Small problems, big problem

Welcome to Unseen. Today I want too share a lesson I learned, like so many others, the hard way. Read on to learn about the danger of small problems.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Ephesions 6 10.

Once upon a time, there was an explorer in the Amazon. He was very brave and could handle almost anything. He faced down a leopard and survived an attack by a wild boar. He escaped from the strangling embrace of a python. He didn’t bat an eye at the storms that came. He learned to find food in the most unlikely places to keep his supplies from running out. When he died everyone was surprised. He was brave and skilled. What could have taken him out? The answer? Fleas. He had been bitten and the bites became infected. No amount of bravery could stop the poison running through his veins.

In the last few weeks, I have been dealing a lot with forgiveness and let go of 4 long-standing resentments toward people at my church. (Surely you don’t have any resentments toward people at your church, but I did.) Well, I thought that things would be a lot better at church, because I was not dragging in my baggage with me. It was, too, but the enemy was not through with the war just because I had won the battle. I was cranky and touchy. Everything was getting on my nerves, from the percussion instruments to the crying babies to the air conditioner. Things that I can always overlook seemed huge and I ended up having to go into the prayer room to get myself together.

The enemy of our souls is clever and ruthless. He will not give up when you win a battle. He may come with a sneak attack or magnify small things, which can be just as damaging as big storms, because they wear you down. When Jesus faced him down and overcame him after his 40 days in the desert, the Bible says he left him for a more opportune time. (Matthew 4:11). My temptations probably don’t look the same as yours. The enemy is not going to waste his time tempting me with drugs, but hurt feelings, guilt trips or self-pity are awfully effective on me. 1 Peter 5:8 says the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  We have to be on our guard and we have to put on our armor.(Ephesians 6) What if one of our marines went out on guard duty in the desert, but did not wear his helmet or flak jacket or take his weapon? We can’t do that either.  Hold each other up and work to resist temptations, large or small.

Guest spot

Welcome to Unseen today. We have story today from Darell Martin, who we have heard from several times before. Next week we will talk about either seasons or how little irritations can wear us down, which ever God decides.

 

I Was Blind but now I See

by Darell Martin

Five thirty comes early any day but especially on a Saturday morning when I could, at least, sleep until seven.  But I didn’t want to miss it. It was the first day of fall, and I didn’t want to miss the sunrise this particular day. 

One of my most favorite places on earth to spend part of my day is in, believe it or not, Abilene, Texas at Jacob’s Dream on the Abilene Christian University campus. This magnificent world class sculpture was created by Jack Maxwell and dedicated to the university during their centennial in 2006. Part of the sculpture is a metal casting of four, larger-than-life, angels either ascending or descending a ladder into heaven. According to Genesis, Jacob had a dream after falling exhausted from his harrowing journey, fleeing the wrath of his older brother, Esau. When Jacob awoke he call the place Bethel saying, “Surely the LORD is in this place.” There are various scriptures on stones, in this small park, that look as if they had been randomly strewn over the area. But, in fact, each piece of sculpture, every stone and each scripture is place in a specific spot. You can walk from one stone to another, reading various Bible passage from both the old and new testaments.

Now the reason I came early that Saturday morning was to see the cross. You see if you stand on a particular spot in the park and observe a particular stand of stones, on the west side, you can see the cross within the space between the stones. You cannot see it from any other vantage point other than in that one spot.  And on the Autumnal Equinox, or so I had heard, the rising sun can be seen within the space of the cross. I was there to see if—to hope that—it was true.

I went through the McDonald’s drive through, got a cup of coffee and drove to the spot, hoping no one else was there. Since most people were still in bed, I had the entire park to myself.  I sat drinking my coffee and praying for quite awhile. As dawn began creeping over the horizon I sat in anticipation on a stone wall facing east, facing the cross—watching, waiting. But alas, there was no sun peeking through the cross. I stood, thinking that I would have a better vantage point but, to my dismay, saw the sun rising, not to the center, but to one side of the cross. Disappointed, I began thinking it was all a bust—like something you hear as true on the internet, only to find out it was bogus hype.

But then I noticed the words on the ground. I hadn’t seen them earlier for the darkness all around. It was from scripture, quoted from the story of the man born blind in John chapter 9 and from my favorite hymn “Amazing Grace. “I was blind but now I see.” How could I have missed it? “I must hurry,” I thought. “The sun is rising quickly, now.” I quickly moved toward the words and stood on “I see!” And there it was. The sun positioned in the very center of the cross. In fact, in its brilliance, the risen sun seemed to eclipse the cross itself. And I thought of Easter. The old wooden cross of death, which on Friday had held fast the Savior of the world, now on Sunday stood old and tattered against the risen Son of God. Death had been defeated. Darkness had been replaced with radiant and dazzling light. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

CHARGE!

Welcome to Unseen today. We are having autumn at last and it is my son Heath's 18th birthday. Pick an emotion and I have probably had it today. Read on for a lesson in being still. It may be as hard for you as it is for me.

Charge!

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me John 15:4

I had a little enforced quiet time this weekend. I left the inside light on in my car. When I got out to go to church, the car was dead as it could be.  That was no problem, I thought. After all, I had jumper cables. Unfortunately the last time my husband let someone use the car, the kept both the jumper cables and the gas can when they brought it back. I looked around for someone to help me but couldn’t find anyone that was awake. When I did find people awake, they did not speak English. I went back in for a while, and my husband helpfully pointed out that I should always check to make sure all the lights were out.  When I came back outside, there were lots of people in the parking lot. Not one of them had jumper cables. I had the same result at the next two parking lots in the complex. Finally someone said, he had jumper cables but not a car. I followed him to his apartment, where he realized that what he had were tow cables. The neighbors upstairs said that if I could find a set they would help me. After a great deal of time looking and asking I found both cables and a car at the same time. The jumped the car and I was so excited I drove directly to the gas station where guess what I did? Yep, I turned the car off to go in and pay for gas. I happily fed the car and got in to start it. Would you like to guess whether anyone at the gas station had cables? I met another neighbor who helped me and told me to leave the thing running for a while. Oh good 25 -30 more minutes of quiet time.  I had left me book inside and my smart phone is currently functioning as a paperweight.  I sat still and guess what? God had something to tell me.

My car is not the only thing that I try to recharge without taking enough time and effort.. In Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, hands down the hardest habit  for me is the last one which says ‘sharpen the saw.’ A man is cutting wood and his saw is dull. He is working extra hard because of the dull saw, and another man suggests that he stop and sharpen the saw so his work will be more efficient. He replies that he can’t stop to sharpen his saw because he is too busy working.” We easily recognize the flaw in his logic, but do the same thing in our lives, both in our physical and our spiritual lives.  I neglect things that are going to make me better and stronger, because I don’t have time to do them. More damaging is the way I do this in my spiritual life. When I am busy, even busy doing God’s work, It is easy to rush through our Bible studies and prayer times. Then we wonder why we don’t have the passion we need for the lost or people in need. We try to go from spiritual experience to spiritual experience and keep the encouragement and lessons we learned without maintaining our connection with God. That would be like going from Thanksgiving dinner which is great Christmas dinner which is great without eating in between. There is nothing wrong with retreats or great sermons or youth rallies, but they are only a part of the equation.

Jesus used the example of plant life. Through much of John 15 he talked about the vine and the branches. In Verse 4 he said Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. When I looked up the word abide it means to remain or to stay or to make your home. How do we know if we are doing that. 1 john has a lot to say about this. We read Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.(3:24) and  No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us (4:12). Let us check the evidence of abiding in Him to keep our lives charged.