipotent one. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 "Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:" Isaiah 26:4 "it is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." Psalm 18:32 "...the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God." Psalm 68:35 Time and time again throughout the Bible do we learn and know that God is the strength that we need.

We know he is our strength but how do we access that strength? How do we tap into the power of His strength. 

1. "Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that  you may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;" Deuteronomy 11:8

The first thing we need to do is obey. When we obey the Word of God, that is the first step of receiving the strength that God has for us. When we surrender our own will and follow God's plan for our life, He is right they handing us His strength. 

2. "Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." Psalm 96:6

When we join together with other believers to worship God and to hear God's Word preached, then we can claim more of the strength of God. It is when we come together in unity as the body of Christ that we have strength to face those difficult things that come against us in life.

3. "Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore." Psalm 105:4

It sounds simple but simply ask the Lord for strength. In Matthew 7:7-8 it says, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto  you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." So when we seek the Lord and His strength with our whole heart we can be assured that we will find it. 

4. "My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word." Psalm 119:28

It is through the reading and applying of the Word of God in our lives that we gain God's strength. Without knowledge of the Bible then we do not have the understanding of all the promises that God has given us in His Word. It is through His Word that He guides us and gives us strength. 

5. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

After all of that we must simply wait/serve the Lord. We must have the mind-set of "God what can I do for you? Jesus, who can I minister to for the Kingdom's sake? Lord, I want to serve you." We must have the mind of a servant because it is in that serving and waiting that we find strength without fainting.  

If we follow these five Biblical steps for tapping into the strength of our Heavenly Father, even before the storms of life come our way, then we have nothing to fear. 

(This article was inspired by the teaching of Rev. J. Maki in Valparaiso, IN)