What Makes Us Spiritually Blind?

“Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked,”What? Are we blind, too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:39-41 NIV)

If what I say today sounds redundant, please forgive the heart that desires everyone to know truth. Jesus had a conversation with the man He had healed from blindness after the Pharisees threw him (the man no longer blind) out of the temple. Jesus understood the heart of the Pharisees–that they declared themselves to be righteous above all others and though they claimed to have knowledge of God, they did not do as God wanted them to do.

We have the same problem with people in church leadership today and with those who aren’t. Here’s the crux of the matter. If we claim to know and understand God and will not obey His Word, then we are spiritually blind. Those who claim to not know God, once they have experienced His mercy and will still not obey are also spiritually blind. However those who never knew God, but experienced His mercy and understood who He is and how He wants us to live–those–He opened their eyes and they could see–spiritually–all that He desired them to see.

I can imagine–haven’t died and gone to heaven and come back–so my imagination will have to do–that when we stand before God on that day–the day sinner and saved alike will be judged, that many people are going to be surprised by who makes it in and who didn’t. Picture this: We’re all waiting to hear what God has to say about the lives we lived on earth and He opens the Book of Life, calling us one by one. Within the Book–He has noted when we acknowledged Him and attempted to live as He would have us to live. Noted, I said–attempted–for there is no perfect person on earth. Then He pronounces our judgment–it will either be, “Well done” or “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

Who will hear, “Well done?” All those who eyes were opened, spiritually–after coming into knowledge of Him and developing a relationship with Him and doing the will of the Father.

Who will hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you?” All those who claimed to know God, yet would not live in obedience to His Word and changed it–selectively–to they could live in sin and still claim to have a relationship with God.

And there remains another group of people and I have no idea what they will hear, but I have a feeling I know where they’ll spend eternity. This group of people will be those who denied God’s existence so they would not have to obey Him and encouraged others to do as they did. And they continued to deny His existence after repeatedly being exposed to the Truth of God’s Word, in total rebellion–not wanting anyone to have any authority over their lives. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize when they chose to deny God, they also chose to be influenced by Satan–who also rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven when he wanted to be the one in authority–over God. Imagine that–an angel that God created, wanted to have authority over the creator!

There are still people who are spiritually blind–those who think their knowledge is greater than God’s, their wisdom wiser, and their strength greater. They believe that they can do any and everything without God and have. They fail to realize that without God, nothing we do will matter.

So, today–once again–I encourage all to get to into God’s Word, develop a relationship with Him, and live life pleasing Him, rather than attempting to please man. Allow God to open spiritually blinded eyes, bringing all into the family so all will hear, “Well done!”

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Prayer For The Nation!

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13,14 NIV)

Father,

I humbly seek You now,

In the midst of chaos and confusion in these times,

Stirred up in the minds of those led by Satan,

To destroy all that You love, hear my prayer, O Lord

Guard and protect our minds from the influence of evil,

Open our eyes so we might see, in the spirit, lurking danger.

Since I pray not just for myself, but for a nation that’s lost,

Because they forgot to count up the cost–of sin,

Before Your wrath is poured out upon the land,

In every crevice and corner, wreaking havoc

Raining down on the just as well as the unjust.

Examine my heart to know my motives are sincere,

And if You find no fault in me, hear and answer my prayer.

Speak to the hearts of the unrepentant, revealing who You are,

Remind them of the Foundation on which this country

Was established, survived and thrived, using Your Word for the laws of the land.

Speak to the heart of the President, reminding him

Of the path, You established, but which he has strayed.

Speak to the hearts of the lawmakers, showing them

How apathy results in solving nothing, but creating more problems.

Speak to the hearts of the appointed ones, the judges and others,

Who swear on Your Word for installation ceremonies, but by their actions,

Prove they don’t know who You are and their symbolism means nothing.

Speak to the hearts of those who continue to rebel against what is right,

Changing, perverting, Your Word, instilling in many the will to fight,

But not on their terms, realizing this war is not carnal, but spiritual,

And can only be won, if You’re in the lead, paralyzing all in the path

Of rebellion inspired by witchcraft and demons.

Speak to the hearts of Believers everywhere, remind them

Of Your Word–blessed for obedience, cursed for rebellion;

Their role, promoting Truth, is not finished, until You return to gather us all unto You.

Encourage them to stand tall and firm on Your Word,

Your Word that guides, corrects, instructs, and trains us to be

Victorious in the army of God, confronting the confusion

Whose author creates the rhetorical delusion that Your love,

Erases all need to obey Your Word, spoken by Your Son, The Word,

When He came in Your name, to give Himself as a sacrifice to save

Us all from ourselves–in a sin-ridden world–who loved us enough

To die for us, now we have a chance to love Him enough to live for Him,

Loving You enough to obey Your command to love–You and others,

And enough to know we cannot take Your grace and mercy in vain,

Allowing sin to continue to reign, encouraging others to do likewise,

Knowing that one day, we will stand before You and give an account,

Of all we have done in ourselves and those things we promoted or condoned in others.

Speak to the hearts of parents everywhere,

Reminding them how to parent according to Your Word,

Loving them, providing for them, instructing them in Your ways,

Correcting them and punishing them, when they don’t always obey.

Speak to the hearts of the children, both the young and the old,

Reminding them that long life and happiness are the result of obedience.

Speak to the hearts of teachers all over the land,

Reminding them they are to teach the children, not abuse or misuse them.

Speak to our hearts, Lord. Remind us of Your Holy Word,

Give us direction as we offer ourselves up for Your correction,

Giving up greed with speed to stop sickness and disease in its tracks,

Using Wisdom from above, as we pray on our knees

Asking forgiveness for all our wrong, distorted, rebellious deeds.

Obeying You in all things so we will have long life and prosperity,

Giving the devil no place in our lives, no victory for him as we thrive.

So when You return and position us before You,

We’ll have no need to fear or be ashamed of the Victory we’ve won,

In living for You and all we’ll hear is, “Well done, my child.”

All this we ask and thank You for doing,

In Jesus’ name and we count it done!

Perseverance in Faith Just To Hear, “Well Done!”

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6,7 NIV)

When we’re feeling a little put upon with the burdens of the world, persecuted for our faith in God and what He says, we can review what Peter is saying to the new Christians and know our suffering is not in vain. Now, according to Peter, the trials come to establish and prove our genuine faith–a faith worth more than gold–in all God says and we stand firm on The Word. When Jesus returns–there will be a celebration of our determination to stand firm in our faith, resulting in praise, glory, and honor–standing before Him and hearing–“Well done my faithful servant.” I can hear Him now! Hallelujah!

All that I’ve done will be judged and just the thought of knowing I can hear those words, makes me want to do and be better about everything I do in the name of The Lord! I can look forward to seeing Him–face-to-face–without fear of what He’s going to say. What a wonderful feeling! Knowing that I will eventually hear–well done–makes dealing with the trials of life more palatable.

Here is an answer for the naysayers about the “whys” of God. He has a purpose for everything that Believers go through and within His purpose, grace and mercy will abound and see us through the trials so we will praise Him. Jesus told us–The Believers–that in the world, we would have trials and persecutions, but not to worry because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Being an overcomer is not necessarily an easy task, but it is a worthwhile venture. We are all overcomers–we stand in faith upon what God says and will not be deterred by popular opinion or political correctness–and because of our stance, many will deride and belittle our faith, but glory to God, let them–they too shall have their just reward. Thank You, Lord for helping us to stay in position for victory, no matter how tiresome or weary the battle is for we know--we are more than conquerors in all things and You have already defeated the enemy who influences those who are slaves to their flesh. Hallelujah!