Month: May 2009

Attacking the Vision

For the past few weeks God has really put on my heart a vision for the future and He has begun to reveal to me the purpose he has for me on this earth.

So it seems only appropriate that the enemy would attack my physical sight as well.

A few weeks ago I went to the eye doc to get my eyes checked so I could get some new contacts. After a few lengthy tests the doc told me that based on the results he’s concerned that I might have glaucoma and I’d have to come back for additional tests. Which is currently scheduled for Tuesday (5/26/09). Glaucoma as I understand it is the death of optic nerves that can slowly and will unnoticeably reduce your vision. There’s no cure but with meds the effect of the disease can be slowed.

If this disease is not God’s will then it is an attack of the enemy. The pills seem like an easy solution. But really they are man’s solution to a spiritual problem. The devil would use them like chains around my neck.

Now I haven’t gotten a final diagnosis from the doc and I’ll probably get a second opinion anyway but I’ve begun praying against the spirit of infirmity, against the plans of the enemy, and that the Lord’s will be done.

And I’m asking you all to join with me. So that when I go back in on Tuesday I’ll have an amazing witness to the glory of God to share with the doc and to encourage my fellow believer’s.

With or without physical sight I will see the glorious face of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Because He has already won the victory.

Update 5/27/09

The Eye Doc confirmed yesterday that I do not have glaucoma, that my optic nerve is just larger than normal. Thank you for all your prayers. 🙂

Vision: Reach Out and Touch Someone

We live in an increasingly virtual world. We talk to each other through email, IM, and Facebook. I work all day on computers and programs that someday someone might use and hopefully it will make their lives easier, but more than likely I will never meet them. I don’t know my neighbors, I barely know my co-workers, and I struggle to connect to close friends and family through everyday conversation.

At times I feel like I don’t live in the real world.

I live a very comfortable life. I’m blessed with a good job, a loving family, and a wonderful wife. Sure I have my fair share of problems and difficulties, but if I’m hungry it’s cause there’s 30 minutes till lunch, if I’m in pain it’s cause I did too much at the gym, and if I’m worried it’s cause I’m not sure if my favorite TV series will be back next season. Now I’m simplifying here for the sake of making a point.

I feel at times like a live in my ivory tower of more-holier-than-though-christianity or I’m hiding behind my computer monitor thinking I’m making a difference because I write down my thoughts on blog for the world to see, when just outside my door is world full of real need.

I really feel this tug on my heart to reach out and touch the real world.

I don’t know what God has planned for my life, but I do know the things he’s pu on my heart. To see the nation of Israel, my family, and my country on fire for God the likes of which this world has never seen before. To see men living more like real men and not the neutered versions we see now. To take a stand against abortion. I don’t know my role in these things, and I don’t know how to accomplish them. But I do know that these things are on God’s heart as well.

While I may not know the full path ahead of me, but I do know the starting point.

Prayer – This is one area I really need to grow in. I’m not sure why it’s a weak point for me, but it really is. Prayer will draw me closer to God and his will. And that’s where I want to be. In the comming moths and years prayer will be a very important part of my family life and raising my children. I’ve started with learning to pray for my wife using a book that she gave me :-).

Mentor/Disciplship – Another thing God has really put on my heart to find a mentor or someone who will disciple me. To keep me accountable, to encourage me, or just give some wise counsel. This is especially important since my Dad passed away, I’ve grown to recognize God as my true father and Pastor Joe as a spiritual father, but I need someone in my daily life to stand in the gap.

Start Here and Now – I don’t think God’s call on my life is one that starts years in the future, but rather something that I should start working on now. By being a better witness at work, at the gym, or anywhere else I might go. The wrong thing here is to present my self as some perfect being, and the extreme of sinning along with the other person is just as wrong. But rather minister as Jesus did loving the sinner and not the sin.

This is a lot. A lot to explain and a lot to take in. And as I’ve said I’m not sure where all this is taking me, but what I do know is that God is slowly (in God’s perfect timing of course) answering one of my oldest prayers. And that is “what is my place in life”.