There is none so blind as them who will not see. John Heywood, 1546

I am just like you. I can see when others are fooling themselves. I can see when others are living lives of self-delusion, self-deception and just downright lies. I can spot a phony in a second. I can analyze his false claims and tell him exactly what's wrong with them. 

For example: I can tell you that those who want to replace gas-guzzling cars with electric cars, but then want to limit the construction of new electric plants, are only fooling themselves. I can tell you that those who want to balance the budget without cutting expenses or raising taxes, are simply not living in the real world. I can tell you that those who want to rehabilitate murderers and rapists and child molesters, instead of punishing them for their heinous crimes, are doing nothing more than putting more innocent lives at risk as these evil people plot their next crime.

However, I do not see the self-deception in my own life very often - do you? How about all of the "special exceptions" that we give ourselves? For example, how many times do we watch a movie that has foul language and questionable behavior, but then justify it because "it has a really good message"? Or, how many times do we cheat our employers of the honest day's work that we are getting paid for, and then get mad when someone cheats us out of a little something or another?

Or, when it comes to our service to God, how many of us want to cling to the Bible's promises of "grace" and "mercy" and "heaven", but then don't believe the Bible's warning's on things like "sin" and "punishment" and "hell"? The fact is that many of us love those who bring the good news of God's good promises, but disdain the narrow-minded and bigoted mindset of those who insist that His promises of punishment are just as real as His promises of reward.

Are we deceiving ourselves when it comes to God's word? We are if we believe in those promises of reward, but not those of punishment. We are if we think that we have found "loopholes" to obedience. And, maybe more than anything else, we are self-deluded, self-deceived and functionally blind, if we believe that the Bible is God's word... but fail to read it. If you find yourself in such a position, what will you do about it? Will you resolve to change, or will you deceive yourself into thinking that the Bible is just what you want it to be, instead of exactly what God intended it to be?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22, NIV

I’ve never seen a rock fight turn out well.

I was about five years old and the older boys were having a rock fight. They told me I couldn’t play for fear that I would get hurt, but I didn’t care - it just looked too exciting to pass up. And it was exciting, very exciting, right up until the moment that I got hit. I can see it to this very day, as the rock flew towards me - it was downright mesmerizing. I guess I just got to watching it sail towards me until it hit me smack dab in the middle of the head.

Bruce Heatie was his name, or it may have been his brother Kevin, that part is somewhat vague. I do remember when I got hit that he came running up to see if I was alright - but to no avail. I ran home, to Bruce’s home that is, to Bruce’s mother. Now, you may be wondering why I ran home to Bruce’s mom instead of my own mother, but if you are wondering that it’s because you were never a five year-old boy. You see, when a five year-old boy is hurt, the one who hurt him must suffer too.

So, I ran to Mrs. Heatie’s home and rang the door bell. When she opened the door she saw me crying, with Bruce behind me, fear in his eyes (ha, ha, ha), and me with a rising knot in the middle of my forehead. “Bruce hit me with a rock”, I cried, and then ran home to my mom, leaving Bruce to face the wrath of his mother.

In retrospect, I can see that tattling on Bruce for something that was really my fault was not very sporting, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. Now that I am older I can see that my actions were immature, and you can see that my actions were immature, but what do you expect from a five year-old?

The sad thing is that we can see it now with our politicians: “The Republicans hit me with a rock”, the little Democrats cry. “No, the Democrats threw the rock first” the little Republicans cry. And… the nation suffers.

Sadder still is when Christians get to fighting. It’s usually over something minor, but it always seems important at the time. And… the church suffers. Maybe, when we get this way, whether politicians or brothers and sisters in Christ, we just need to grow up and learn the lesson that all five year-old boys have learned: Rock fights never turn out well.

Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone… John 8:7, RSV

"I may not always do what God wants me to, but He knows that I love Him"    Countless Millions

"If you love me, you will obey what I command"    Jesus

My father in law Alvin tells a story of when he was a small child. His parents had given him a dime and he went into a cafe and ordered a hamburger. Alvin was hungry and he had his mouth set on a hamburger. He was looking forward to that hamburger. He was nearly drooling for that hamburger. So as the man fixed his order, he could hardly wait. But the man did not bring him a hamburger. Instead, he brought him a baloney sandwich and said, "Here's your hamburger". He apparently didn't think that a kid would know the difference.

But Alvin did know - and he was sorely disappointed.

So here's the lesson: Even a kid knows when someone is trying to feed him a bunch of baloney. We can call a baloney sandwich a hamburger if we want, but it's still baloney.

Why is it that so many of us go through life with statements like, "I may not always do what God wants me too, but He knows that I love Him", and actually believe it? I think that it's for the identical reasons that the man at the cafe tried to give a small child a baloney sandwich when he had ordered a hamburger: First, baloney is cheaper than hamburger, so it costs less to make. Second, a baloney sandwich is much easier to make, so it takes less time. Third, and perhaps most significant, the man thought he was smarter and could get away with it.

Doesn't that describe our attitude, when we decide not to obey? We think that God's way costs too much and is too time consuming, so we offer a cheap substitute... and we fool ourselves. We think that we have found a loophole to service - we might even think that God won't know the difference.

But we are wrong. God does know the difference.

Do we?

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching... He 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."

John 14:23-24, NIV

I love the rain!

It rained last week. For the first time in over two years, we had a full two inches of rain in the same week. The beauty of rain after a long absence is hard to describe. 

When it first starts raining, you kind of hold your breath - will it keep going this time, or just tease us a bit before coming to an abrupt halt? Then, after a few minutes, you begin to pray a hopeful prayer of thanksgiving, along with a request for just a bit more. After a while, you become used to the rain and you forget to pray that prayer of thanksgiving. Then, you come to your sense and offer more thanks.

I love the mornings after a night of rain. I love going outside and breathing in the freshness that only rain can bring. I love seeing the puddles on the walks, the water flowing in the gutters, the pools of water on the lawns.

I don't know why God withholds the rain, at times, but I do know that I seem to appreciate it so much more after it has been gone for a while. It has a way of making me realize that we are not in control of even the simplest aspects of our lives, for we cannot live for long without those life-giving showers from above.

It's that way in your spiritual life, when you think about it. How often do we attempt to go days on end without the showers of blessings that can only come from our Maker? How often do we live in self-imposed droughts due to a lack of seeking God - both through His word and through prayer? 

If you have been trying to live without those spiritual showers, isn't it time you allowed God to open up His floodgates of blessing again? If you will, I believe that you will love waking up in a world filled with those showers of blessings. I believe that you will love the freshness and sense of renewal in your life that only God can bring. Or... you could just continue to live in the arid places that you have created by the droughts of your own creation.

As for me, I love the rain!

Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men.

Zechariah 10:1, NIV