I Was Blind, but Now I See

 

There is none so blind as those who refuse to see.   Old English Proverb

 

When we moved to Happy, we had a 77 year old neighbor across the alley by the name of Kenneth Wood. Kenneth had gone completely blind by the age of 42. Instead of "retiring" to let someone else care for him, Kenneth began a lawnmower repair business. Now, you might think that this would be impossible, especially when considering just how many moving parts a gas powered mower has, but Kenneth excelled at this work.

 

I used to go to Kenneth's for coffee on Mondays and Thursdays. At first, Kenneth would pour the coffee for us but, gentleman that I am, I quickly took over that job. Have you ever watched a blind man pour coffee? They can tell when it's been poured to the desired level by simply placing their finger inside the cup. When the coffee burns their finger, they know it's full. I suspect that you, too, would have quickly become a gentleman after the very first cup.

 

I appreciated the fact that Kenneth just never seemed to feel sorry for himself. Though he spent most of his latter years in a wheel chair, wore hearing aids, and lived in total darkness, he always had a smile on his face. One time when the coffee had finished perking Kenneth said, "I think the coffee's ready". I told him that I thought I had heard it stop perking, but he said, "No, the little light came on".

 

Kenneth enjoyed life!

 

Kenneth's been gone for many years now, but the lessons that I learned from him stay with me to this day. He taught me that life does not end just because your senses diminish or your mobility becomes limited. In fact, if you are paying close enough attention, you start to see things you never knew were there, if you will just open up the eyes of your mind.

 

This is what God's word will do for each of us, if we will just look. It shows us a Savior who came to heal all of our infirmities. It describes how He took away the greatest handicap known to man - sin - and gave us a chance to be whole again. It shows how we can live a life that far exceeds our wildest expectations, if we will just see what is plainly before us. And the word of God will show us how to live forever, if we will but open our eyes. Most people, when faced with hardships, simply surrender. But for the few who realize that such challenges just make the victory all the more sweet, life is just beginning. Can you see it?

 

One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.  John 9:25, NIV

 

Is Someone Counting on You?

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Plato

Jack was just a teen when working for an older couple on a farm in Colorado. They were caught in a sudden snowstorm while driving home one day and were stranded on a lonely country road. It fell to Jack to walk the two miles to the house in order to get the tractor so that he could come back for the elderly pair.

I heard Jack tell of this walk through the blizzard many years later. He said that as he walked he would slip and fall into the ditch. After a while, he was nearing the point of exhaustion and was tempted to just lie there and go to sleep. He knew, though, that if he were to do so, he would die. More importantly, there were two people who were counting on him to come back. So he got up and did what was needed.

That's the way life is, when you think about it. There are times that we are just worn out and ready to give up. At such times it is very tempting to do just that, but if we ever do give up in our service to God we will be lost. And, whether we realize it or not, it is quite likely that there will be others who do not make it as a result of our failure.

Is someone counting on you? Maybe it's your spouse or children. Maybe it's a close friend, or maybe it's someone that you haven't even met yet, but there are people who are counting on you. It is a sobering thought, but it is very likely that we are someone's best chance for coming closer to God and we cannot, we must not, let them down. Who is counting on you?

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward the slaughter. If you say, "but we knew nothing about this", does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what he has done? 

Proverbs 24:11-12, NIV

I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me... (Jesus) 

John 14:2-3, NIV

 

Is It Time For Your Checkup?

The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly Throne. He observes the sons of men; His eyes examine them.

I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.

Psalms 11:4 & Jeremiah 17:10, NIV

 

We've probably all received that dreaded notice from our doctors: "Our records indicate that it has been over a year since your last examination. Please contact us at your earliest convenience to schedule an appointment for a checkup." We all dread checkups. Whether it be for a simple teeth cleaning or a complete examination, we either don't want to take the time or we are afraid of what the results might be. How about your spiritual life: Have you examined your soul lately - or do you have the time?

 

God has already performed that examination, and He will continue to do so. Will He find a soul that is healthy and vibrant, or will He find one that is sick and dying? The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that we have the Great Physician attending to us, and He is capable of healing us from all sin... but we have to know if we are sick if we are to ever seek that healing.

 

Perhaps we should take the time for our regular checkups, for it is better to examine ourselves now than to find out at the Judgment we had something fatal that could have been corrected before it was too late. 

 

And... we will have an eternity to live with the results of that final examine! 

 

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?

II Corinthians 13:5, NIV

 

Is Decency Dead?

America is great because America is Good... If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

Alexis de Tocqueville

I wonder sometimes if there are many people left who are alarmed at the utter lack of decency in our society? Even when watching reruns of the old family shows, one is confronted by commercials with men and women doing things and speaking of things and boasting of things that decent people simply do not discuss, especially when aimed at audiences that are sure to include children. We watch the Super Bowl and, again, the commercials push the envelope of bad behavior to the brink. The half-time "entertainment" is more akin to a burlesque show than one meant for the family, including the network creating a "buzz" with a woman having part of her top ripped off.

The popular shows, including the cartoons, celebrate fornication, adultery, homosexuality and even bestiality. We walk through the checkout stands of our grocery stores and Wal-Marts and are confronted with pictures that used to be considered pornography, as well as bold-lettered headlines that glorify the most vulgar conduct imaginable. MTV, the station which owns the teenage market, shows more soft-core pornography in one day than Hugh Heffner could hope to show in his magazines in one year. Even the Disney channel cannot seem to figure out how to show a young lady without clothing her in something with a plunging neckline.

And we abort more babies each day than the total number of deaths in the twin tower attacks of 9-11... over 1,000,000 babies each year... over 50,000,000 since our "enlightened society" determined that the value of an unborn baby's beating heart could not compare to the convenience of two selfish parents. Is it not barely possible that America has ceased to be good?

I know that it is easy to pick out things that are wrong with society, but that's precisely the point. It has become far too easy. So, what do we do? We turn to God! And, we turn our families back to God. And, we begin to hold those around us accountable to standards of decency again which means we must stop pretending that no one can figure out what they are. Then, maybe, decency will make a comeback. Can there be any doubt that unless America turns away from its vile and vulgar behavior... that we will cease to be great? Let's do our part to return to decency. I believe that we owe our children that much. I know that we owe God that effort.

"Peace, peace", they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. 

Jeremiah 6:14-15, NIV

 

Is Christ Convenient for Your Life?

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up. Rumsfeld

One of my favorite stories is of a young man who is separated from his sweetheart. He writes to her and says, "My love for you is so great that nothing could keep us apart. Indeed, I would swim the deepest ocean, I would scale the highest mountain top, I would cross the widest desert, just to be near you." What beautiful sentiments! What elegant poetry! The young woman must have simply been swept off her feet... until she read the final line: "P.S. I'll see you Sunday, if it doesn't rain."

This story makes us laugh, yet it sometimes comes a bit too close when we think of our own service to God. How many times have we put off reading His word because we were so busy? It might be that we still had the time to squeeze in that three hours of television in the evening, but we were still "so busy". How many times have we had time for only a brief snippet of prayer because of our schedules being so pressed, but had more than enough time to send 50 text messages or e-mails to our friends that we needed to keep in touch with?

Or, how about this? How many times have we missed the worship of our Lord because we were too busy? Perhaps that "busy" was taking time to mow the lawn that we just could not get to yesterday. Or, to do some maintenance that "just has to be done" (We are so sorry, Father, but first things first) or to spend some quality time with the family. If we were a bit more honest with ourselves, we would realize that we make time for the important. When was the last time you missed your kid's ballgame because you just had to mow the lawn? For that matter, when it comes to weak excuses, what could possibly be considered more quality than the time that you spend with your family at worship?

If this all makes you feel guilty, then welcome to the club - we have all been there. The question is what will we do about it? Christ does not want a "convenient servant" any more than we would want a convenient employee or a convenient spouse. How many times have we essentially said to our Lord, "I'll see you Sunday, if it doesn't rain"? Is Christ convenient... for you?

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master has put in charge...? Suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, "My master is staying away a long time", and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.    Matthew 24:45-51, NIV