A man in California had his eyesight restored last week along with his faith in others. William Noriega lost eyesight in both eyes at the age of 40 due to cataracts. He was unable to keep a job & lost insurance, prohibiting him from having surgery. An ophthalmologist heard of his plight of no sight & restored the 43 year old man’s eyesight .
I’m very appreciative of my eyesight. We often take it for granted, but as a young collegian I was working during holidays to pay tuition. I was nailing a ‘government issued’ wood/plastic board, when a nail shot off & hit my right eye. Though I’ve never been hit in the eye with a baseball bat, I’ve gotta think it would probably feel something like that. It knocked me backward, where I gingerly felt to see how far the nail went into my eyeball. I was fortunate in that it just punctured my eye & fell out. The doctor later told me I was extremely fortunate. It missed my iris by a fraction. No large amount of fluid was lost so I was spared. I can see to type this!
While I am blessed with physical eyesight, I sometimes lose spiritual eyesight. Problems come into my life that distract me & I focus on them rather than blessings. It’s the old adage, ‘can’t see the forest for the trees.’ We may have so many things to be thankful for, yet we tend to fix on something negative or something we don’t have. If not careful, it keeps me from the blessings God intends, & also from vision to see the direction He would have me go.
While that is not the best, the worst is total spiritual blindness. A world of people is blinded with no realization or relationship with God. His blessings are all around us & evidence of His love, but many are ‘blinded by the god of this world’ & see only pain & harsh existence.
Jesus said:
“God's Spirit is on Me; He's chosen Me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent Me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
Luke 4:18-19 The Message
My family has been going through some murky waters lately. Both of our parents have some serious health issues and, if not careful, we’ll lose sight of all God’s promises focusing on the problems. I suppose it’s a kind of temporary blindness. I appreciate my physical & spiritual sight too much to want to walk in darkness. Some things I may understand in this life & others, well, I’ll ask in eternity if it matters then. I offer prayer regularly & right now would covet the same from you all.
My prayer for you is that you would not have spiritual blindness. If simply distracted by situations it can be temporary. If there has never been a point in time where you’ve given your life to the Creator, I pray you’ll do just that. Then you can sing with me that old hymn: “I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see…”
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
-What's Beyond the Door?-
There is a game show where the host offers deals to contestants, then gives them options to trade up. Trick is, the real deal is behind door number one, two, or three & you have to choose. The right one & you get an awesome prize, but choose wrong & you get something stupid like a burro. People laugh & the music chides with ‘whawmp, whawmp, whaw’!
While guessing at a game show might be fun & an adrenal rush, our eternity shouldn’t be left to chance. “Well, I think I’ll try Buddhism. Looks interesting & peaceful.” “Think I’ll go with Wicca. I like trees & maybe I could conjure up some kind of real magic with that.” Nope, you better set your sites a little higher & at least do some research if you plan to stake eternity on your choice…by the way, you will!
According to Reuters, there was a recent find in a tomb in Egypt. A 3,500-year-old false door belonging to the tomb of a Pharaonic official was uncovered. The red granite door was built to provide a passage for the spirit to the afterlife. It belonged to the tomb of User, a high-ranking official of Queen Hatshepsut. The catch is, whenever tombs are discovered, along with the artifacts & treasures, a sad discovery is always there: the mummy of the deceased. No escaping death!
Harry Houdini, an escape artist & showman of the 1920’s, spent the better part of his last days trying to find a way to escape man’s greatest enemy: death. He had several stunts where he was ‘Buried Alive’ & escaped. But on Halloween, 1926 Houdini died of a ruptured appendix & was buried in the last coffin he had made for the stunt. This time there was no escape.
We just celebrated Easter, where Jesus actually DID overcome death, hell & the grave. Because of His sacrifice & resurrection we can actually have a door to heaven & life! As I’ve shared before,of all the religions in the world, Christianity is the one religion when you go to the grave of its founder, you find an empty hole. He became the door to life. He said:
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:9-10 NASV
What I really appreciate as much as a door to heaven is we can have life abundant here now! If I can pray with/for you about anything, feel free to call/contact. Any questions, I’ll do my best to answer or we’ll find an answer together.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
While guessing at a game show might be fun & an adrenal rush, our eternity shouldn’t be left to chance. “Well, I think I’ll try Buddhism. Looks interesting & peaceful.” “Think I’ll go with Wicca. I like trees & maybe I could conjure up some kind of real magic with that.” Nope, you better set your sites a little higher & at least do some research if you plan to stake eternity on your choice…by the way, you will!
According to Reuters, there was a recent find in a tomb in Egypt. A 3,500-year-old false door belonging to the tomb of a Pharaonic official was uncovered. The red granite door was built to provide a passage for the spirit to the afterlife. It belonged to the tomb of User, a high-ranking official of Queen Hatshepsut. The catch is, whenever tombs are discovered, along with the artifacts & treasures, a sad discovery is always there: the mummy of the deceased. No escaping death!
Harry Houdini, an escape artist & showman of the 1920’s, spent the better part of his last days trying to find a way to escape man’s greatest enemy: death. He had several stunts where he was ‘Buried Alive’ & escaped. But on Halloween, 1926 Houdini died of a ruptured appendix & was buried in the last coffin he had made for the stunt. This time there was no escape.
We just celebrated Easter, where Jesus actually DID overcome death, hell & the grave. Because of His sacrifice & resurrection we can actually have a door to heaven & life! As I’ve shared before,of all the religions in the world, Christianity is the one religion when you go to the grave of its founder, you find an empty hole. He became the door to life. He said:
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:9-10 NASV
What I really appreciate as much as a door to heaven is we can have life abundant here now! If I can pray with/for you about anything, feel free to call/contact. Any questions, I’ll do my best to answer or we’ll find an answer together.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
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