Sight For The Blind

Despite it all

Save me, Lord

Show my feet where they should go

In my struggle and my strain

Let it all not be in vain

Despite it all

May I endure the pain

To be set aright 

With You again

I feel so ignorant 

No one can help me beyond this cliff

This cliff of myself 

This cliff of human understanding

I peer over the side

But all I see is fog

I sit on this cliff and weep with longing 

My feet dangling like a child’s 

Over the edge of a chair 

Feet dangling in the temptation of despair 

I know that You dwell somewhere beyond 

Somewhere deep in the cloud

I want to be there with You

I want to dwell within the veil 

Away from all the things “Not You”

All the wrongness and delusion

But how do I separate myself from myself?

Oh God, I want to be free!

Child you are free

You are separated 

You are with Me

But Lord, how can this be?

I am blind

I cannot see

Child it is this confession 

That draws you near to Me

For it is those who say they are not blind 

Who are truly the ones that cannot see

(Isaiah 42:6,7) I will keep You and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

(Psalm 146:7,8) He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free, the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.

(John 9:35-41) When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”.. “Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus. Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “What? Are we blind too?” “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

(Luke 18:40-43) When he had been brought near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God.

Letter Or Principle

This is my cat, Rudy. 

His whole world is the inside of our home. He has no idea that his whole world is just a small portion of a ten acre farm. He knows nothing of towns and counties and states and countries and continents and planets and the universe. His entire existence revolves around what is contained within our house. The rules that apply to him here are pursuant to his experience and existence within these walls. 

Rudy isn’t supposed to jump on the counter and he isn’t supposed to claw my furniture into shreds, and those are good rules. But if Rudy were to leave this house, the letter of those rules wouldn’t apply to him anymore because countertops and furniture aren’t out there. However, the principles behind those rules would still apply to Rudy. The principles of self-control and being considerate and respectful would carry on past the doorway of my home, out into the wide unknowns of wherever Rudy may travel. 

In my quiet time with the Lord this morning, I pondered how this relates to us.  I pondered how Old Testament laws that applied in one context but not another, were based on spiritual principles. I pondered how spiritual principles reflect moral absolutes, which are themselves eternal, because the standard of human morality is based on the character and nature of God Himself, Who is eternal and unchanging. I pondered how laws are a good thing in their proper context, but it is the spiritual principle behind them that is eternal, not the law itself. 

Then I wondered how many of us, even now, may be clinging to the letter rather than the eternal principle. I wondered how many of us truly understand that the Lord is bringing us somewhere far beyond the doorway of our limited experience, into a vast unknown where only the eternal dwells and all that is not, is left behind.

(2 Cor 2:6) And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

(Col 3:1,2) Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

(1 Cor 15:53-56) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality…then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

(Heb 7:11,12) So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.

Spiritual Torrents

I started as a trickle 

A babbling brook that wet the ground 

As I gathered momentum 

The stream widened all around 

I continued on as a creek

Winding ‘round every jagged rock

The force of flow was stronger now

But not so much it couldn’t be stopped 

Despite the enemy’s efforts 

To divert and dam the flow

The creek turned into a river 

And toward the ocean the river did go

The river became a torrent 

Cutting through muddy lands 

The path of the river was sure now

Because it was cut by the Master’s hand

The torrent yearned for the ocean 

To at last find its way to the sea

“Father, what happens when I reach the ocean?”

“Daughter, you will reach fullness in knowledge of Me.”

(Psalm 46:4,5) There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.

(Ezekiel 47:3-9) As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured..and led me through ankle-deep water. Then he measured..and led me through knee-deep water. Again he measured..and led me through waist-deep water. Once again he measured..but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot…wherever the river flows everything will flourish.

(Rev 22:1,2) Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Many Counsels

This morning, as I read through Job, I prayed to the Lord that my words would be few, but that they would be from Him. 

As I read through Job, the word that the Spirit keeps bringing to mind is: “You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels.” This is the word of the Lord for us today. The gift of teaching initially given to the church for the edification of the Saints has become an albatross about its neck, keeping minds and hearts grounded in earthly and fleshly arguments, rather than drawing our minds and hearts upward and onward into spiritual principles that cannot be apprehended by the natural mind. 

There are a multitude of saints who are wearied by the many counsels in the church. So many voices, so many words and opinions and teachings, so many of my precious brothers and sisters anxiously looking left and right in a desperate attempt to discern with their mind a narrow path that can only be walked rightly by being led by their Shepherd, rather than figured out by their own reasoning. Oh, beloved Shepherd of our souls, indeed we are wearied by our many counsels! 

As I read through Job and I see the counsels given to him by his “friends”, I weep and I groan.  These friends of Job try to teach him truth based on their own perception of God. Their attempts at consolation only end in dispute—arguments over who is right and who is wrong. Completely blind to their own lack of wisdom, what “truths of light” they do manage to utter, are swept away into the lengthening shadow of their own darkened understanding. 

I have no clever statement of summary today, only an agony within for those who do not see their own bondage to be made aware of their chains. 

(Gal 5:13-15) For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be destroyed and consumed by one another.

(Is 47:13) You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.

(Job 13:5-12) Oh that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom!..Will you argue God’s case for him? Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality…Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

The Table Of My Heart

 

As You stand at the door and knock 

And call out with Your shepherd voice 

May I throw open the door and answer You, 

“Beloved, you are my only choice”

Sit at the table of my heart, O Lord

Come in, and make Yourself at home

Set upon the table Your bread and Your wine 

Come in, and make my heart Your throne 

Forgive me, please, for all the times 

I tried to sit upon that throne myself 

Help me, Lord, to walk only with You 

May I never be led by anyone else

At the table deep within me 

You and the Father sit end to end

Like eternal pillars of all that is good 

Holding up holiness and delivering from sin 

(John 14:23,24) Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

(Rev 3:20,21) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

(1 John 5:3,4) For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

Left Of Center

 

Every day I have to straighten these desks. 

I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade English Language Arts, and at the end of each day, after all three grades have sat in these desks, each one needs to be adjusted back into the proper position. If I go a couple days without straightening them, there are a few that would probably veer so far off-center, that they would end up on the other side of the classroom. Some days, when I straighten each row, I think to myself, “Lord, I wish more of us in Your church would do this.” 

When Scripture tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart, we are being told that David sought to have a heart like the Father’s in all things. And one of the things we see when the Father manifested His heart in human flesh through His Son, is that often times people made the wrong assumption about how God felt about others and themselves. We see Jesus often dealing with people at extremes, giving grace to those who didn’t deserve it and bringing conviction upon those who thought they didn’t need it. 

Beloved, the inconvenient truth is that we fight an enemy who is just as pleased when we misuse the letter of God’s word, as he is when we disobey it. Our enemy dwells at both extremes, but he doesn’t necessarily seek to draw us fully there. He simply seeks to tip the balance one way or another, subtly moving us off-center. Whether in the direction of hedonism or asceticism, he is equally successful. And unless we daily offer our heart unto the Lord to search it and try it…

…we may end up clear on other side of the classroom before we realize it. 

(Acts 13:22) After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’

(Psalm 139:23,24) Search me, O God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; See if there is any hurtful or offensive way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.

(Job 31:5) If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity. 

(Prob 21:2,3) All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Seeing The Son

All my life I prided myself on my strength

Until You showed me I wasn’t strong

All those years spent thinking I was right 

Until You finally showed me I was wrong 

“Prepare me, O Lord!

Give me dreams and visions 

Show me that You are truly there!”

Be still, My daughter 

Let Me teach you of faith

First, pick up the cross you must bear

“Oh Lord, I trust you completely!”

Yes daughter, until you don’t. 

“But Lord, I will follow You implicitly!”

Yes daughter, until you won’t

Father, why do I struggle with these things that are true?

Why do I hesitate and question You?

How will my heart find the strength that it needs?

How will I ever work your marvelous deeds?

“Lord, help me please! 

Show me how it is done!”

I did, my daughter 

I sent you my Son 

(1 John 4:9,0) This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

(Col 1:27,28) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

(James 3:17,18) But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Patience Of The Lord

 

The Lord convicted me today. 

I scrolled through Facebook as I sat at my desk eating lunch today. I began to lament the caricature that Facebook tends to be of human existence, including and especially things pertaining to religion and faith. I thought to myself as I have so many times before, “I’m so done with this.” And the Lord communicated in that moment, that it is a good thing He’s never been like that with me. 

So many times I’ve said, “I’m done with this world…I’m done with the way this person thinks…the way this person acts….the way this or that thing is…I’m done with this.”  But the Lord isn’t. Not yet. And that is a good thing for all of us. His patience with us is a good thing, and today the Lord reminded me that our patience with each other is a good thing, too. 

I’ll be flat out honest with you, there are people who get on my last nerve. There are things happening in this world that make me just want to throw up my hands and jump on the next train to heaven. But that is more of a testament to the work the Lord needs to do in me, rather than anything else. Oswald Chambers said that God uses us from His perspective, not ours and that when we say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache,” we become a stumbling block. 

He goes on to say, “When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness.”

(Is 48:9) For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off.

(Rom 2:3,4) So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

(2 Pet 3:9,15) The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance…Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation…

Seed Of The Lord

The Lord speaks unlike man speaks. 

Mankind speaks according to the structures of reason. We observe an issue to contend with, and then we formulate our arguments against it according to our ability to reason and understand. We may incorporate Scripture into our argument, but it is still Scripture as we interpret and understand it. And we do all of this without even realizing it. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we must concede that more often than not, we contend for God through the lens of our own heart. 

I have found that one of the most difficult lessons we must learn as followers of Christ, is to simply be honest with ourselves. To admit that maybe we cannot see as clearly as we thought we could. To truly arrive at the end of ourselves where we have no other options left, nothing left to hide behind, and thus admit with a truly humble heart that we know nothing. To admit that the impetus for much of our contending for the word of God, is to preserve our own understanding of it. 

When the Lord speaks, He doesn’t really argue, He just plants seeds. He speaks transforming truth that is not apprehended by the mind of the flesh. And even though those truths may be overlooked at the time, the seed of that truth settles deep within a person’s psyche and begins to take root, quietly working through a person as leaven works through a lump of dough. That is why the Holy Spirit has no need to argue according to reason. He simply needs to cast His seed and allow that seed to do what it was created to do. 

May we all have faith that the Lord is capable of doing that. 

(Mark 4:26-29) Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how. All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within. And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

(Matt 13:33) He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

(1 Cor 3:6,7) I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

(Is 55:10,11) For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

What Do You Want Me To Do For You?

 

As I read through Mark Chapter 10 in the barn yesterday, the Lord pointed out something. 

At Mark 10:32-34, Jesus tells His twelve disciples the gruesome details of how He will suffer and be put to death, and then rise again three days later. Then James and John say to Jesus, “We want You to do for us whatever we ask.” Jesus responds, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And they ask to sit on His right and left when He is revealed in His glory. They ask for power and position. 

A few verses down, once Jesus gets to Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is passing through. He cries out to Jesus for mercy, addressing Him by the Messianic title, “Son of David.” Jesus calls him over to Himself and says, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And Bartimaeus simply answers, “Rabboni, I want to see.” He asks not to be blind anymore. 

We see Jesus ask the same question in both of these pericopes, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the first two ask for power and position, but the other asks for mercy and sight. The Lord communicated that there are many in the church still today, whose heart-longing is more for the power of the Holy Spirit and maintaining an honorable position, rather than  to be given clear vision by Him that will lead to right understanding. 

After blind Bartimaeus asked to receive sight and was healed, Jesus told him that it was his trust that restored his sight and enabled him to “follow Jesus along the road…” (Mark 10:52). 

(Rev 3:17,18)  …you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

(John 9:39-41) Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

(Matt 5:3-5) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Sitting With My Savior

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked through this barn door with a heavy heart. 

Some days I barely make it to the door before the tears come. I come out here to wrestle, to weep, and to worship. I come out here to shout, to seek, and to sigh. I come out here with questions that are sometimes answered and sometimes not. Sometimes, I sit and look out the window at the pond as I talk to the Lord. Sometimes, I sit and pray with my eyes closed as I rock back and forth in anguish. Because when I come out here, I come out here for relationship. 

I need my Messiah. I need my Lord and my God, and I need Him every second of every day. I need Him to help me, to comfort me, to guide me, and to feed me. I am small and He is not, and I need Him to be big in my life. I need Him to be bigger than the ugliness and hurt and brokenness in the world, because that is what a Savior is. A Savior is someone bigger than our suffering and our sin— Someone who is bigger and greater than all the things that make you feel small and weak and broken and defeated. 

I have walked through this door so many times with burdens and questions, and a desire to know the One Who can deal with them. Because He said seek and you will find. He said abide in Me and you will bear much fruit. He said lose your life for His sake, and you will find it. And so I come out here to seek and abide and lose my life….so I can find it in Him and bear much fruit. 

Brothers and sisters, today I encourage you to do the same. 

(1 John 4:4-6) You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. 

(Matt 7:7,8) Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 

(Ps 34:17-19) The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

Spiritual Food

I took a walk to the barn last night with my two youngest. 

Halfway down the barn path, they stopped and began searching together. They began to dig in the dirt, looking for for treasures. Each time they found a lovely rock or an interesting shaped stick, they excitedly shared it with each other. Each time they shared a discovery, it was like they were sharing something that nourished each other’s soul. 

I’ve admitted this before—that I wanted to be a Bible scholar. When I finished my bachelor’s at Moody, I wanted to continue on and get my master’s in biblical studies. But one day, the Holy Spirit said to me:  “Information is not food.” In that moment, I understood the breadth and depth of what He meant. In that moment, I also understood why His call upon my life wasn’t to be a Bible scholar, but to write about chickens and mowing the pasture and moments in my barn. 

There is a difference between sharing biblical information and sharing spiritual food. Christ must be present in anything we share with each other if it is to nourish our soul. It is our relationship with Christ and our personal knowledge of Him that will act as bread passed ‘round the table, not how well we communicate biblical truth. It is Christ in you— Him living and communicating through you—that will open others’ eyes to His glory. 

As we search together, He is the treasure we find and excitedly share with each other, in a way that will feed our souls. 

(John 15:4,5) Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one abiding in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are able to do nothing.

(John 6:48,51) I am the bread of life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.

(Matt 13:44,45) The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

(Job 28:12-23) But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living…God understands the way to it and He alone knows where it dwells..

What Ships Are Built For

As I slowly drive down my long driveway on foggy mornings when I leave my house, I often think to myself, “This is what I feel like, Lord.”

I can see the road in front of me and I can see the direction I’m headed in, but I cannot see what lies beyond. There are long stretches where the road is smooth and easily passable. But there are also large potholes that cause me to slow down and pass more carefully. Each foggy morning, I am reminded that my walk with the Lord often seems just like this. 

Some days I don’t even want to leave my house. I want to stay in the safety and comfort of my home. I don’t want to deal with the brokenness of the world. I don’t want to see what lies beyond the end of that driveway. But the other day, someone reminded me of a quote by John Shedd: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Those of us who belong to the Lord are all ships in one way or another, meant to set sail upon the waters of this world. 

Truly, we are warships of Messiah, not built for harbors. We are built to endure the deep waters— waters that are sometimes calm, and sometimes stormy. Sometimes we may even face seasons of thick fog, where we can see the direction we are headed in, but cannot see what lies beyond. Teddy Roosevelt once said that warships should be kept moving, because even though they face some of the greatest risks, if left in the harbor they will rust and rot. 

Brothers and sisters, perhaps you feel a great fog has settled all around you and you can’t see what lies beyond. Or perhaps you don’t even feel like leaving the harbor. But today I want to remind you: That’s not what ships were built for. 

(Matt 5:14,15) You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

(1 Cor 13:9,10,12) For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect comes, the partial will pass away…For presently we see through a glass in obscurity; but then, we will see face to face. Presently, I know in part; but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

(Isaiah 43:1,2) Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine! When you go through deep waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

(Joshua 3:3-5) “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before”…Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”