STUDIES FROM BRETHREN IN CHRIST

11/1/2020 ~ Give Me Sight

👁   GiveMeSightAM.mp3 (40m 42s)   GiveMeSight.pptx Darkness is an empty spiritless sea. A free soul's flight rides on the Cross of Christ. The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made them both. ~ Proverbs 20:12 As we gaze out into reality our senses themselves are God’s gift for us to achieve independent awareness. Innumerable is all that is God’s creation, which is. "For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps." ~ Job 34:21 God’s creation is an expanse to share the truth of eternity, and for us, a time of words to find and work out these facts alone, under His hopeful watch. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. ~ Hebrews 4:13 He sees all whether we believe or not, observe or ignore. As all swim in the shark tank of man, God views all of our actions. As inevitable as mortal death is, so too is our rise to His judgment of all that we are. Will we be the fish He seeks? What is the lens we peer through? Do we live in a tank of patient compassion or a greedy frenzy for more? Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ... ~ Isaiah 5:20-21 Deceit has never gifted all to know truth’s power   Woe to those who:                       ⇒       Call evil good And good evil                       ⇒       Put darkness for light And light for darkness                         ⇒       Put bitter for sweet And sweet for bitter Quite a dichotomy when human beings twist truth for perverted advantage. The truth can not be reversed. Many religious organizations cater to the crowd, the mistake made from the very beginning, choosing man’s desires over God’s. It is a challenge for the noble where liars are exalted and the virtuous are told to remain quiet. "Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see." ~ Isaiah 42:18 While ignorance is common to man, there is a distinction for those choosing to remain purposely oblivious and those who wish to know. God wants us to hear and look to His creation so the truth will be ours, to whom none can steal it away. Is not truth the blossom of knowledge and the fragrance of wisdom? The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. ~ Psalms 146:8 When one genuinely humbles the heart, before God’s unending presence, unseen truths come into view. Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. ~ Psalms 119:18 The word has been given for all to have His truth, if the desire of a soul to know His creator has spark. Vision’s deepest sight is in the wisdom one maintains. ... Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil. ~ Proverbs 4:25-27 God wills that we remain sure and straight in our presence with Him, and one another. This involves honest relations concerning truth. The examination of His word teaches us what is evil and good. While we all have sinned, knowledge is power to advance from polluted origins. We are told not to lie against the truth. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. ~ Ecclesiastes 6:9 Control of thoughts has always been God’s first law of order. To imagine must be tempered with goodness if progress over destruction is to be had. ... Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. ~ Ecclesiastes 11:9 To be free and young, no other event has a higher sense of innocence and love; just to be. The razors of life tear the heart, too often deepening with memories of grief. Joy is the candy all hope for. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. ~ Isaiah 29:18 In Jesus, the light of God inflames all who would see its value. Knowledge of His word holds the path of enlightenment. ... "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. ~ Mark 10:51-52 What delivers a soul is what one follows Faith has made you well So received, follow Jesus To be spiritually healed, one has to first desire it. No matter the blues that surround a heart, the sense of truth comes from the inside touch, more so than the outside temporary masks that fades before us all. Faith heals the heart when Jesus is followed. "... 'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgivness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'" ~ Acts 26:18 Salvation comes to those who bow to His promise   To the power of God                            ↓           That they may receive:                   ● Forgiveness of sins                   ● An inheritance                            ⮡  Who are sanctified                                     ⮡  By faith in Me   Our one and only God, in His infinite wisdom, came to share salvations plan, to redeem us from all the paths of death; death of life and of truth. Faith in what rises past the material brings us into the presence of God Himself. It is His desire for us to see why we are, to purely love, and to feel this truth. "... For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." ~ Luke 16:14-15 Elitism can nurture selfish power mongers despising those who do not adhere to their strict controls. When it is said power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, it dwells in the heart of pride, and it is arrogance that often covers lies to the self, and blinds those who dish its poison as nectar. Wisdom and recklessness do no go hand in hand. "... For the LORD does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." ~ 1st Samuel 16:7 However, in God’s illuminations of truth, blessings come from within, where a soul hides no secrets from God. God has all-seeing heart vision. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, ... ~ 2nd Corinthians 4:2 Honesty is the high water of God, and it holds the principles of a true living conscience. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. ~ James 4:10 To reach eternity, one has to come to eternity. "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God." ~ Matthew 5:8 Again, innocence is such a fleeting occurrence for the young of heart. In accepting God, He has delivered a return to innocence when we receive the simple pureness of His promise. Rising past what is seen, for all that is unseeable, to know Him deepens the draw of eternity, and the essence of His whole love. For we walk by faith, not by sight. ~ 2nd Corinthians 5:7 To find the largest part of the self, trust in life beyond the flesh delivers a greater purpose, and has the force of true presence. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1 No book has greater truth to know than the Bible. It surely opens the soul to live where death dwells. ... the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. ~ 2nd Corinthians 4:18 Thank God for His creation showing us more than one could ever know. It is a test, a birth, in to having sense between extremes of sadness’ valleys, to joys upon mountain views, all to temper character through conquering wicked temptations. Vision is where the cost has been paid through the journeys travel. What an eternal sight we already have been given in the moment. Earth alone has an eternity of views. ... (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; ... ~ Romans 2:13 To be the ultimate good soul above judgment, the spirit shares in actions of love and sacrifice, to get it done, without regard for self-seeking credit. If one’s goal is eternal rewards, God must take precedence. To be justified, the eternal veil must be uncovered and the weight of life carried. Part of faith is doing the believing. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is knowledge of sin. ~ Romans 3:20 While we all fall short of His expectations, and standards of goodness, His redeeming force is greater than our sins. By grace He welcomes all those who desire to come to Him past previous errors of judgment. ... I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." ~ Romans 7:7 When truth arrives, it can be the greatest of all challenges to forgive one self for failings of character, while rising to the occasion of goodness in one’s own sight, as well as His. It is His word that teaches hope in hopelessness, forgiveness in all that is unforgivable. Thankful adherence to His word over the contempt and dissent of cynicism gives birth to a wise enduring life. ... justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ~ Romans 5:1-2 God shines simply to redeem souls from torments   Justified by faith          ⮡  Peace with God                   ⮡  Through Jesus Christ                                         ↓                             Access by faith                                     Grace                                         ↑                     In hope of the glory of God   Faith is what completes all else. Hope is what we stand on. ... blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. ~ 2nd Cor. 4:3-4 The blessings of God are for those who believe Image of God shine on them Glory of Christ ↑ Lest the light of the gospel ↕   Who do not believe minds blinded   Gospel veiled who are perishing ↓ So sad the blind who see not the brilliance of God’s eternal light. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. ~ Revelation 1:7 God’s return to each of our lives is inevitable. Will we be ready waiting or absent to that eternal role call from above? A brief window’s glance of truth comes but once ● Hearing and seeing is a creation of God ● All will give account for deeds done ● Hypocrites and liars God despises ● Have a straight course sure of character ● Focus without wandering desires is favored ● Unconditional faith heals the soul ● Covetous desires of man fail to please God ● His freedom is only found in a humble heart ● Faith is a higher sense of eternal truths ● No one can be justified in the flesh by actions ● The Bible exposes sin and what God regards Holy  ● We are justified by faith under His grace ● The glory of Christ is God’s own image Truth delivered by God angers the simple and sets the faithful free. Darkness has a lonely music-less sting.