How we see the world

 

Lord give me your eyes...

We don't see the world the way God does, or for that matter even the way he intended we see it.  We see the world through a lense that distorts things based on our experiences.  We see hate and fear where God sees hope and love...

Take for example the sad event of Trayvon Martin.  If George Zimmerman had been able to see an unobstructed view of the world, not tempered by his fear and bias, Trayvon would still be alive and with his parents.  If the police that responded could see clearly... we could go on and on...

We cannot escape our experiences though, and they do shape us.  If we are raped by a black man, we will likely be fearful of other black men.  If we were abused by an older women, we may harbor anger toward older women.  If we always see bad news about religious zealots, we may have a negative view of religion.  This is part of how the world shapes us.

So how do we overcome this?  After all, it is just part of our human nature.

The only answer is by turning to God... Asking to please see the world through his eyes.

How distorted is your view?

How has your past changed the way you see the world?

How do you keep this from negatively affecting your view?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In 1726, St. Patrick used a three leaf clover to demonstrate the Holy Trinity, the three distinct parts of God in one.  What a great object lesson, almost like God himself had placed a  clue there waiting for us to find.

How many times does this sort of thing happen? How many times do these clues, that may help further our relationship with God, go unnoticed?

What things do you see in your surrounding that remind you of aspects of God?

How can we use the things around us to help others understand God and his love for us?

There is evil in this world... What can I do?

There is evil in this world. We must admit that. So what do we do about it? Well, here is what a few friends are doing about one of the worlds worst criminals.

You may have seen this since it has been passed around the internet quite a bit this week.  But not all evil is as big and bad as Joseph Kony.  Most of us don't know war criminals and terrorists, but we do still come face to face with evil.

Sometimes, we probably don't even notice it. Sometimes it is small things, comments that eat at us, things in our past, looks from people that make us uneasy...

What kinds of evil do you struggle to face in your life?
Are there bigger evils in the world that you want to fight against?

Please Rescue Me

Falling on my knees in worship

Giving all I am to seek your face

Lord all I am is yours

My whole life

I place in your hands

God of Mercy

Humbled I bow down

In your presence at your throne

I called you answered

And you came to my rescue and I

I wanna be where you are

In my life be lifted high

In our world be lifted high

In our love be lifted high

- Written by Hillsong United  

- Performed by Aaron Gillespie

Sometimes we need rescued.  During this season of Lent as we prepare to remember the sacrifice Christ made for each of us, let us all remember, that if we need rescued... He is there.

Every year I play out the Jesus Christ's life story in my head as we go through the holidays.  At Christmas time we celebrate the amazing birth of our Savior.  I like to think of this as the part of the movie where the world doesn't even know that it is going to need a hero.  There is always plenty of joy and celebrating.  As we approach Lent, this is when we start to see the gritty dark parts of the story.  Things are starting to fall apart.  And the Good Friday comes and it is a dark and stormy day and the hero dies to save us even though we are undeserving and some of us even condemn him.  None the less, he dies for all of us.  Then Easter arrives and the hero concurs death.  Amazing.

So during this time of year, when I'm remembering the broken world that sent Jesus to the cross, how am I broken?

How do I need rescued?  Am I placing my whole life in His hands?