Feb. 10, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things . . .
—Isaiah 40:26

Quote[/b] ]The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.

One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before

 

[Kidan]

Full Verse, In Context

Quote[/b] ]To whom then will you liken Me That I would be {his} equal?" says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these {stars,} The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of {His} power, Not one {of them} is missing.

-- Isaiah40:25-26

Do you see?

Look around the room you are in right this minute, and what do you see?  Empty walls?  A Poster maybe?  Some various toy?

IS there any sign you are a Christian?  

Today's devotion talks about how we become blinded when we stop looking for God, but I want to talk about those who are blind because they have yet to find God.

These lost souls are out there stumbling in the dark, looking for a light.  The light that we are supposed to be.  Yet how many of us, when we look around our room, can say 'Hey, this is the room of a Christian.'  Not because you know it's your room, but from just what's in it.  Is there a Bible in plain view?  Is there a cross on the wall?  Is that poster a scripture reference?

We decorate our rooms to fit our characters.  Even here while I'm at work, my office is decorated to fit with my character.  Anyone walking in it, knows I place much emphasis on my family, I like Star Wars,  and I have something to do with the Salvation Army.

What does your room say about you?

Today's devotion is entitled 'Is you ability to see God blinded?' I ask, 'Is the ability of others to see God in you blinded?'

 

[Shagz]

Quote[/b] ]It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others.

Kidan, not sure I follow this bit here. Not the part about being broken and humble (the wine and bread) but what our personal contact with others has to do with intercession (I'm assuming "intercession" is being used here to mean God's intercession on our behalf to answer prayers...?). I assume that some people would think that personal contact with others has something to do with intercession, otherwise the author wouldn't haven't mentioned here that it's not important.

Sorry if I sound confusing...

Was also curious about this...

Quote[/b] ]Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification?

I'm guessing that this would be describing a person who has maybe decided that they have their own idea of what a christian should be, or what salvation is like or what it means to be sanctified, rather than basing those opinions on the bible, yea?

 

[Kidan]

The first question on intercession is this (at least from my understanding and interpretation)

eating and drinking denote the operation of the mind, in receiving and inwardly digesting truth of or for the words of God (cf. Deut. 8:3; Jer. 15:16; and Ezek. 2:8)  Hence.  the quote can be changed to read

Quote[/b] ]
It is actually more important to be thinking and looking and understanding God in the area of intercession than in thinking and looking at our personal contact with others.

for your second question, let's look at that statement in context

Quote[/b] ]The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need

Notice the first few lines.  The real test of spiritual focus is being in control of your thoughts and your mind.  Then the auther asks 'What are the focus of your thoughts?"  The quote you gave is in his list of possible idols that you could be focusing on.  The author is asking you to decide if you are really looking for and at God, or if you are looking towards yourself and things you've experienced in the past.

 

[Shagz]

Quote[/b] ]The author is asking you to decide if you are really looking for and at God, or if you are looking towards yourself and things you've experienced in the past.

Wouldn't it be rather difficult to seperate the two?  It seems to me that our backgrounds and experiences in life influence dramatically how we interpret and understand everything that comes at us; the filter through which we view the world.  But I guess this is what the author is asking us to do - to "get outside ourselves", get outside of that filter and see if God is trying to tell us something different, to be open to what God is telling us.  (Then you get into a loop hole I would think - "Great, I'm outside of myself now and I'm looking at God...or am I only telling myself that I'm outside of myself, just to meet the requirements?" etc. etc. etc.)

I think maybe this whole idea best comes into practice in this sentence:

Quote[/b] ]You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God.

In other words, when faced with a problem that is outside your influence to change, don't look to your past experiences on solving the problem youself, but look to God for guidance or the lesson to be taught. Be humbled, and be ready to "see" what it is that God is placing in front or around you. (Yay?  Nay?)

 

[Kidan]

exactly.