Do You Really Want To Know How To See With New Eyes?

Do You Really Want To Know How To See With New Eyes?

 

Good Morning Friends,

 

Perhaps you have thought one way on an issue and then had a change of heart. The process of change can indeed be transformative. But most of the time there are just too many variables to get a clear picture. One way to deal with this is to break things down into smaller items on which to focus. I got a practical, physical and psychological experience doing this over the last week. What happened was that a rouge landscaping company dumped a half ton truckload of yard waste in my front lawn on the right of way. Why me? Maybe they were rushed for time. Maybe they did not have the money for the dumping fee at the county facility. Maybe they we not licensed. Maybe they thought in the dim light of morning that I was an unimproved property. Who knows? I called the county so that I would not be red tagged and talked to the Utility Division of the County only to find that they would pick up dumped yard waste only on unimproved property. I was instructed to not bother calling the sheriff’s office unless it happened again… I was told it was my responsibility to breakdown the items into bins of 50 pounds or less and bundles of limbs tied together for pick up on my regularly scheduled yard waste day. This was going to take some time. Do You Really Want To Know How To See With New Eyes?

 

15Scripture: Top of Form

Bottom of Form

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.²¹ ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. ‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22’Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you^* on account of the Son of Man. ²³Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

Luke 6:20-23 (NRSV)

 

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love^* towards all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰God^* put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

 

Ephesians 1:15-20 (NRSV)

 

22The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light;

 

Matthew 6:22 (NRSV)

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

 

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

 

Matthew 13:16 (NRSV)

 

Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.

 

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

 

Message: Ok maybe you thought I was going to include some scripture about Jesus healing a blind man or the pruning of trees and of course that would be appropriate, but the focus of today’s devotional is about seeing in new ways so I opted for other passages. You see the real journey is not in just seeing new things for the first time but in seeing old things with new eyes. It is about looking at the man in the mirror and realizing that I want the Glory and Grace of God but really want to avoid the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus. Here breaking things down and processing scripture and our experiences, like processing yard waste is a worthwhile goal. The processing prepares us to receive the gift of insight so that when it does come we can see it for what it is… we are to see it as Moses saw the burning bush…something very holy. For in the processing we might just begin seeing all of creation and all of life as a gift from God. So if you want a more positive attitude in life, break it down and think on one verse at a time…one proverb at a time…one day at a time…one word at a time written on the page with perseverance. Friends, if you are overwhelmed with a task, break it down into a manageable size for processing and think on those things…one verse…one snip…one chapter…one bundle at a time.

Pray that when we wonder why Christians suffer, we ask with new eyes and discover that perhaps Christians suffer because they are the only ones who can take it. Pray we meditate on the possibility of Jesus, the rock of ages, the cornerstone of the temple of creation, the transformative connection between heaven and earth. Pray we get new eyes to see, new ears to hear and a new heart to believe. Pray we act right when things are wrong. Pray the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding of scripture and of our experience with Christ in our daily lives. Pray we realize that everything can be sacred if we allow our forgiveness and God to be part of it.

 

 

Blessings,

 

John Lawson