The Light of Perception Must Burn Brightly

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Lu 6:41 AV)

Fault finders are usually oblivious to their own, no matter how large they are.  It is interesting the one finding fault finds a mote.  Another word for sliver.  All the while they cannot even perceive a beam in their own lives.  The word ‘perceive’ is interesting.  It means more than mere seeing.  It goes beyond blindness.  It means one does not even consider the possibility that it might be there.  A blind person at least can imagine there is something present.  He may not know what it is until he feels for it.  It involves more than just the sense of sight.  The sense of smell, touch, and hearing are involved to, at least, give the understanding there is something there.  To be unable to perceive means that all senses are blocked and there is no sense whatsoever that there is something there.  Even if it cannot be seen.

Every once in a while, I have to go into our bedroom with the lights off.  It is a very dark room.  I am not willing to wait the five minutes for my eyes to adjust, so I trudge along very slowly, hoping not to trip or stub my toe on any object not seen.  The safeguard is always assuming, even if it may not be reality, that there might be something there that can cause harm.  However, every once in a while, I may trudge through with a little pride in my heart thinking I am well aware of my surrounds and ignore the sound of my footsteps radiating off a foreign object and stub my toe!  It all depends if the light of perception is on or off.  Whether that light of perception is on or off never changes the reality of a foreign objects existence.  If it is not there, then I am safe.  If it is there, then I am still safe.  Perception is the key.

We walk on dangerous ground when we do not consider the basic truths of faults.  We all have them.  Some of our faults are motes, while others are beams.  No one is free from either.  Some have motes in areas that others have beams.  Some have beams in areas where others have motes.  It is our human nature.  We must always be aware these motes and beams exist.  It will not remove the mote in another’s eye, but by perceiving we have motes and beams, will grant us the humility to help another.

Unworthy

“John answered, saying unto [them] all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:” (Lu 3:16 AV)

Washing of the feet was one of the most humbling things one would do for another.  It was expected when entering a home as a guest.  A servant would wash the feet of the master’s guests.  What John is saying is that he is not even worthy to remove the shoes for the one who is washing the feet of Jesus.  Such humility is beyond exemplary.  Such servitude is more than any would naturally feel.  What struck me was comparing John’s self-abasement concerning his Savior with how the modern Christian thinks of Christ!

Today, the contemporary Christian sees Christ as almost a co-equal.  Yes, they do see Him as a Savior who died for their sins.  They may even worship Him as a god.  But I don’t think they really see Him as the God.  I don’t think they see God as God, but rather, as god.  In other words, there is respect lacking in the hearts of the modern Christian.  If Christ were to walk the streets today, He would be treated the same way as they treated Him 2,000 years ago.  They would view Him as a miracle worker, a great teacher, even a close friend.  But the respect of which He would be entitled as God himself would be sorely lacking.

How do I come to this conclusion?  There is no respect for God’s word.  The word of God is His manifestation of Himself and His will to man.  When so-called saints take lightly the word of God, they are doing the same to the LORD.  John the Apostle echoed the same words when he penned the book of Revelation.  The seven-sealed book was presented and John knew he was not worthy to open it.  Only the LORD Jesus Christ was worthy.  We are not worthy to sing one syllable of any hymn in honor of Christ, yet if we have talent, we feel entitled.  We are not worthy to quote one word of one verse, yet if we have an education, we feel we are entitled.  We are not worthy to scrub one toilet, yet if the need arises, we feel it is beneath us!  We are a far cry from where John the Baptist was.  In truth, we are not even worthy to untie the shoes of the Savior so another can wash His feet.  We are unworthy of anything!

Fighting What Seems to be a Losing Battle

Mr 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary [the mother] of Joses beheld where he was laid.

In the face of apparent defeat, there is still ministry to be done!  These ladies had seen several risen from the dead by the hand of Jesus.  They knew the promise of the resurrection just as much as the twelve did.  When they saw their Savior buried behind a large stone, who knows what they felt. No doubt, there were mixed emotions.  The men had all fled.  They were held up in a safe house.  Once Christ was taken, all but John scattered.  They never even stood by and watched His death.  But these two ladies did.  They waited and watched.  They watched Jesus give up the ghost.  They watched as Joseph of Arimathea begged the body of Jesus.  They followed the pall bearers as they prepared and took his body, buried it hastily for the sake of the Sabbath, and left the buried body of Christ without proper preparations.  They beheld were he lay because someone had to come back and perfume the body.  Someone had to come back and pay the remains proper respect.  Even though the Savior appeared to be gone, there was still ministry to be done.

It reminds me of one of the truest believers I will ever have the privilege of calling a friend.  A church was dissolving.  The reasons were wounds self-inflicted by the congregation and a failure to make biblically based plans for growth.  The doors were closing.  Yet, this man was tasked with closing those doors.  There was still ministry to be done.  There was still a job to do.  And, it took great character to do what he did.  More character than most people whom I have ever met.  To me, this man, and the ladies mentioned above, are true heroes!  They are the ones who will stand at the judgment seat of Christ and hear those words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”   These are the kind of people who stand at the forefront and provide cover for others as they safely retreat.  They are the ones that clean up messes that others leave behind.  These are the saints that never quit.  They never throw in the towel.  There are always there!  There are always busy!  They are doing whatever needs to be done, no matter how little or big!  These are the saints that are indispensable!  These are the ones who behold were they lay him!

These ladies continued their ministry because they had character.  They didn’t continue ministry because of some perceived or hoped-for return!  Perfuming the body of Christ would not have brought Him back.  Respecting the body of Christ would not reassemble the disciples. What they were about to do would not have meant a whole lot to the future of the ministry.  But, it was ministry.  And it had to be done.  As the LORD’s coming draws nearer and nearer, and the results of our efforts become less and less dramatic, integrity and character is what will keep us faithful.  It won’t be numerical results.  It won’t be a growing membership.  It won’t be baptismal waters stirring or Sunday school classes busting out the walls.  It will be integrity and character that keeps us soul-winning, coming to church, giving, and ministering.

Appealing to God's Compassion

Mr 9:22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

Yes, the child’s father struggled with faith.  Perhaps not the faith in the ability of God, but rather, the will of God.  What struck me the most this morning is the plea for compassion.  He was not pleading for the omnipotence of God.  He was not pleading for ability of God.  He was pleading for the heart of God!  What a cry of despair and dependence.  Perhaps this is what is missing in our prayers.  Perhaps, instead of asking for the LORD to do something we know He can do, we should plea for the moral nature of God.  In particular, His compassion.

It is a difficult thing to turn down a request for compassion.  In senior High school, we were required to take three years of science.  Typically, it was physical sciences in ninth grade, biology in tenth grade, chemistry in eleventh grade, and physics in twelfth.  One of those years, the student was allowed treat it is an elective and take another technical course of study like earth science or computer science.  I remember going to my father, who always had to approve our course selection in my junior year.  The year chemistry was required.  I am and always will be, a horrible rote memorizer.  I just cannot do it.  I have to know why something is the way it is before I can remember it.  I remember seeing that periodic table all through my freshmen year.  I remember seeing it during biology.  I knew that if I was to take chemistry, an F was in my future.  However, I also knew my father was a stickler for form and function.  I would be the first of his children to ask to be opted out of a required class.  I also knew that if I went in to ask my father in a matter of fact way if I could opt out, he would turn me down.  So, I went into his office and laid out my reasons.  I did so, imploring his compassion.  I told him I would try if he really wanted me to, but memorizing that table was something I knew I couldn’t do.  He saw the look in my eyes, and moved with compassion, he allowed me to opt out and into computer science!  Appealing to reason alone did not work.  Compassion was what I desperately wanted.

Maybe, if our prayers are long in coming with answers, we should try appealing to the compassion of God!  It is a hard thing to turn down the request of a child who desperately desires to be relieved of some stress or duress.  God’s compassion fail not!  Time to pray for them!

Consider God for Who and What God Is

“For they considered not [the miracle] of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” (Mr 6:52 AV)

The context of this statement is Jesus coming to his disciples, walking on the water, in the midst of a storm.  They believed it as a spirit.  They cried out because they were frightened.  They were astonished at the power of the Son of God to quiet a storm.  Then, Jesus rebukes them for their unbelief and use the first miracle of the loaves and fishes as the premise of all faith.  One wonders why.  After Christ feeds another crowd in similar manner, the disciples soon forget the miracle and struggle with having no bread.  Why was this one miracle so important?  What is it that this miracle was the one that should have built in the heart faith which would enable the disciples to believe any further miracle they would see?  And, why is it that we have a hard time remembering the miracles of God once they are over?  How much does it affect our ability to believe more?

The miracle of the loaves and fishes is the only miracle wherein Christ creates out of nothing.  All other miracles he governs what He has already created.  Granting the dumb their voice, the deaf their hearing, the lame their limbs, and even the dead their life, are all miracle of working with what Christ had already created.  But the miracle of the fishes and loaves was the miracle of creation.  Taking a few loaves and fishes and multiplying them to a quantity not believed by any is astounding.  The miracle of creation is the miracle of a deity.  Mankind may, at one time or another, find cures for the deaf, the blind, and the lame.  We can even bring back someone from the dead, if given a few minutes.  But to create something out of virtually nothing is impossible for mankind to do.

When we have a hard time accepting God for who He is and what He is capable of, we often write off the hand of God to phenomenon.  We see His hand as an inexplicable mystery of wonder, often brings awe or worse, fear into our hearts.  When we accept God for who He is and what He is capable of, we will begin to see more and more of His hand!

More or Less, But Never the Same

“And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.” (Mr 4:24-25 AV)

The more we are willing to hear, the more knowledge God gives.  The less we open our minds and hearts to truth, the less the LORD gives.  It is that simple.  The more we fight the LORD on truth and knowledge, the more He withholds answers that we need.  The more we refuse to accept by faith that which God has already revealed, the less the LORD will ask us to accept.  If we fail to have the knowledge we need, it is not God’s fault.  On the bright side, the more we trust the LORD by faith, accepting God’s word and applying it, the more God give more light.

I have a son that was difficult to educate.  He was easily frustrated and fought learning almost at every turn.  He was a very smart kid.  And is a very smart adult.  It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn the material.  He just expected it to come very easy.  When I home-schooled him, we would have a time.  Specially with spelling and grammar.  He would fuss and fuss.  I remember one time that he got so agitated that he made an angry face, grabbed his own hair and pulled it, and growled at the problem before him.  His problem was more about calming down and having patience than it was figuring it out.  Once he was able to settle down, he became an ‘A’ student.  It was all about accepting the truth he already had.

It is a life long struggle to walk in the light as He is in the light.  I progress of growth that listens, accepts, applies, and does it all over again.  The point at which we reject what we know to be true is the point we stop growing.  That is the way of spiritual growth.

Good To The Last Drop

“And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Mt 26:27-28 AV)

Don’t just take a sip!  Drink the entire cup of blood!  Not just one gulp.  Not until your thirst is abated.  Not just until you are satisfied!  Drink the entire glass full!  All of it!  Don’t leave a drop of that precious blood of Christ!  This fountain is all sufficient.  But it must be completely applied.  Nothing wasted.  Nothing left untouched.  All of it!

This is a great picture of the choice to receive the saving grace of the LORD Jesus Christ.  There is no partial acceptance.  There is no half-faith.  There is no blood plus baptism.  There is no blood plus good works.  There is no blood plus sacraments.  There is no accepting Christ then living like we never did.  It is all or nothing.  It is the blood and nothing but the blood.  It is all of it!

When the cup was finished, it was never refilled.  At least for that individual.  This cup was wholly drunk by each and every individual.  If they wanted a part with Christ, they drank the whole thing.  There wasn’t a second cup.  The blood was applied once and for all.  Complete and without a second application.  When that blood when into the inner man, he was remitted from the inside out.  This memorial service revealed the sufficiency of the blood of Christ and man’s complete submission to the plan of redemption.  All of Christ!  None of us!  So, drink all of it!  When you accept Christ, accept the whole thing.  No partial faith.  No jumping in only half way.  Drink all of it!  Rest in the assurance that your sin debt has been paid and there is no other sacrifice.  There are no leftovers that have to be applied again and again!  It was a one-time drink!  All of it!