Good Morning Friends,
Misdirection in the world is intentionally diverting our attention in order to mislead us. Magicians, advertisers, negotiators, politicians, and thieves have this all in common. I do not want to rob you of that miracle of the moment, but the world is filled with these shifting shadows. It is hard to see when you are in a box. So, as you read the scripture and today’s meditation, I hope it helps you to see more clearly the need for leaders to recognize the importance of keeping the main thing the main thing. The entire landscape of the blind man’s life was changed after he had been alone with Jesus and healed of his inability to see. So too the entire landscape of the world was changed after the flood and God’s deliverance of Noah and his family. Both are a type of vision cleansing available to us today through the death and resurrected Jesus so that we too might be transformed into something that endures. How Are We To See A Peaceful Change In Ourselves?
Scripture: At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more. In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22 (NRSV)
They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”
Mark 8:22-26 (NRSV)
Scripture: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17 (NIV)
Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?
Mark 8:18 (NRSV)
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NRSV)
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore, rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act–they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:19-27 (NRSV)
Message: The lifting of a curse is a powerful event. And in the Noah story the reveal is dramatic. Noah sends out a raven and a dove to see whether the waters were gone. Apparently, the raven flew around without going back into the ark, but the dove came back to Noah. There is plenty of speculation about what all this means, but it seems unsystematic to me. Maybe the reality that ravens eat dead meat and doves eat seeds has something to do with it. The point is that after the birds find plenty of food and a place to land, they do not come back to the ark. Apparently, Noah was able to open enough of a window to allow the birds out, but Noah could not see for himself whether the water had receded. Finally, he has evidence in an olive branch that it is safe to go out and he removes the cover and looks with his own eyes. Here he sees a new world. And like the blind man whose sight was restored Noah also opens his eyes out of the ark to see anew. Here sight and the experience… the smell of a cookout offering, and a rainbow of a restful, soothing, and peaceful color is unveiled that begins to change us from the inside.
But are we focused on the right priorities? Today’s scripture, I think, gives us a look at what should really concern our minds and emotions. Society is constantly attempting to stain us with dialogue designed to put us in a box to better control us. It is almost certain death to be in such a coffin. Jesus the man was subjected to this same treatment. But in His own ministry He would not be put in a box. He would not stay in the tomb. He would not buy into the world’s misdirection. He and the Spirit in him would not submit to things that diminish the worth of another person or of God. His focus was in revealing the sacred worth of all people. No court magicians, Jewish politicians, religious thieves, nor Roman negotiators could take him off focus. So, today we face the issue of control and misdirection. And here we might just discover the means of achieving liberty. Here we might just discover that there are some things God wants us to give up so that we can receive something even better. Here in the crucible of community we learn to substitute the fruit of the spirit as a means of survival. Friends, once we are in touch with the fear and violence still within us and among us, we can use it to help us understand the grip those forces have in the world and in our lives. Then we can fight the deceptions and misdirection of the world.
And So, following God whether it is out of town to a place unknown by a blind man or in the building of a means of deliverance for a new world by Noah requires faith, obedience, and trust…the precursors of peace. For each of us desires peace and purpose, and we gain some when we experience earthly beauty and honor, but the perfect peace that fills the hole in our heart is found only in Christ who extends to us a deliverance through the cross to the greatest beauty and honor of all…access to the throne of God…. Heaven.
Pray our prayers get God’s attention. Pray we measure our success against God’s purpose for our lives. Pray we be doers not deceivers. Pray we understand the difference between a real and phony faith. Pray when we look in the mirror, we see a reflection of the Spirit of truth. Pray we do not pass up joy. Pray we see the truth in changed lives. Pray we do not allow the distractions of life to cause us problems with our walk with Jesus. Pray we give permission to God to change us from the inside out. Pray we surrender to Him and survive. Pray we look at our hands helping others out of the box not halting their freedom even as we grasp theirs in our ascent out of our pit. Pray that God free us from bondage in the box.
Pray we give thanks each day for the many blessings we have. Pray we realize that God is a gift that never stops giving. Pray we realize that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Pray we be more incarnational. Pray we see and feel. Pray we spend time alone with Jesus. Pray we are transformed and healed. Pray we have friends that care enough to encourage God to be active in our lives. Pray Jesus does a work in us so that we might see. Pray we are touched in a spiritual way, so we might be delivered from evil and healed in a way that brings us a vision of peace. Pray this peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and minds, through faith in Christ Jesus. Pray for a time of peace to wash over us with a covenant of love in a purpose that glorifies God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 