Eyes of Clarity

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.” It is amazing the change we encounter when we bathe ourselves in the Word of God. We begin to have a mind like Christ and the thoughts we once had begin to fade into the nothingness they always were. Once we are cleansed by His blood, we are no longer indebted to our thoughts of condemnation, of evil, or of impurity, but we are set free. However, it is one thing to say something, another thing to apply it and especially when it comes to our thought process, this can take an ample amount of time to alter. Thoughts are the most difficult to control because the mind is so unbelievably sophisticated and it tends to wander when our guard is down, which is usually 99.9% of the time in which we are awake. Though we might not want to think about a certain as

Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” To love instruction is to appreciate knowing the difference between how to succeed and how to fail. Of course, as fallen people we fail everyday, but to have been told blatant instruction, choose to do the opposite, and rebel against the rebuke that follows is, how Proverbs 12:1 puts it, “stupid.” Sometimes our pride causes difficulty in listening to the instruction of others simply because we feel that there is no better way than our own. Then, when we find ourselves being corrected for not following the instruction given to us, we become angry. Most often times, if the Lord is not speaking directly to us through His Word, He places specific people in our lives to give us instruction for our own benefit so that we may grow in wisdom and knowledge. When we do not listen, we are actively ignoring the instruction of the Almighty authority since He is who placed the instruction for us to

2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Jesus tells us to make disciples, to spread His truth with those who can then share it with others. What good does it do to have a testimony of what the Lord has done in our lives and hide it deep within ourselves? Sometimes all it takes is a thirty second conversation to spark the interest of an unbeliever to live a life for Christ. I have never considered myself fit to be a disciple because I know close to absolutely nothing about the stories portrayed in the Bible. How could I ever be a disciple if I do not know what it is I am teaching? How could I pour into others if I myself had not first received? The training phase of the IGNITE program is designed to provide an environment in which we are constantly being poured into so that during our field time and beyond we may pour out into others what has so graciously been poured into u

Proverbs 9:9 “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” Wisdom: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement. The book of Proverbs gives us a greater understanding as to why we need a foundation of heavenly wisdom for, “By wisdom a house is built” (Proverbs 24:3). Without wisdom, we are unable to discern the Lord’s voice from our own and when we listen to ourselves rather than to Him, we remain in our self righteousness, a sin nonetheless. A wise man is able to understand that God’s plan is greater than his own and is able to act in the Lord’s favor for His glory rather than for the desires of his own flesh. Furthermore, as his walk becomes stronger, his wisdom becomes greater because he listens to the advice of wise counsel and is able to achieve victory. A wise man is not moved by the happenings of this life because he knows that the Lord’s promise to carry him through will never change. A

Luke 2:46 “Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.” Jesus was found in the temple actively participating in listening and asking questions. How often are we in the midst of a teaching but we allow our minds to dwell elsewhere? This happens far too often, even more so when we are being taught the Word of God. The trouble with wandering minds is that those who are teaching us have not any idea for all they see are focused eyes and opened Bibles. It seems odd that we would be distracted even while surrounded by the Lord’s people, but the enemy so often uses our thoughts to detour us from learning because if we are learning, we are growing and if we are growing, the enemy cannot have victory. Therefore, what better way to derail us than by using our weakly trained thoughts against us? But James 4:7-8 states, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from

Mark 4:10-11 “But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.” The Lord uses His Word to build relationships with His chosen people. However, not everyone will have the desire to listen to what His word is attempting to portray and as Mark 4:25 says, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” The Lord speaks to each of us in different ways but we have to be willing to receive for Him to reveal more. Math class was always my weakest subject in high school and on into college. I remember constantly struggling because I was unwilling to want to learn. Had I approached the subject with an attitude set to succeed instead of having ears unwilling to listen, the opportun