To See the Truth
Father, I am so grateful to be in the middle of a new norm in my life. I have striven for a life with You at the center, but I seem to always throw a wrench in it somewhere along the line. I am far from perfect, but I am blessed to have You dead center in who and what I am. All praise goes to You for keeping me in the center of Your hand!
Luke 18:35-43 (<<click here to read the passage)
(This is one of those passages out of which I can take another bite!)
I recently read an article on Live Science that talked about research that claims that people born blind or blinded at a very young age really do have enhanced abilities in their other senses. The research used detailed brain scans to show that these individuals had heightened senses of hearing, smell, and touch compared to the people in the study who were not blind. The scans also revealed that people who are blind also experienced enhancements in other areas, including in their memory and language abilities.
The blind man in this passage from Luke 18 “saw” and understood things to which the religious leaders of his day were blinded. Individuals like him were not necessarily well educated, but what does he call out when trying to get Jesus’ attention?
…he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” v38
The title “Son of David” is a title for the Messiah, and it means that he understood Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah.
In the throng were men trained in all the nitty-gritty details of the Law and God’s word to Israel. Yet, though they “saw” Jesus’ miracles they were blinded to His identity and refused to recognize him as the Messiah. *
The blind man saw Jesus for who He was and the seeing religious professionals were blind to it!
There were a couple who reached out and believed (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea – and probably others of which we are not aware) but most of them rejected the truth before their very eyes. Jesus didn’t fit what they thought the Messiah would look like. He didn’t act like they thought He would act. Probably the biggest problem of all was that He didn’t acknowledge their religious “superiority”. He called them out on their self-righteous, pompous attitudes undermining all that had been building upon for generations. Jesus cut their legs out from under them! How dare He!
But, once again, are we any different? Many of us have preconceived notions of what it means to be a Christian. We have most of our thoughts neatly arranged in little boxes and we dare not think outside those boxes…that would just mess everything up!
What we truly need, is to examine the things we hold so tenaciously to as “truth” to see if they are true…or not.
In my later years, many of the hardline truths that I have held for so long have come under scrutiny and some of those things have not held up so well. Maybe at their core, there is truth, but the trappings found upon them were put there by man – not God. It has not been an easy journey and I am most certainly still traveling but maybe we all need to do some scrutinizing to see the truth at the core of our beliefs and in so doing we will be strengthened to go forth to change the world as Jesus has called us to do!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Oct 27th, 2020, Tues, 6:30 pm
The Only Way this Beggar Got Out
Sleep was elusive toward morning, Father, so as the day has progressed, I am a little less motivated. Help me to clearly hear Your word for this day. Amen.
Luke 18:35-43 (<<click here to read the passage)
It’s fascinating how where I am in Luke’s Gospel lines up so well with what I’ve been speaking on at church. When I read for my blog I don’t jump ahead, I read the portion for that day and that is all. Now there are times when a portion is substantial, and I break it down into bite-size pieces. But that isn’t the norm.
As the quote goes “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform…” (and a little FYI, this is not in the Bible, it is the first line of a hymn written in 1773 by William Cowper).
In my message Sunday I spoke about how we are called to grieve over evil and injustice in our world. Truly we are in no better position than the people of Jesus’ day. God’s Laws specifically address our responsibility in meeting the needs of those less fortunate than we are. In Leviticus 25:35 it says,
‘Now if your fellow countryman becomes poor and his hand falters with you [that is, he has trouble repaying you for something], then you are to help and sustain him, [with courtesy and consideration] like [you would] a stranger or a temporary resident [without property], so that he may live among you. AMP
In this Biblical account shared by Luke, God’s command was not being lived out.
…a blind man was sitting beside the road begging. Luke 18:35 NLT
My study Bible* says,
Beggars often would wait along the roads near cities because that was where they could contact the most people. Usually disabled in some way, beggars were unable to earn a living. Medical help was not available for their problems, and people tended to ignore their obligation to care for the needy. Thus, beggars had little hope of escaping their degrading way of life.
When was the last time we took care to help and sustain someone, [with courtesy and consideration] so that they may live among us?
I must admit I struggle here myself. When I see panhandlers (beggars) at intersections I have an awful habit of looking the other way. My mind goes to “There are jobs literally everywhere! Why don’t they get a job?” Now admittedly some are probably very capable, but we (and that includes me!) don’t really know!
Some have mental issues. Some have drug addictions that control their lives. We are not in their shoes. We have no idea what they are going through! Who are we to judge? But for the grace of God where would we be? The life of addiction is a slippery slope. They get so far up out of the hole they find themselves in and it doesn’t take much to knock them back down to the bottom. Some continually try to get out of the hole, while others have resigned themselves to believe there is no getting out.
Jesus is the only way this beggar got out. Now I typed that thinking of the blind man in today’s passage, but it aptly applies to me, too. I was incapable of getting myself out of the hole of sin and all of its trappings, but Jesus made a way for me to do so and I am so grateful He did…
Lord Jesus, help us to fulfill Your commands. Help us to realize that we have been saved from the impossible circumstances and we are to be Your hands and feet in the world around us for those in need. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible Living Translation
Oct 26th, 2020, Mon, 1:11 pm
The Benefit of Grief
A simple and beautiful day, Father! What a gift it has been. Thank You for blessings abundant!
Luke 18:31-34 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the worst experiences of my life took place many years ago. Karen and I were relative newlyweds, and I was serving as an associate pastor at a good-sized church. I had been on staff for about a year when I was asked by the senior pastor to step down. He gave me no reason as to why. In fact, it seemed to me that it wasn’t even his idea. To this day I don’t know why, and the pastor went to his eternal reward a few years back, so I don’t foresee knowing in this lifetime. And in eternity, it really won’t make any difference at all. Long ago I made peace with the whole sordid incident and after working through everything held nothing against the pastor or the church, for that matter.
In today’s sermon, we talked about mourning and the fact that we benefit from the grief in our lives, even though we try everything within our power to avoid it. I loved a quote I gave. There is an Arab proverb that says, “All sunshine makes a desert.”
We are so much the better for all the heartache and loss in our lives. Our souls would wither without it. I realize that sounds strange but time and again, I believe our distress has allowed us to empathize with someone else’s loss and that in turn allows God to use us, if we will let Him, to touch someone else’s life.
Jesus clearly knew what was ahead and told the disciples so. But they just weren’t getting it. There’s a good chance that every time He spoke to them of His pending death, that that blocked their minds from processing anything else. They simply could not grasp the significance of His words, though He hid nothing from them.
My Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation says that that was the case “until they saw the risen Christ face to face.”
Our heartache, our loss may not make one bit of sense in this lifetime. We struggle and, oh so many times, we just can’t seem to let it go. We grieve and wallow in the all-to-familiar mire of self-pity. It can be extremely difficult to break free from it all but, I can assure you, there will come a day when we too will see the risen Christ face to face. And at that time all of our questions will be answered…or better yet we will realize that no answers are necessary, for Jesus Himself will be the only Answer we need!
Lord Jesus, may we trust in You in the here and now, in the middle of our grief and loss as we eagerly anticipate that day when every tear will be wiped away as we step into Your presence for all of eternity! Amen.
Oct 25th, 2020, Sun, 4:41 pm
We Are Camels
A lot of different twists and turns today, Father, but I thought of You often throughout it and I am certain that You thought of me, as well. What comfort I find in You each and every day!
Luke 18:24-30 (<<click here to read the passage)
A couple of days ago, we looked at the Rich Young Ruler. When He saw the young man’s reaction, He said,
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”
He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” v24-27
The camel part took the forefront in my mind, as I have heard it expounded upon and have preached on the text myself.
I Googled it just to see what I would find and interestingly enough the Food for the Hungry website had some provocative thoughts. Under a heading of We Are Camels, they said regarding this passage,
If you’re…thinking of the rich as billionaires who lead Fortune 500 companies, you may need to reset your idea of wealth. Worldwide statistics show that, in fact, you are probably one of the world’s wealthiest people. According to a paper from the World Bank in 2012, if you make more than $50,000 annually, you are in the global 1 percent.
Now, compared to others in your geographic area, you might consider yourself to be middle class, or your income may even hover near your local poverty line. But if you know how to read and write, if your home has electricity, and if the device on which you are reading this article belongs to you, chances are that you are in the top tier of the world’s most wealthy people.
Understanding ourselves as wealthy changes our mindset. Rather than seeing Jesus’ teaching about wealth as a lesson for others, we must examine ourselves.
In a lot of ways, it is difficult to see ourselves in this light. I would say that we are comfortable, but I wouldn’t say that we were rich but reading this article helps align my perspective.
If we are ardently following Christ, we should be accustomed to adjustments. In fact, we should welcome adjustments. If we are the same people we were when we gave our lives to Him as Lord and Savior, we are in a bad spot…actually a very awful spot! To grow in our relationship with Christ we need to always be moving forward. And truth be told, there is no standing still…there is no treading water. Either we are moving forward (as we should be) or we are losing ground.
Lord Jesus, open our eyes that we may see where we are in relationship with You. If we are losing ground may we wake up and strive to move ahead. Maybe our first step would be to examine our “wealth” and adjust our mindsets and learn to give in all the many areas of life where we are so very blessed. Amen.
Oct 22nd, 2020, Thurs, 7:18 pm
See How Fast You Can Fly!
Father may our time be filled with more of You and less of me. Use this vessel as You see fit. Amen.
********
Last week on my afternoon high school route a turkey flew across the road – close enough to know what I was seeing but far enough away that I didn’t have to touch my brakes.
First of all, did you know that turkeys can fly? I did but until I looked into it, I didn’t realize how fast they could fly! A wild turkey’s top speed in flight is 55 miles per hour! That’s as fast as I would drive my bus on the open highways of my route! I’d never have guessed just by looking at them. They are pretty gangly and don’t seem the least bit graceful. Now, of course, that speed is not sustainable for long periods of time…but still!
Without actually seeing a turkey fly or without doing some research, if you would just see a turkey pecking around, you’d never think they were capable of a speedy flight. But that’s exactly the way God made them!
Look at yourself. How many things in life do you think that you are incapable of doing? Maybe there are things we have never attempted because we don’t believe they are possible to accomplish. Sometimes we are thrust into situations where we have no choice but to push through. And when we do, we are often astounded that we did what we did.
God made you with a host of talents and abilities. Many of us barely tap into that reservoir. It’s possible that we have been handicapped by those around us repeatedly telling us that we couldn’t, telling us that we shouldn’t even try. Maybe at first, we pushed back but as time went on, we came to believe the lies told us.
I am almost done reading a second book by Andy Anderson. This is a sequel to his book, The Traveler’s Gift. This one is entitled, The Noticer. They are both excellent reads. They are also very inspirational in that in a “fiction kind of way” they speak of not settling for being average but reaching for what you can accomplish even though you’ve never really even thought that way.
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT
My challenge today would be to not just dismiss new things because you’ve been taught that you are incapable. Test the waters, you never know what God has in store! See how fast you can fly!
Oct 21st, 2020, Wed, 12:38 pm