Spiritually Dead

Recently, my (Aimee’s) grandmother has undergone a lot of changes.  She had cataract surgery on both eyes over the last couple months and then, most recently, she got new hearing aids (she had been without any hearing aids for several years).  Her cataracts had progressed so far that although she could see to get around, she couldn’t read anymore, she could barely make out what was on the television (some of the time), and she often didn’t see things in her path that she would bump into or even fall over.  Her hearing was so bad that we almost had to scream for her to hear us sometimes, and there were some people that she couldn’t hear at all, no matter how loud they tried to be.  She was miserable.  She didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything outside the house because she couldn’t see and she couldn’t hear.  The last 6 months or so have been very difficult as both her conditions and her mood got worse and worse.

These last couple of months have been almost the opposite.  Within a day or two after the first surgery on her eyes you couldn’t wipe the smile off her face if you tried.  She kept coming to wherever my mother and I were to announce something new that she was able to read.  She could read the newspaper.  She was able to read the newsticker across the bottom of the television screen.  She was beaming as she stood in the kitchen reading a portion of a newspaper article.  You’d think that she had just learned how to read and had never read anything before that moment.

Then she got the hearing aids.  Again, announcements were free-flowing in our house.  She could hear our dogs bark before, but now she could hear the little tingling sounds of their collars as they walked around.  She could hear how noisy the traffic on the street really was.  Apparently we weren’t exaggerating after all.  She informed me that our clock in the hallway is quite loud.  She also informed me that the television was too loud when I was watching it.  There’s still been plenty of smiles.  I’ve enjoyed walking up behind her now and then and whispering something in her ear, just to have her turn around and answer me, showing me that she heard what I said.

This all got me thinking.  I was reminded of the line:

          “I once was blind, but now I see.  Was lost, but now I’m found.”

How many people walk around Spiritually blind and deaf, not seeing or hearing the everyday blessings of God?  Not seeing or hearing the Good News?  Becoming more and more moody with each passing day?  Refusing to go places or do things because there is no joy for them?

It’s sad to think about.

Still sadder to think how much we can do to improve their conditions, but we don’t do it.

What do you think?

Do you know any people like that?

What have you done to share your joy with them?

Or have you?

Bored with God

My (Aimee’s) pastor made a really challenging statement on Sunday that has been stuck in my head and my heart ever since.  He said (I’m paraphrasing): if you’re bored with God then you don’t know Him very well.

I have to admit, there are times that I have been bored with God.  It’s connected to those times when you feel like God just isn’t enough.  But it’s also looking for other things to do instead of reading my Bible, or spending time in prayer, etc.  The thing that’s kind of funny is the fact that I really enjoy spending time with God and spending time in His word.  After all, I’ve devoted almost a decade of school and a horrendous amount of money to an education that was all about getting to know Him and His word better.  Yet, there are still those times…

Then I started thinking about people all over the world who are so hungry for God’s word that they plow through their Bible from cover to cover several times a year.  People who go to church every day.  People who spend hours and hours every day in prayer.  And, not to forget, people who are so devoted, so full of God’s awesomeness, that they face humiliation, torture, imprisonment, and death all for Him.  They definately aren't bored with God.  And that's because they recognize God for who He is: an awesome, loving, powerful, merciful, God who is actually so many things that we can't even fully grasp it all!  Our God is absolutely amazing!!

It all makes me feel rather unworthy, and slightly pathetic.  But it also motivates me to seek out more time with my Lord and His word.  I still struggle with God being enough for me.  I still struggle with Jesus being the love of my life.  I’m encouraged by the fact that this is my failing and not His.  And I’m even more encouraged by the knowledge that God can help me with this problem.  I just have to turn it over to Him.

Gambling

The only way to win big in gambling is to bet big.  If you are gambling, and you bet small and if you win you will get more back than you put in.  But not as much as if you had bet more to begin with. 

It’s a basic concept.  Not difficult to understand.  The bigger the bet, the bigger the win … if you win.  The problem with gambling, of course, is the fact that you don’t always win.  Plenty of the time—if not most of the time—when you gamble, you lose.  Hence, it's not recommended.

However, there are other ways of gambling that are good. 

Gambling big on God always pays off.  The bigger you bet, the bigger the return for the simple reason that it's not really a gamble; it's a sure thing.  It's a guarantee—just read your Bible if you don't believe me—that the more you give to God the more He will turn around and bless you.

There’s no guarantee anywhere in Scripture that God will give you everything that you want.  But we are told that God will provide for all our needs.  We only have to trust Him (a topic I’ve brought up several times before, I realize).

I’m gambling on God.  I was invited to join Sherann and her church on a mission trip in October.  I have no money to pay for my expenses.  I mean it.  No money.  My savings is run dry and I still have no income.  But, all the same, I said yes to the trip.  I’m trusting that God is going to provide because I believe that He wants me to go.  I’m gambling on God that it’s all going to work out.

Have you gambled on God before?  Lately?  Ever?

If not, why not?

If so, when?  Did it pay off?

What’s your story?

Anger Management

What do you do with anger?

Do you bottle it up?

Do you express it?  How?

Anger is a touchy subject.  Some Christians think that a "good" Christian never experiences anger.  But, not many.  After all, Jesus got angry.  We should feel anger at injustice, for example.  So then, the question really becomes, what should we do with our anger?

Recently, there was an incident in my (Aimee's) family.  I am feeling betrayed, hurt, and disrespected for both myself and my mother by someone within our own family.  I still love this person.  There really isn't anything that this person could ever do to make me or my mother stop loving them.  But, the fact remains, that I'm angry.

Exploding won't help.  When everything first happened, believe me, I wanted to spew words like a volcano all over that person.  I wanted to hurt that person like they had hurt me.  And spewing emotions like lava would burn.  But even in my anger I knew that exploding wouldn't help.  It might make me feel better for a minute or two, but that feeling would fade quickly only to be replaced by regret.  So, the question: what do I do with my anger?

I've been praying about it.  I've been asking God that question.  I've been asking God to show me what He wants me to do.  I am currently much calmer than I was.  I know that's Him working in me.  I'm not strong enough to hold it in all on my own.  But I still don't have the answer to my question.

What do you think?

What do you do with your anger?