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If the Blind Lead the Blind…

If the Blind Lead the Blind… Who will you follow?

There was an article in the Washington Post that told the story of some shepherds in the village of Gevas in eastern Turkey having their breakfast early one morning.  Their sheep are all grazing nearby when one lone sheep wanders off,and before they can do anything about it, that sheep jumps off a 45 ft. cliff to its death.

Then, if that isn’t bad enough, as the shepherds watch in horror, the rest of the flock follows…1500 sheep carelessly stagger off the edge of the cliff!

The small ray of good news was that because of their heavy wool, the lives of 1,000 of them were spared that day because as they fell, their fall was cushioned by the comfy, cottony wool of their brothers and sisters in the pile underneath them.

Follow the leader…a fun game as a little kid but not so smart as an adult unless you know who is leading the way.

The Pharisees were blind guides according to Jesus. They appeared to have all the answers, they walked around with the look and presented themselves as the authority but Jesus said they were just the opposite. “They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Matthew 15:14 NKJV.

They were clearly spiritually blind but were trying to teach and preach to others. In Matthew 23:16-24, Jesus continues to list all the different ways in which they MIS-represented themselves. The problem was that they were highly thought of and, strangely enough, well respected.

In other words…they were smooth-talkers. They fooled the people.

It is no different today. Our culture and religious world is full of spiritual teachers who misrepresent the Word of God. They are blind guides leading and teaching those that are spiritually blind themselves! They claim to follow scripture and teach God’s Word but yet, in reality, they pick and choose what they want to use for their benefit and leave the other untouched.

Or worse, they change the Word to fit their lifestyle or their need for the moment.

From such turn away! Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15.

We have everything we need right in The Book. We must be careful about who and what we listen to. If it doesn’t line up with the Word of God we must separate ourselves!

follow me

When Jesus came on the scene over 2,000 years ago, one of the first things He said to His disciples was, “Follow Me…”.

Those two simple words from the Master were so powerful that twelve men dropped everything they were doing. They quit their jobs, left their families and walked away from their lives to follow this leader that they had never even met! He had power, authority, wisdom and influence. They knew there was something different about this man called “Jesus”.

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Make sure you take off your spiritual blinders so you can see the Word of God clearly. This is the most important game of Follow the Leader you will ever play.

Kingdom2

 

Hidden in plain sight.

It’s #FiveMinuteFriday! Loving the word prompt today, HIDDEN. Hope you enjoy my true story of something I thought I had lost. Join others who are writing on the same thing today by clicking here!

Hidden in plain sight.

Have you ever lost something that you thought was gone forever? I have a couple of times. Once, 35 years ago, I lost my engagement ring and wedding band. We searched high and low, you can read the funny, or not so funny story here.

I have moved another eight times since that loss that was never found. In this latest move, my sons were helping us load a truck and go through boxes at the same time (I do not suggest this) and they opened a box that literally brought tears to my eyes. When we sold our home in Missouri, and moved to the country of Latvia in Eastern Europe in 2010, I sold almost every thing I owned to be able to pay, and stay, for the duration of our commitment. From Longaberger to Hoosier cabinets, I parted with treasures. But ever since that move, I could not remember what I had done with our china. I had never seen it again and yet did not remember selling it. Did it get left behind in the old house? That was a possibility because the storage room there was endless and complicated. Regardless, the beloved pattern that I had picked out with The Sweetheart some 40+ years ago, was gone.

So, back to the story…Kris and Korey came upon a box marked fragile and there it was. Every single piece, including the crystal stemware, was in perfect shape, no chips, no cracks, nothing was broken.

hidden

Hidden. For years, something that meant so much to me was hidden from me and yet I had probably touched it, brushed by it, stacked other things on it, etc. It was right in the room with me and I never saw it!

I felt a whisper from the Lord about that. Is He so near at times that we could reach out and touch Him but we do not even realize He is in the room? Do we brush by Him, too busy to really dig deep and get to know Him, too careless with other things that we stack on top of Him, pushing Him to the bottom of the heap?

It happens. He is hidden from us and we do not realize it. We are busy, we are rushed, we are sidetracked with LIFE and yet there He is…waiting to be unpacked, to be used, to be glorified in our lives so that we might lift Him higher for others to see!

We aren’t perfect. We stumble, we fall, we get back up again. We strive for perfection but we will not be perfect in this life. Yet, we don’t have to be!

The Christian isn’t supposed to be perfect, he is to point others to the One who is!

As I unwrapped my china, washed it, dried it and put it in a cabinet that was easy to get to, and something I would see every day, I noticed the insignia on the bottom.

treasure

Treasure Chest. I had a treasure hidden from me for years, wishing I knew where it was at times, remembering it when special occasions rolled around and wondering if it would ever be a part of my life again. Would I be able to leave this treasure, special to me, for my children or grandchildren?

When Kris and Korey saw the china that had made me tear up they made the comment that not only did they not remember it but they did not remember ever having a meal with it on the table. Yikes. Treasures are not meant to be hidden! I promised the next meal they have at my house will be eaten on china even if it’s Papa John’s. I’m going to use it.

Even more important than 40 year old china is this One we call Jesus, the lover of our souls. Don’t let Him be hidden from you, don’t just bring Him out for special occasions or spend your life wondering if you will ever truly know Him. Take Him out of His box and use Him today. He is waiting to be unwrapped.

Come to the Well

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.” Revelation 22:17 NLT.

Let us just settle one thing at the very beginning: you do not have to “get good” to “get God”!

It just doesn’t work that way. And we can be so thankful that it doesn’t! We don’t have to work at our salvation. It is a free gift. We have to accept it. We have to Come…

Casting Crowns recorded a beautiful song, “The Well”, and the first verse is the story of so many:

“I have what you need, but you keep on searching

I’ve done all the work, but you keep on working.”

There we are, out there looking for the answers, doing all the work that has already been done at Calvary! He has paid the price, it is finished. Come…

Now look at the rest of that verse:

“When you’re running on empty

And you can’t find the remedy

Just come to the well.”

You’ve looked everywhere, exhausted all of your resources, but still you can’t find the remedy, the cure, the tonic, the right medicine to calm the ache inside. Come…

“Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” …The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? …Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” John 4:7-15 NLT.

The woman at the well was the same way. She was a woman with a past…five husbands and the one she was living with was not her husband.

She finds Jesus sitting at the well. At this meeting Jesus breaks three Jewish customs. First, He spoke to a woman, second, she was a Samaritan woman, and third He asks a Samaritan woman to get Him a drink. This would have made Him ceremonially unclean by using her cup or jar. She was so surprised by His request!

She met Jesus unexpectedly. She even came at the wrong time. She purposely came in the heat of the day to avoid the other women and their stares.

But He doesn’t condemn her. He offers her living water and eternal life! Come…

“And all who thirst will thirst no more
And all who search will find
What their souls long for
The world will try but it can never fill
So leave it all behind
And come to the well”

The woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus by a crowd who was expecting her to be tried and convicted. But Jesus surprised them all when He said first to the crowd, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Then He said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.” John 8:7, 11 KJV.

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Come…

“So bring me your heart, no matter how broken
Just come as you are, when your last prayer is spoken”

The sins of the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery were not ignored or overlooked by Jesus. They were forgiven. Forgiveness is waiting for us when we are ready to confess and forsake our old life and walk in newness of life with Christ.  We cannot clean up our lives without the help of Almighty God. We must turn from our sin but we cannot do that on our own, we need His help, we need salvation.

Do not keep saying to yourself, “Once I get everything fixed in my life I will come to the Lord.” It will never happen. That is a trick of the enemy; he loves to deceive people in that manner.

[Tweet “Remember, you cannot get good to get God!”]

“Just rest in my arms a while
You’ll feel a change, my child
When you come to the well”

Come…

What a relief and a weight will be lifted from your shoulders! The woman at the well couldn’t wait to share the news! “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’ So the people came streaming from the village to see him.” John 4:28-30 NLT.

The lyrics at the end of the Casting Crowns song are so good. This list of things that you can be rid of for the rest of your life when you “Come…”

Your pursuit of perfection (leave it all behind)
Your fear of rejection (leave it all behind)
Your temporary pleasures (leave it all behind)
All your earthly treasures (leave it all behind)
Dried up empty religion (leave it all behind)
Rusty chains of addiction (leave it all behind)
All the guilt that weighs you down (leave it all behind)
Just leave it all behind and come to the well 

What are you waiting for?