Eye Exam Revisited

Alright, I went to the eye doctor and found out that I don't see as well as I thought I did.  So, I ordered new glasses and when they came in, I went to get them.

wow.

The difference in prescription for the lens for my left eye is so drastic that it has distorted my vision.  The tech that fitted the glasses for me warned me that the change would likely cause some disorientation for a little while.  He was right.  I have had a constant feeling of near dizziness and depth perception "strangeness."  I am finally getting used to the change after nearly a week, but it was very strange there for a while.

Here's the thing: once again there is a parallel.  I mentioned before that we can easily think that we "see" things the way we should spiritually, but when we are confronted (by God's Word or His people) we find that we do not "see" as well as we thought.  Well, it is also true that when we begin to see things God's way again, the difference can be disorienting.  It is important to realize that God does not see things the way the world does.  So, perceptions will differ.  "Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear."

So if you find that you have recently discovered something new about God, don't be discouraged if it feels weird for a little while.  As with my eyes, your mind will adjust to the difference and you will eventually become much more comfortable with it.  In the end you have two choices:  you can avoid the temporary discomfort and settle for unclear vision, or you can accept a short adjustment period and see more clearly the things, ways, and character of God.

The choice is ours, and it is a daily one.

P.S.  Don't be too surprised if God's way of seeing things is different.  After all, we call gold a precious metal; God calls it pavement.  Just sayin'.  :)

God Bless you all!

Eye Exam

Well, it's been about 5 years since my last eye exam.  So, I decided that since my night time vision is not so great lately, and since my glasses seem to be slowly disintegrating, it was probably time to get my eyes checked.

The thing is that I thought my vision might be a little off, but when I got to the exam, I found that my left eye was much worse.  It had developed a noticeable astigmatism.  I didn't realized how bad my vision was until I saw what it was supposed to be.

As I thought about this, I realized that this is part of the reason that God tells us that we are not to "forsake the fellowship of the brethren."  I thought I was doing pretty well, all things considered, but when I asked about what I was seeing, I found that it was a little off.  The same can happen with Christians who don't spend time with other believers: they can start to feel like they are "doing all right," but in truth, they are a little off.  We can get caught up on tangents and lose sight (pun intended) of what really matters if we don't check ourselves first with the Word of God, and then with the people of God.

Self-sufficiency is good; we are not supposed to be needy, or codependent people. But one of the first things God said about mankind was this: "It is not good for man to be alone."

Yesterday's Mana

I was reading in Exodus recently and something struck me.  The mana that God provided for His people was something that had to be gathered each day.  It could not be kept for the next day or stored for future use.  ( with the exception of the sabbath, which was the day that was supposed to be set apart for time with God exclusively)  Also, God led His people each day with a pillar of cloud or a pillar of fire, whether by day or night respectively.  Both of these acts of provision--nourishment or direction--were intended as training for the day-to-day reliance on God.  It also set a  precedent for us.

How often have we gained a new revelation about God, or gained some insight into His character and then rested in that "new" thing indefinitely?  I have been thinking about how the Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  I believe that God did what He did with the Israelites because it was what they needed in order to be His people, and because it set up examples for us to follow (like road signs, not blueprints) to better know how to walk in relationship with God.

We have to seek God EVERY day to find out what He is doing in our sphere of influence (our family, job, friends, church, and personal growth).  If we do not seek it each day, then what we have runs the risk of becoming stale or, like the mana, it may rot and become unpalatable to us.

If we look through God's eyes at the mana situation, then we see that the  mana was just a tool: it was God that nourished them.  In the same frame of thought, it is not the individual revelations of the character of God that makes ours lives full and fulfilled, but the actual contact with God at the moment of revelation that was the true inspiration.

We all need to try to stop looking at the modes of provision and learn to rely on the Provider and the relationship that His methods of provision imply that He desires with us.

brb

Ever wonder why people abreviate "be right back" with "brb?" I used to think they were "burping" at me, and then ignoring me. . . .
Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that it is because we don't have enough time, so we abreviate EVERYTHING.
I am in the process of imposing order in my life to handle responsibilities that have piled up while I wan't paying attention. One of the things that I hope to be doing again soon is this blog.
I'm not quite ready yet, so I apologize, but I WILL "be right back."

God is good, and He is the author of order in confusion.

Twilight

Twilight: the time of day where there is enough light to see, but not enough to see clearly.

First of all, I’d like to start off by saying that, unlike some others who have criticized the Twilight books, I have read the books. I would also like to say that this is NOT an attack on the author or anyone who reads/ enjoys the books. In all honesty, this is not really about the books at all, but I hope to make that clear by the end.

Like I said, I read the books. I didn’t when I first heard about them, because I avoided vampire stories in general. Then, I noticed that more and more people were reading them, including some people whose opinions I trust. So, after seeing the movie, I was really curious. I was interested in the ways that the author seemed to avoid some of the “standard vampire” stuff and how she seemed to give a more “science-based” explanation for things than the mystical/ demonic theme. I read the first book and really enjoyed it. A lot. And I wanted to read the second one. A lot. It took a few days to get a copy of the other books, so by the time I did I REALLY wanted to know what happened next. ( those who have read the books and enjoyed them can relate). I had a free day (some how. . .still can’t figure out how that happened) and read the second book in about eight hours. . . and started the third one the same day. By this time, I was driven to know. In all, I finished all four books in six days—four days of actual reading. This should have been my first warning. I missed it.

I found myself restarting the series because I wanted more.

Then, I heard some of my Wednesday night students talking about the books and I noticed that a lot of people were really getting wrapped up in the stories too.

About this time, our church celebrated its 40th anniversary and our pastor’s 70th birthday. God opened up a flood of revelation about the church and a host of other things. . . including these books I’d been reading.

I was really looking forward to the next movie to come out. I spent a lot of time thinking about the series—particularly where my students were concerned. They range in age from 10 to 12/ 13. I have been trying to teach them about the importance of reading and KNOWING their Bibles.

At this point, I need to give a brief overview of the story for those who have not read them.

The story is about Bella, an ordinary girl, who falls in love with a vampire, Edward. Edward is part of a “family” of vampires. These vampires, the Cullens, don’t kill people; they hunt animals instead.

It was on that note that God inspired me to ask myself, “What difference does that make?” That is when it hit me. The danger for kids to be reading these lay in that question. I knew that if I asked my students , “what makes the Cullens good and other vampires bad?” they would answer because the Cullens don’t eat people. My father is a Bible scholar, so I was raised with reading the Bible cover to cover. So I was aware of a scripture (one I had made myself forget/ ignore to read these books) that is very important to all of this.

Leviticus 19:26 Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or sorcery.

Anyone else find it interesting that God associates consumption of blood to communing with spirits?

Leviticus 7:

26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. 27 If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.' "

Leviticus 17:10 (New International Version)

1 The LORD said to Moses,. . . . (check it out)

10 " 'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.

Deuteronomy 12

16 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.

23 But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. 24 You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

Leviticus 7:26 was particularly interesting to me. It says specifically not birds or animals, which is exactly what the Cullens did. But people will always say that that is what makes them “good.” Here is the problem: the books set up a standard for good and evil that is contrary to Scripture, and we accept it without even realizing that we are doing it.

Once that settled in, the door was open for God to reveal many more things.

There are numerous distorted parallels to Scriptures. For instance: Dr. Cullen is the “father” of the Cullen family. He is the one who “turned” most of the family into vampires. So, look at this. This “father” chose out individuals who were doomed and already dying. He transforms them into a new creation and adopts them into a family. ( the transformation takes about three days, by the way) This new creation can live forever. The books do not describe this so bluntly, but it IS what happens. I want to point out again that I read these books and enjoyed them, so, remember that none of these things I am describing are obvious until you look for them. This is NOT what the story is about. I don’t think that the author was trying to do these things. In fact, if you have heard an interview with her, (available on youtube.com ) she got the premise for these books from a dream that she couldn’t let go of. She was as obsessed with the story as much as her readers are. She had never even written a story before. She openly says that the biggest amazement to her was not the dream, but how when she went to write it down, the words just flowed for her. I submit for the readers’ consideration that the dream had a spiritual source and that the spirit was NOT God.

In the books, the vampires say that twilight is their favorite time of day because it is the time where they can be out in the light without being seen for what they are. John 3: 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

The reason given in the book was that when vampires come into sunlight, their skin sparkles like diamonds in their skin. 2 Corinthians 11: 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Dr. Cullen was the son of a preacher. When he was attacked and changed, he hated what he had become and eventually decided to hunt animals instead of people. (Humans are, by far, the preferred . . . prey… for vampires, so this is a huge struggle prominent in the stories.) Dr. Cullen holds on to the hope that there is still a chance for their redemption ( a chance for heaven) even though they are “evil creatures.” Edward, the boyfriend vampire, disagrees. Arguing this concept takes up quite a bit of conversation throughout the books. All of this sets up the background for Edward to point at a large wooden cross hanging in the Cullen home (it was from Dr. Cullen’s father’s church) and refer to it as the “family joke.” I think that this is a “signature” of the demonic influence inspiring the writing.

All of these things were going on in my mind to try and explain why it wasn’t a good idea for kids to read these stories. The whole time, though, I was carefully phrasing my arguments for the kids specifically. Then I heard God say, “What are you working so hard to justify?” That’s when I realized that I was still trying to work all of this out in my head so that it would be okay for me to go see the next movie. “It’s just not good for the kids. Right. That’s when I saw that I was showing signs of addiction. Denial, obsessive behavior, needing more (a fix). . . . why else was I re-reading the series again after less than a week. There is something really not right with these stories. They shouldn’t stay with a person like they do. I would probably have dismissed this revelation as nothing but my own problem, but then I noticed that other people talked about the books the same way, not that they were addicted, but that they LOVED reading them, and that they were their FAVORITE books and so on. Have you ever noticed how MANY people are crazy about these books? Watch interviews on youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv2Jxu7VS2c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJKeLtHsixU&feature=related

Again, I do not think that the author meant anything but a story in all this, But I DO think that there is a very real and dangerous spiritual influence behind it that is following these books. Which leads me to my biggest point: If I hadn’t known those scriptures already and hadn’t already been seeking God and His voice, I would have missed this.

Please read 2 Thessalonians 2.

2 Thessalonians 2

Events prior to the Lord’s Second Coming

1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. 4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

The devil HATES us and is and has been working to use any and every method he can to undermine God’s influence in our lives.

I am not judging anyone, or telling anyone what to do. But if I see a lion in the streets, I’m not going to stay quiet. I’m going to say “LOOK OUT!”

May God bless any who read these words and have them take what He would from them. God is Good.

I would like to point out that I do not intend to teach on any of this in my Wed. night class. I'll talk to parents who are interested, but I'm not going to get into something like this without specific parental consent.