Eyes of Clarity

Ephesians 5:15-16 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” The enemy is always lurking, in fact he has been at my shoulder whispering lies into my ear for the past few weeks now. Rude! Selfish! Ungrateful! In and of my flesh, these are not false accusations but I am set free in Christ and I do not need to live in the terror that is my flesh any longer; I do not need to adhere to the lies of the enemy. But yet, he has me trapped in my mind and laying in bed. Instead of praying, I am sleeping and rather than reading the Bible, I am watching meaningless television shows. I know that the void of emptiness I feel will never be satisfied with anything other than the saving grace of Jesus Christ so why am I not taking action? Why am I allowing myself to backslide into the same hole that the Lord has already graciously dug me out of? Why am I not taking captive these thoughts that overwhelm and dissatisfy my...

Mark 7:17 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the thins which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” As I was reading my devotional this morning, it touched on something that I had said early on in my time here in Uganda: “You can’t run from sin because you can’t run from you.” Sin truly does live in my heart and it is only when I run to Jesus, who is the only One who can deliver me from myself, that my heart can be radically transformed. I can and have attempted in my own strength to change my heart, but this has only led to condemnation and failure. The Lord never asked me to fix myself, He has asked me to do nothing other than cry out to Him at street level so that He can fix me in my most broken state. That is how He wants me: battered, bruised, and broken because this is when I am honest; this is when I want nothing more than for the Father to fix what I have ruined, again. But, when I attempt to change what only the L...

Job 1:21-22 “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job was a God fearing man who was given over to Satan and had everything taken away from him. In all of this, he stayed faithful to the Lord and trusted that His plan was better. If only I could have the willingness of Job, the willingness to long suffer for the King, fully trusting in Him when the trials of this life overwhelm me. As a human of the flesh, I too often place my comfort in this world, not thinking that at any given moment any object or person could be taken away from me. Therefore, when something or someone of interest is no longer, I become frustrated because I think I am entitled. The Lord gives and just as quickly He takes away, but He does this not to punish me, but to strengthen me and teach me that the things of this life truly have no...

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” We all seek improvement, we all seek to be better. When we find fault, so often times we attempt to become better in our own strength rather than laying our flaws down at the feet of Jesus. We assume that because the Lord has revealed a certain flaw to us that we need to fix it, but rather He wants us to come to Him at street level, broken, and willing to allow Him to be the vine in which His fruit flows from. Recently, the Lord has revealed to me the extent of negativity that I allow to flow from my lips into the ears of those around me. Hostile and cruel, I find myself responding in a way and a manner that is simply not glorifying to the Lord. I wish so desperately to have a humbled tongue, one that does not feel the need to respond to every comment with a seemingly bitter heart. But, Jesus says I do not need to wish, I just need to find myself in Him. W...

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” The Lord brings salvation to all those who call upon Him with honest sincerity. Following honest sincerity in receiving salvation is death to self, a ritual that must take place daily to have true freedom in Christ. Death to self is the most challenging part of being a Christian because we want our way, always. We want to look at that handsome man down the street because five minutes of admiration in the moment does not seem as though it will matter, but when five minutes pass by and admiration becomes lust, we find ourselves wondering how we ever let our thoughts travel there. Or, we think we can handle one more drink at the bar but when one more drink becomes three more drinks and we lose control of ourselves, we wonder the next morning why we let ourselves come to the point of...

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” There really is no rainbow without rain but when the rainbow shines through the clouds, the rain is oftentimes worth the wet puddles it leaves behind. Similarly, everyone wants growth but they do not want to go through the trials in life that cause it. I know that to have growth I must endure the predominant suffering because how can I expect to grow if my circumstances remain the same? But, I must not fear for as Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” There is absolutely nothing in this life that I will walk through that the Lord has not orchestrated for my good and His glory. Reading through IBS writings from January through last week is absolutely mind blowing as I am able to see the questions and prayers that have been answered as well as my general growth in my relationship with the Lord. What an absolute blessing to ...

Psalms 51:6 “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” The Lord desires nothing more than to have a personal relationship with us. He desires honesty, even when honesty seems impossible. However, it is in this honesty and truth that we are able to experience growth through the only One who is able to provide it. Behind honest with God hurts. Being broken hurts. But God knows what He is doing and even in the midst of what seems like the most difficult trials we are facing, He is in control. What we hold in our hearts will always come to surface, but how it is dealt with when it is surfaced is entirely up to us.So do you want your way or the better way? No one ever said life as a Christian would be easy, in fact, this past week has brought me to terms with the fact that it is everything but. The Lord has asked me to surrender an aspect of my life that I have been struggling with for some time now. Being in Uganda is an opp...