The War of Sight

2 Peter 4-10

"having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason,make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall".

Myopia and Hyperopia two words that I'm sure most of you that dont wear glasses have near heard before. Myopia is a word used to describe one's ability to see objects clearer close up rather than far away or in other words nearsightedness. Hyperopia is the complete opposite it describes the ability for one to see clearer far away rather than close up or in the more common form farsightedness. So which one are you? Are you able to see clearer close up or far away? Maybe you have perfect 20/20 vision, if that's you congradulations I'm color blind and I envy you! But what about spiritually? I ask the same question. Do you focus more on the troubles in front of you or on the one who has everything under control?

For me the answer to that question is quite simple. I catch myself so often becoming rapped up in my present struggles that I forget to focus on the one true King who has weathered this storm we call life. He has walked in our footsteps, felt the same pains we feel, been tempted with the same evils but yet stayed perfect and Holy. This is the God of the Heavens. Not a giant bank in the sky waiting to be called upon whenever we see fit but a loving and graceful God wanting to help bring us to our feet and establish us on paths of righteousness.

To often when it comes to God we as a society are so Myopia. We feel we must fight our own battles and struggle with our own problems ourselves which in turn makes us focus not on God but on ourselves. We spend so much time trying to rid ourselves of the evils so that we may come to God as a "better" person but it never works. As humans we are built to fail, Adam and Eve took care of that for us along time ago; but just because we were born into a sinful nature doesn't mean we must stay there. It's easy to forget than when you give your life to Christ all your sins are wiped away, cleared, they vanish in the sight of God but we hold onto them for some reason. We allow them to continue to torment us and bring us down but that's not the plans God has for any of our lives.

Psalm 40: 1-2 "I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure".

Are you one who sets their sights on the troubles in front of you? Is life's problems too much for God to handle? I think not. As we go on let us not stay dorment in the land of myopia but set your sights upward on the one who makes our steps secure.

1 Peter 4:10 "And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eterenal glory in Christ, will HIMSELF restore, confirm, stregthen, and establish you".

Vanishing Love.

1 Peter 1:25

"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

but the word of the Lord remains forever."

Are you a flower? Sounds like a pretty dumb question doesn't it? But I couldn't be more serious. So often in today's society we walk around and try to be the best looking flowers that we possibly can be. Some may be daisy's, others roses, maybe your even a tulip but my point is we all have our attractions that make us like the flower of grass.

We pour our time and effort into being percieved as the best. The newest car= must have. The fastest phone= don't care how much it costs but I need it. Or maybe your not a technology or car person but whatever it may be we pour ourselves into things that will soon be outdated, overlooked, and forgotten. Luke 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also". Where does your treasure lie? Is it with the perishables here on earth or with the everlasting God of the universe?

The flower dies, the car will breakdown, the "new" phone will not be new in a few months but one thing that stays constant is Jesus Christ. The world offers a vanishing love. It's here one day and gone the next leaving you with more heartache and troubles than before. But Jesus Christ offers a different kind of love one that wont vanish, one that never leaves despite the trials you face but one that stands by your side and walks with you. An unconditional love.