Chapter 9
HIS SIGHT FOR YOUR BLINDNESS
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
JOHN 9:39 NIV
81 Why You Need Glasses
Those wearing glasses enjoy significant advantages compared to those who don’t according to Elite Daily. They look intelligent and professional.
Employers are more likely to hire them. They view them as trustworthy and friendly, more than those with 20/20 uncorrected vision.1
Except for reading, I parked my glasses in their case in 2014 thanks to cataract surgery. Before reading the Elite Daily article, I had no idea how much I was handicapping myself and diminishing how others see me!
Spiritual glasses will help you make wise moral and spiritual decisions. You don’t wear them because you’re nearsighted or farsighted.
You wear them because you’re naturally self-sighted. “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25 NIV).
You base your choices consistently on what’s best for you not what’s best for God and others. You can’t see how God wants you to live.
God’s corrective lenses enable you to see what’s important in life. To see what’s right and good. “Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 6:18 NIV).
The more you read and apply the Bible, the more you see life from God’s perspective. Those are the glasses He provides. You need them!
How has daily Bible reading improved your spiritual vision? Read John 13.
82 Would Your Mirror Lie to You?
My daughter once spotted two one-half inch-long white hairs under my right jawbone. I unknowingly had missed them while shaving.
In 2015 my dermatologist found a life-threatening melanoma on my left cheek. Months earlier, a lady at my church suggested I get that mole checked.
I didn’t worry at all that it was a genuine problem. I was shocked when the dermatologist announced the diagnosis.
You don’t see yourself as you are but what you want to see. You choose what to believe. Your mirror doesn’t lie. You do.
You lie to yourself when you live like God doesn’t exist. You lie to yourself by pursuing a self-centered life in a God-centered Universe. You lie to yourself when you substitute bible knowledge for obedience.
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:23–25 NIV).
You must speak the truth in love to other believers (Ephesians 4:15). Apart from my daughter and dermatologist telling me the truth, I’d have continued to be self-deceived. Without listening to God, you will too.
Take a risk and speak the truth in love to someone this week. Be receptive when they do the same! Read John 14.
83 Do You Know What You’re Missing?
Eyeglasses improve vision by focusing light directly on the retina. Polarized glasses filter out glare and enable anglers to spot fish beneath the water’s surface.
Both types of glasses can help you see what you’re missing. Yet even a 20/20 vision doesn’t guarantee you’ll see what’s right in front of you.
That’s because you see what you’re conditioned to see. After we bought a Mazda, we saw far more of them on the highway. They were always there. We didn’t notice them.
Your preconceived notions and biases organize the reality you perceive. They focus it on the retina of your assumptions.
You see what you’ve always seen—what you want to see. Competing political parties bend the same information to opposite conclusions for their purposes.
Seeing only what you want to see carries significant negative consequences in the spiritual realm. Spiritual sight is a choice.
Not everyone sees God’s eternal power and divine nature evident in creation. It’s not apparent because they want to hide their sinful behavior (John 3:19–21, Romans 1:20).
Jesus, through the new birth, came to remove the “cataracts” that prevent 20/20 spiritual vision (John 3:3, John 9:39). Those “cataracts” are the work of the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). They render religious and nonreligious people equally blind (Matthew 23: 16, 17, 19, 24, 26).
A lack of love for others is a sure sign religious people can’t see (1 John 2:11). A calloused, hardened heart produces eyes incapable of seeing spiritual reality (Matthew 13:15, Mark 8:17, Acts 28:27).
Seeing depends on choosing to come to Jesus and saying, “Lord, I want to see” (Luke 18:41). As Philip said, “Come and see” (John 1:46)!
How has your spiritual vision improved since you decided to follow Jesus? Read John 15.
84 Your Assumptions Can Be Your Worst Enemy
I fell flat on my back in Fargo, North Dakota. I assumed the street wasn’t icy. It was. Your assumptions often cause you to slip.
I once posted “The Validity of Testimony” on Facebook. I directed it toward Christians. Surprisingly, atheists authored more than 80% of the comments I received.
They made fun of, attacked, or tried to undermine the idea that Jesus Christ could change anyone’s life. They reject Christianity as a harmful delusion.
They fired verbal missiles, sometimes crude, at believers who commented positively about my post. One individual commented more than twelve times before he blocked me from responding.
I challenged him to read the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He refused.
That’s the predictable response of atheists whom I’ve so challenged. They assume such evidence doesn’t exist. They decide not to consider it.
You often slip by drawing conclusions based on unexamined assumptions. Atheists don’t prove Christianity and Christian testimonies are a delusion. They assume it.
They assume we live in a closed system of cause and effect. No supernatural being can intervene in it. They think they can explain the world as it is without the actions of a superior being.
Even if that were so, that doesn’t prove God doesn’t exist. They can’t imagine God’s visiting us in Jesus Christ. They’ve already assumed it can’t happen.
They don’t prove there’s no God and miracles can’t happen. They assume it. They take refuge in their ignorance.
They refuse to use their eyes to see and ears to hear (Jeremiah 5:21). They slip on their assumptions.
They’re without excuse. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 NIV).
How would regularly examining your assumptions benefit you and others?
Read John 16.
85 A Primary Force That Shapes You
Your assumptions shape you more than your heredity. Unexamined assumptions are shade-blocked windows to the real world.
Unbelievers haven’t concluded there’s no God. They’ve assumed it. They build their thinking on a foundation of four assumptions.
They live in a closed system of cause and effect. No outside influence can affect that system. There’s no supernatural God who can suspend natural law. Miracles can’t happen.
Believers assume the exact opposite. They build their lives on those assumptions.
Unbelievers assume life is about them. Believers don’t. Those contrasting assumptions lead in exactly opposite directions.
Unbelievers live to glorify themselves. That results in mostly getting with minimal giving.
Believers live to glorify God. That’s mostly giving with some getting.
How you think influences how you live to an extraordinary extent. It shapes you more than your physical appearance. It shapes you more than how athletic you are.
It affects you more than your place in the society. Your assumptions lead to a focus on self or God and others.
Unbelievers imagine unrestrained human will is unlimited. That is not true. Coaching track and field for more than twenty-five years has taught me the limits of human ability.
Fully 100 percent of those I’ve coached haven’t had the hereditary gifts necessary to make the United States Olympic Team no matter how hard they worked. That principle has broad application.
Positive thinking is better than negative thinking. But “You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to do” is simply wrong.
The good news is you can accomplish whatever God has given you to do! “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NIV).
What’s the difference between “You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to do” versus “You can accomplish whatever God gives you to do.”
Read John 17.
86 Why Two-Wheel Drive Thanksgiving Isn’t Enough
Two-wheel drive thanksgiving seems adequate when the traffic light stays green. It works when sunny weather comes for the picnic.
It’s easy to apply when you’re promoted, or your grandkids visit. By contrast, you need a four-wheel drive on thanksgiving when God seems AWOL or deaf.
It takes you places two-wheel drive thanksgiving can’t. Fully healthy believers are thankful despite adversity, pain, and suffering. Such thanksgiving demonstrates trust in the God who works all things together for good (Romans 8:29).
How much does it take to stop you from giving thanks to God? For me, it’s disappointingly little. I don’t gush thanksgiving when the lawnmower won’t start.
Anger and thanksgiving can’t occupy my mind at the same time. You don’t have to guess which one dominates in such situations. I’m stuck in the two-wheel drive when I need four-wheel drive.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” That sounds like four-wheel drive thanksgiving to me!
You start life spiritually blind (2 Corinthians 4:4). Your vision doesn’t instantly become 20/20 when you decide to follow Jesus.
You tend to magnify negative circumstances. You feel helpless and hopeless in adversity. You focus on what you can’t do instead of what you can do through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).
Your vision improves gradually as God’s word renews your mind. Other believers help you understand spiritual truth.
I’m indebted to J.I. Packer, A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, Bill Bright, Josh McDowell, Paul Little, Fred Smith, and others. It takes effort to get a better grasp on spiritual truth. As you see God’s working in adversity, you become more thankful.
Being permanently rooted in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:6–7) nurtures four-wheel drive thanksgiving. It flows from abiding in Him (John 15:5).
Rooting determines potential. Tomato seeds planted in a soup can produce few if any tomatoes.
A gratitude problem reflects at least a temporary disconnect from Jesus. He’s the source of four-wheel drive thanksgiving. I want my thanksgiving to be a four-wheel drive. How about you?
How will you demonstrate four-wheel drive thanksgiving today?
Read John 18.
87 He’s Got You Covered
When I was afraid as a child, I sometimes crawled into bed and pulled the covers over my head. Don’t laugh. It worked! The monsters under my bed never touched me!
Your fears often make as little sense as my childhood defense strategy. Fear limits you. Faith frees you.
Faith is only as good as the trustworthiness of its object. Trusting a liar’s promises leads to disappointment.
Trusting the One who never lies sets you free to become more like Him. An all-powerful God is watching over you.
He loves and covers you with His feathers. You find refuge under his wings (Psalm 91). He moves with you! Be bold today!
What bold step will you take today because God is with you?
Read John 19.
88 What’s Wrong with Camouflaged Christianity?
You averted your eyes downward. You froze like a snowshoe hare in a snow-covered forest with a fox approaching. You didn’t have a firm grasp of the material. The teacher randomly peppered class members with questions.
You prayed she’d not call on you. That would reveal the profound depths of your ignorance. It was your blunder storm prevention strategy. I’ve done it. Have you?
Because you fear ridicule and humiliation, you sometimes camouflage your Christian faith. You keep it invisible in potentially hostile environments. I’ve done it. Have you?
How can you climb out of that guilt-drenched, shame-packed hiding place? To conquer fear, you must confront it. Refuse to let it win.
It’s how people face cancer courageously. “You’re in me, but you won’t beat me!” Stare fear down. By the power of the Holy Spirit, walk toward the light.
Move relentlessly in the path of obedience despite fear. Doing that today makes it slightly easier to do it tomorrow. But it’s never easy.
If fear of men overwhelms your trust in God, you need a faith lift. I suggest meditating on the following Scriptures: “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 118:6 NIV).
“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’" (Hebrews 13:6 NIV).
“In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:11 NIV).
“The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1 NIV).
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NIV).
An ounce of God’s pronouncing your life “Well done” is worth enduring tons of ridicule.
What fear do you need to face today and stare down by acting despite it?
Read John 20.
89 What Happens When You Tell the Truth?
Mary Baker Eddy taught that disease is a mental error, not a physical disorder. She advised treating the sick not by medicine but by a form of prayer. She thought the prayer corrects the beliefs responsible for the illusion of ill health.1
She erred greatly. My aunt believed her. She died from the “illusion” of cancer. The truth matters. Truth excludes falsehood or mere appearance. The New Testament definition of truth includes faithfulness and trustworthiness.
Jesus reveals life as it is and can be. He’s utterly dependable. What He says, He does. What He appears to be, He is.
From His innermost being rivers of integrity flow. He’s full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He’s the source of the same for all who receive Him (John 1:17).
Is your truth-telling up to the full mark? Do you have leaks that need to be sealed and forgiven?
Jesus is the truth standard and spring. He enables you to be a person of the truth. To walk in His footsteps, you must speak and live the truth.
Both are challenging. Lying is habitual among political leaders and their followers alike.
Have you kept your mouth closed while friends, relatives, and neighbors live meaningless lives apart from Jesus? They’ve no clue God could change that. Ouch! Failure checkers my own life there.
I’ve been more concerned with what they think of me than what they think of Jesus’ offer of forgiveness, freedom, and purpose. Have you as well?
Telling the truth with gentleness and respect can be the turning point in their lives (1 Peter 3:15), and also risky.
When Jesus told the truth, people became believers. Others became angry. You can expect the same.
I saw a Peanuts comic strip. The students authored essays on the first day of the new school year. Lucy wrote, “Vacations are nice, but it is good to get back to school.
There is nothing more satisfying or challenging than education. I look forward to a year of expanding knowledge.”
The teacher was pleased. In the final frame, Lucy leans over and whispers to Charlie Brown, “After a while, you learn what sells.”2 That’s just the temptation.
A woman in my church made food and gave some to another person in my church. She later asked that woman, “How was the such-and-such?”
She said, “Oh, it was fine!” The giver said, “That’s strange. Mine was wormy.”
The woman caught in the lie insisted she wouldn’t repeat that error. Life frequently tests such commitments.
Not speaking when you should and lying can temporarily smooth relationships. But at a great long-term cost.
Is your truth-telling up to the full mark? What leaks need to be sealed and forgiven? Read John 21.