Tag: eyes

The Tools in our Toolbox

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture, Song1 Comment

Our bodies are made to house the Holy Spirit and we need to treat them as His tool box to be used when He needs us. Our choices not only affect ourselves but others, as well.

We use our eyes to read and study God’s Word. But our eyes have to be opened by God in order to truly see the spiritual truth there. Sometimes, I am afraid that we just blindly and without really thinking about it read the Bible just to say that we did it. That isn’t what we are supposed to use our eyes for. We need to take the time to let the Holy Spirit allow us to see what treasures God has for us in His Word each day.

God is watching us and so are other people. But most people see and judge us by the eyes of the world. We want our eyes to reflect the love and grace of the Holy Spirit living inside us so that others will want to know what makes us different.

Our ears are meant to be the way we take in the words of knowledge, not just from the Holy Spirit, but also from other people. Remember that we need to be aware of what we are listening to because it is filtered through our minds and gets into our hearts.

God has a lot to say to us if we just listen. A lot of people say that they don’t study God’s Word because it doesn’t make sense to them. One has to listen with spiritual hears attuned to truth and with an open heart; then we can truly hear what God is sharing with us each day.

Our hands are very important tools because we use them to accomplish the work that God has given us to do. Whether it is ministering to a small child or an elderly person or just holding someone’s hand and letting them know we are there for them, our hands are tools that God can use if we let Him.

When God tells us what to do (I call that giving us marching orders), we are to do it with all of our strength, using the hands that God gave us. At work, at play, during family time and devotional, we need to apply ourselves to be pleasing to the Lord.

We cannot know the path our feet are to take unless we study and meditate on God’s Word regularly. This road we walk as Christians can be rocky and filled with pits that are ready to trip us. We have to keep on the correct path for our feet not to stumble because God will lead the way.

One of the most wonderful things that any Christian can do is to use their feet to go to places to spread the Gospel. You may not be called to go to foreign lands or distant places, but you are called to use your feet to go where God directs in order to let people know that God is on His throne in spite of the chaos surrounding us.

Our toolbox is God’s Word and our tools are the parts of our body that we use daily to bring glory to Him. Children are taught a song very early in their church attendance. We would do well to remind ourselves that this song applies to us as adults, too.

Be Careful Little Eyes

There are many more parts of the body that I did not cover in my post today. Please share any other parts about which God speaks to you and the relevant scripture verse(s). Thank you for reading my post today and for participating in adding to our tool boxes.

Covered

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture4 Comments

Are you a fan of lots of blankets? Snuggling down into the warm comfort and resting securely? One of my children used to have a “security blanket” that he carried everywhere. Ragged and threadbare from so much laundering, it was barely a blanket, yet still he carried it, holding it up to his nose and wrapping it around his little neck. I don’t recall when he finally gave up “Blankie” but I do remember being sad at the passing of an innocent age when he thought that the blanket he carried and wore would surround him with security.

We can all have that security today if we just accept that God promises it. It’s not a totem we carry around or wear. It’s not a Bible verse that we memorize and cite each time we need God’s presence (although that is certainly helpful). It is just an awareness of how much God loves you and the feeling that He has His arms wrapped around you.

I had a scary incident happen last week. I was sitting in my recliner getting ready to read when the vision in my right eye went all wonky. It was blurry and wavy, and at the same time I got a tremendous sense of vertigo. I called for my husband, but he couldn’t hear me, so I carefully made my way to the bedroom, told him what was happening, and we prayed. I then proceeded to go to bed. I lay there in the dark for quite a while, with the room spinning around me and my vision in that one eye blurry. I fell asleep for a few hours and when I awakened and got up to go to the bathroom, I was still dizzy and my vision was still weirdly unfocused. So, back to bed I went and prayed and praised God as I drifted back to sleep. The next morning, I seemed fine. On Monday, I called my retina eye specialist, whom I had just seen the day before the incident. The triage team called me back, asked me a lot of questions and told me that if it happens again, I should call the on-call doctor and go to the ER. I also let my cardiologist know, in case there was some kind of reaction to my medication. And, finally, I alerted my neurologist in case the whole thing was a brain glitch. The neurologist called me a few days later and said he is concerned about my blood vessels in my brain so he wants me to have an MRA. I had already had an MRI, CT Scan, EEG and EMG, but apparently an MRA looks at only the blood vessels to see if there is something going on that shouldn’t be. The test is all scheduled now and I think the doctor must have put in an urgent request because it’s on June 12th, only a few weeks away. (I waited months for some of the other tests to be done.) Anyway, I wrote all of that so that you know that I know that I am covered. Is it scary each morning when I awaken and I don’t know whether my eyes will be focused and my head will be spinning? I would be lying if I said it isn’t a little tense for me. But I awaken each day as always, praising God that I slept and woke up again and I go through my day with the praise on my lips that God is taking care of me, regardless of what happens. Am I thrilled to undergo another test and have an unknown possibly happening in my brain? No, of course not! But I know that I cannot learn trust by having everything be nice and smooth in my life, so a few bumps are to be expected as I press in closer to God.

God is sheltering me and He has already provided my protection in His Word. I have to stand on it and believe that He is working it all out for His glory. So, I am covered, not with a security blanket that I can hold in my hands but with one that I hold close to my heart.

Eyes and Ears

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

The older I get, the more difficult it is for me to hear certain sounds. Sometimes I have to ask my children or grandchildren to repeat things. I’m sure it frustrates them to think that I didn’t hear, but that is one of the results of aging. I have also been diagnosed with a TRACE of macular degeneration in my left eye. I am taking eye vitamins and using eye drops regularly to hold off what seems to be inevitable as long as possible. In the meantime, I am thankful that I can still hear the voice of the Lord clearly and see His beautiful creation all around me, reminding me of the gifts He has given me. These gifts are from the Lord specifically to bless me and I am so grateful for them. My ears don’t hear well, but they still hear. My eyes still see and appreciate the beauty of the world, especially the affection I see in my grandchildren’s eyes and the sparkle of joy when they “play tricks” on me. The senses that God gave us should never be taken for granted but always a source of thankfulness. God is good, all the time.

Look around you today and appreciate the beauty. Listen quietly and appreciate the sounds. God provided them for our enjoyment. May your day be blessed with an appreciation of these marvelous gifts from God!

The Voice Behind Us

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

If you have ever gone into a crowded place with children, you know that sometimes you cannot walk side by side. Instead of walking ahead of my children, I used to walk behind them, guiding them with my hand on a shoulder or telling them which way to turn to get where we needed to be. It never dawned on me that I was guiding them in the same way that God sometimes guides me until I read this Scripture today in my devotional.

Notice the word “behind” in this verse. God is not always ahead of us although sometimes He is. Other times He is behind us and we have to listen carefully to hear His voice of instruction. If we turn the wrong way, He will tell us if we are listening. And if we turn the right way, He will also let us know. He doesn’t leave us to flounder alone on an unknown path. He is behind us, until He needs to step in front of us. I find comfort in the fact that God is all around me, if I just get quiet and listen. I can depend on Him to be just where He needs to be in my life, always. God is never too late or too early or in the wrong place at the wrong time. If He needs to be behind us in order to make sure that we are paying attention, then that’s what He will do.

This is a prophecy from Isaiah, but I believe with all of my heart that we can claim this promise today. We who are Christians are not blinded to the truth of the Gospel. We have chosen to hear that truth and now we can use our ears and the gift of the Holy Spirit to truly listen to what God is saying to us about our the choices we are making. He will let us know if they are good ones, if we just listen.

My prayer for you today is from Paul who says it better than I ever could. God bless and keep you, my friends.

Watching and Being Watched

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Did you know that someone is always watching you if you are in a public space? No, I’m not talking about stalkers or anyone creepy. I’m just talking about regular people whom you encounter in your daily life. If you say you are a Christian, then you are under a microscope because someone will always be watching for you to fall or to fail. That’s why the Bible exhorts us to be aware of being watched and to present ourselves like we want to be seen.

We have to make an extra effort (pains) to do what is right because the world wants us to make wrong choices so that they can say, “Ha! And you call yourself a Christian?!?” How do I know this? Because I have experienced it from both sides, both watching and being watched.

I’m a people watcher, not necessarily one who enters in easily, so I watch what others do instead. I listen to their words and see their actions and hope that if they are called by the name of Christ that it will all match up. Sometimes, I’m pleasantly surprised and other times I’m deeply disappointed. I have learned in my watching that not everyone who says that they are a Christian has any idea what that means. Many people think that they can go around and do the same things that they did before and not be accountable for it as long as they aren’t “caught.” Well, not only am I a people watcher, God is, too and He always sees everything that we do and hears every word that we speak. We may be having a bad day and be too demanding in the restaurant or at the check out counter. God hears, God sees and so do those around us. Bad days don’t mean that we get to take off the robe of righteousness that Jesus paid for and just be ourselves. We have to die to that self and always remember whom we are representing to the world. We destroy our testimony at the time and in the future if we are not always on the alert to how our actions and words can affect others. I am not saying not to be your genuine self, but what I am saying is to make sure that you have “put on Christ” before you go in public so that you are showing a lost world how they should be acting.

One of my pet peeves is seeing a bumper sticker all about being a Christian and then watching the driver speed recklessly around cars, cut others off in traffic or even do a one-finger salute to a fellow driver. I feel like following them and lecturing them about what a poor rep they are giving Christ. But I don’t. It is not my responsibility to police the world and their actions. I can only be responsible for my own actions and hope that what I am doing is a good testimony to the power of Christ in my life.

Being aware of being watched is half the battle. Look around you. See the other people? They are just human like you and many of them need the hope that you have inside you. They want you to be different, to speak differently (more kindly) and to act differently (with love), and when you don’t, you aren’t just letting God down but you are letting them down, too. Why become a Christian if you aren’t any different than the rest of the selfish and egocentric world? The answer lies in your actions and your words. Be a Christian, 24-7. That’s what the world needs and what God expects.

May your day be filled with blessings and opportunities to show others Christ inside of you so that others will want what you have!