Spiritual Blindness

Feb. 03, 2014 Monday Message:

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38 NLT)

There is physical blindness – what we all think of when we hear the word, “blind.” There is also spiritual blindness.

The blind beggar on the road to Jericho didn’t cry out, “Heal me,” or “Open my eyes.” Rather, he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” You see, he already knew that Jesus was the one who could forgive his sin and restore his relationship with the father. The man may have been physically blind, but his spiritual eyes were already open.

Sometimes though, even with 20/20 vision, people are “spiritually blind.” When John Newton penned the lyrics to “Amazing Grace,” he describes in the first-person how he was “lost,” but now is “found.” He was “blind,” but now he can “see.” God had shown him the error of his previous path in life, and now the correct path was made clear. His spiritual eyes had been opened.

If you’re reading this, your spiritual eyes are probably open. Those suffering from spiritual blindness wouldn’t be interested in such a topic. We can pray for them, that their eyes would be opened.

Norton Lawellin

Join us for worship - Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday, at 10:30am, in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week Jesus joins Zacchaeus for dinner, and salvation comes to his house that day. Pastor Michael Pilla continues our study in Luke 19. See you at church!

Radically Transformed

December 31, 2012 Monday Message:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” from Gal. 2:20 NLT

Paul had a checkered past, with ups and downs, good and bad things in his life. You and I probably have checkered pasts too.

We cannot change the past, but we can change the future. I was recently selected to lead an organization with a history of problems. The members wanted things fixed. I told them that I could not change what happened in the past, but that our goal would be to do things with excellence starting NOW. We’re going to change how we operate.

Paul, through his spiritual awakening on the road to Damascus, found his life radically transformed. He accepted his new mission and went to work, determined to do things God’s way from now on. He didn’t always score 100% on this test, but showed remarkable progress. As humans in a sinful world, we also may never get a perfect score, but if we look at trends, over time, we'll find we’re getting closer and closer to God’s model.

As we begin a new year, this would be a good time for self-examination. How is life working for you? Can you recognize the old you in the rear-view mirror, see the line drawn when you began to follow Jesus, and picture the new you on the other side? Has your life been radically transformed?

Like Paul, we cannot change our checkered pasts, but we can pursue the future with God-honoring excellence.

Happy New Year!

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Jan. 6, 10:30am Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers in the North end of the Oliver Ministry Building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, Minneapolis. Rev. Daisy Rader will continue our exploration of Luke 2 along with a little testimony, and men from the New Hope center will be joining us as part of their church tour. See you there!

NL