Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

    I’ve been amazed at the number of people I’ve come across in my medical practice who were blind to some degree and didn’t know it until I did a routine exam. The most common thing I’ve seen is a cataract in one eye that has grown so slowly that the person didn’t realize that they were blind in that eye and only seeing out of the other.   I’ve also seen people who have had a stroke or similar event and lost their vision to one side and didn’t realize it.   Spiritual blindness is more common than physical blindness. This is not just a case of nonbelievers who don’t see God in their lives or in the world around them. Many Christians have a blind spot, an area where they are not in accord with God but aren’t aware of it. They may be blind to a particular sin, to poor choices in relationships or activities, or to the pull of worldly concerns or desires that are drawing them away from God.   Ask Jesus, who healed the blind man, to open your eyes to anyt...

  I enjoy playing golf. I haven’t had much time for it in recent years but I played more often when I was younger. After years of practice, I got to the point where I played pretty well. It’s true for all sports that you need to practice to get better and that you need to practice constantly if you want to get to and maintain a high level of proficiency. You begin with the basics and, when you have mastered them, you move on to more advanced skills. Sometimes, if you are having trouble, you need to go back and work on your basic skills and then build back up again.   The same principle is true spiritually. If we want to hear God and allow Him to guide us in the major events in our lives, we need to practice our listening skills in the everyday activities of life. We should be mindful of the depth of God’s love in order to appreciate the height of His love.   This doesn’t mean we should ask Him whether to buy Coke or Pepsi but rather that we make a constant effort to a...

  I washed our cars today. I got out my favorite sponge that I’ve had for at least 15 or 20 years and gave both cars a good bath.   I thought about the sponge while I worked. It’s useless as long as it’s dry. Once it has absorbed some water, the sponge can be put to good use.   We are like the sponge. We’re dry and useless for God until we allow Him to fill us with His Spirit. We can be as active as ants in all sorts of ministries but, if God is not filling us, we are just like the dry sponge. We need to be open to God’s love and the touch and guidance of His Spirit in our prayer time, in our reading and hearing His word, and in the events of our daily lives. When we are filled with the Spirit, we then have the responsibility of being useful implements for God and not just soaking up His gifts and presence for our own benefit.   Whatever we do, let us do it with love, as Paul reminds the Corinthians.   “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but...

  It is Easter today. I had a dream last night that was so different from my usual dreams that I knew I needed to remember it. I was a prisoner of war in the enemy camp. We were going to be executed. Suddenly, a group of men was set aside. They were going to be freed as part of a prisoner exchange. One of the men who was chosen gave up his place so that I could be in the group that was to be saved. I was overwhelmed with relief and with gratitude and love towards the man who was willing to sacrifice himself for me. Then I woke up.   My dream was a reminder to me of what Jesus has done for me. It is easy at Easter to let His death and resurrection be a matter of the mind. We should allow it to also be a personal matter of the heart. We have the gift of eternal life through God’s plan of salvation and Jesus’ great sacrifice. We should love Him today with the very depth of our being for suffering and dying to save us, for rising again to show us the way to eternal life, and just ...

  I have treated many patients for heart failure over the years. This occurs when the heart no longer is able to pump sufficient blood to the rest of the body. As you might imagine, it’s a serious disease. Despite our best medical therapies, almost half the patients with heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis. Sometimes this occurs at a very young age due to a virus or some other condition which attacks the heart muscle. Under these circumstances,   people have undergone heart transplants in order to survive.   God has been doing heart transplants long before our doctors learned to do them.   “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ez 36:26). This is a gift from God to all Christians through the intercession of the Holy Spirit.   We can damage our physical hearts by our poor lifestyle choices. In the same way, we can harden our spiritual hearts by the way ...

  According to a study, the average person spends between one-half to one hour in front of a mirror each day. That works out to about two weeks each year that we spend looking at our reflection! We want to make sure that everything about our appearance is just right before we go out into the world.   As we approach Easter, we should take time out to look into our spiritual mirror to see what we look like. We can ask God to help us see ourselves more clearly. We might ask Him to do it gently, because, if we haven’t done this for awhile, the reflection may be a little jarring, like that just-woke-up-face in the mirror.   Seeing ourselves is just the first step. We should commit to try to improve the appearance of our spiritual selves, to be more like the person God wants us to be. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking...

  I probably think too much about the future and not enough about the present. We all tend to worry about things that may happen or look forward to upcoming events. Some people even go to fortune tellers to try to learn their future. The bottom line is that we don’t know what our future will be and, as for me, I don’t want to know my future if I couldn’t do anything to change it.   God knows what the future will be. That makes Deuteronomy Chapter 31 so fascinating to me. God tells Moses how He is going to bless the Israelites by giving them the Promised Land and destroying their enemies and at the same time tells Moses that He knows that the Israelites will turn against Him and eventually be destroyed because of their evil ways. I am amazed that God loved them so much that He looked beyond their future disobedience and blessed them in the present.   I find it humbling to realize that I am in the same position as the Israelites. God knows all the bad things that I ...

  Think about the person with whom you have the closest relationship, whether it be a spouse, sibling, parent, or friend. What would that relationship be like if you were the only one doing all the talking and most of what you talked about were your needs?  It’s hard to imagine that the relationship could continue, at least not at the same level of closeness.  Communication should normally be a two-way process.   We need to stop and examine how good our communication is with God. Is it one-way, us talking to God? How much of our talking is asking for things? We all tire of people who only come to us when they want or need something. God wants more from us.   We should allow for listening time in our prayer sessions. We need to be diligent in our Bible study. God can speak to us through His word. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the ...