How Far Would Your Enemies Have to Search?

Sometimes a passage, though read many, many times, will suddenly take on a whole new meaning!  This passage really jumped out at me this morning...

"Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps TRIED to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were UNABLE to do so. They could find NO corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, "We will NEVER find any basis for charges against this man Daniel UNLESS it has something to do with the law of his God."  Daniel 6:3-5

Which makes me wonder: How far would your enemies have to look before they found grounds for charges against you? How long would they have to seek before they could go running to the king?  Would your life be such that they could find NO corruption in you, not even a basis for a charge UNLESS it has something to do with the law of your God?   Unfortunately, my enemies probably wouldn't have to look very far...  Which leads me to this:

Lord, change my heart to be more fixed on you than on the things of this world around me.  Take away my desire for wrong and let me fix my eyes on YOU!  Set my heart on things above and not the mundane of this earth.

Psa. 121:1     I look up to the mountains— 

does my help come from there? 

2  My help comes from the LORD, 

who made heaven and earth! 

Psa. 123:1     I lift my eyes to You, 

O God, enthroned in heaven. 

Hair Value

Have you ever noticed how we are all about getting attention?  Some more than others.  Some will seek to stay out of the spotlight and creep around in the shadows, yet some will go to outlandish lengths to be noticed.  But the bottom line is, we all want to be noticed and valued by someone.  Did you know that you already are?

 Check this out: Luke 12:6,7    “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows."  

So there you go.  Talk about value.  When the King of the Universe knows exactly how many hairs you have (or don't have) on your head, He's saying that He values you down to the smallest detail.

So walk as if you have value.  Talk as if you have value.  Know that you are both noticed and LOVED by God supremely.  And when you recognize the value that He has placed on YOU, it can make all the difference in the world!

Cataracts and Jesus

First of all...let me share what just happened to me...by using the description found on Wikipedia.

An eye with a cloudy cataract

Cataract surgery is the removal of the natural lens of the eye (also called "crystalline lens") that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract. Metabolic changes of the crystalline lens fibers over time lead to the development of the cataract and loss of transparency, causing impairment or loss of vision. Many patients' first symptoms are strong glare from lights and small light sources at night, along with reduced acuity at low light levels. During cataract surgery, a patient's cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced with a synthetic lens to restore the lens's transparency.[1]


Following surgical removal of the natural lens, an artificial intraocular lens implant is inserted (eye surgeons say that the lens is "implanted"). Cataract surgery is generally performed by an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) in an ambulatory (rather than inpatient) setting, in a surgical center or hospital, using local anesthesia (either topical, peribulbar, or retrobulbar), usually causing little or no discomfort to the patient. Well over 90% of operations are successful in restoring useful vision, with a low complication rate.[2] Day care, high volume, minimally invasive, small incision phacoemulsification with quick post-op recovery has become the standard of care in cataract surgery all over the world. (Wikipedia)

Looks like fun, doesn't it?

For an animated view of the surgical process, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/MqwyoXBwFSI

Ok...so I just had my right eye done last week, and I have to get the left one done next month. Right now, it is still painful, but I have no more glare from headlights, etc in my right eye. The colors are brighter and objects appear much sharper in focus (at least in the distance) I will still need reading glasses for up-close things.


I didn't realize that my eyesight had gotten as bad as it was. I didn't realize that the colors were fading. I did realize, however, that things weren't quite as clear, but figured that with another upgrade to my eye glasses, things would be fine again. But all of this has set me to thinking.


How am I doing with my spiritual sight? Perhaps, without realizing it, sin has begun to dull my picture of Jesus and He is going out of focus. Sometimes it seems as if my spiritual life has lost some of the color and my view has gone dim. Maybe its because I'm looking too much to the world and not enough towards Jesus. Maybe Satan is trying to cause a glaring sin to blind me and I don't realize it. Whatever the reason, perhaps I need a cataract surgery of the heart. Maybe my cloudy spiritual lens needs to be replaced with a fresh, new IOL that refocuses on Jesus. Maybe Jesus needs to do some phacoemulsification with my spiritual vision. Perhaps that old tune is just what the Dr. ordered.


Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

I would rather the things of this earth grow dim than my spiritual vision. So sign me up Jesus, for a spiritual cataract surgery and reset my vision on You.

Look pretty pitiful, don't I?

One Resolution!

This is it!  The end of another year.  So how has it been for you?  Are you any more organized at this point in time than you were at this time last year?  Have you lost the weight, reduced your debt, raised your grades, maintained a consistent devotional life?  And what about your spiritual walk?  Are you less angry, more forgiving, more tolerant and less critical now than you were a year ago?  Are you allowing Christ to change who you are at the very core?  We always have good intentions, but they always seem to get way-laid.   So how about this next year?  What will make it any different?  What will make things work this time?  Might I suggest that this year you only have one resolution?  Here’s what Paul resolved:  1 Corinthians 2:2  “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

What would happen if that were your one resolution?  What would happen if in knowing Christ, in beholding Him, you started to find your taste changing, your interests changing, and even your desires?  Do you think you would be different a year from now?  Do you think you might actually be able to deal with some of those things that have dogged your steps for years?  Knowing Jesus can change you way beyond just knowing about Him.  Because once you know Him, you will want to follow where He leads.  And He always leads you towards what is best for your eternal salvation.  So here, at the beginning of 2012, why don’t you make that resolution?