by David Brenneman
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Thro' death into life everlasting,
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion--
For more than conqu’rors we are!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
His Word shall not fail you--He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Author: Helen Howarth Lemmel (1922)
It never ceases to amaze me to begin my reading in the morning and a hymn is brought to mind.
I hear and read of so much division both in the Church and outside of it. Hear and see so much of people looking to cause it rather than realizing that in Christ there's supposed to be unity of the Spirit of God. So many are doing the work of Satan rather than God in causing others to stumble or to fall away from God by their divisions they create.
So many have lost sight of the basics of the Word of God. To love your neighbor as yourself. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit.
So hard it is when I run across even Christians who seek validation for their actions rather than seeking the truth of God for them and those in their lives.
Would Jesus be pleased with them? I would hardly think so. Would Jesus be the one crying tears at what His Church is doing within itself? Absolutely.
So many within the Church don't see and they ought to.
We ought to be praying daily for eyes that see and ears that hear the Spirit of God.
We cannot and will not please God, no matter how much, or how often, we claim to be doing things for God all the while doing the true work of Satan in regards to how we treat others. It's not on me nor is it on anyone else to determine if someone is truly saved. The Bible says that the Spirit sets His seal on those who are in Christ Jesus.
We cannot please Him if we are, on any level, being self-centered, self-serving. To live such a way is what Paul wrote against, which is a practiced sin. An intentional way if life that refuses to acknowledge the truths of God's word. Many in the professing Church claim to live for Jesus yet are attacking their brothers and sisters in Christ by omission and commission.
"Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?" 1 Corinthians 6:7.
So many have carried so much baggage from their pasts that they do not see the harm that they do to others. Leave it at the feet of Jesus.
When we are in Christ we are supposed to be a unified body. Not one against another.
When we look for justification, when we seek our own justice, we put ourselves in the place of God. When we want to decide then we are looking with our own eyes, not those of the Spirit.
We cause a lot of problems by wanting our choices and decisions validated. We cannot go and do our own thing and then ask God to bless it. A serious red flag is those kinds of things.
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus. How can we look at ourselves, at others in Christ, in any harmful way when we've been setting our hearts on our Savior?
We may not ever get answers to our past. In Christ it doesn't matter.
We may not ever get answers to our present.
In Christ it doesn't matter.
What matters is:
"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:1-3.
Quit carrying around a chip on your shoulder from your past. Take it off, hand it to Jesus and leave it. It's path into your past is rooted in bitterness.
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus. How can anyone who's been with Jesus still hold onto things they perceive between them and others?
Many whom even I have known so quickly forget that after the Rapture of the Church, they WILL see these same people again.
Look full in His wonderful face and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
His grace was bestowed upon all, as freely as we have been given and forgiven, so we are charged by the command of God to do towards others.
My Dear Reader what are you seeking that isn't Spiritually healthy? What are you doing if whatever it is, is causing division, strife, anger? Those are not fruits of the Spirit. Those are things of the enemy of God.
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus. How can anyone be the same after that?
You do realize, my Friend, that it doesn't matter how much you think you're doing for God, if in even one area you're disobeying Him?
What needs to change in you that you put on the mind of Christ? Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Set your mind on things above and not on the things that are of this world. Who's character is being seen by the world? Yours or that of Christ in you?
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. How could you behave any way other than the way that the Spirit has in mind for you if you are truly walking in the Lord?
So many people are doing Satan's work for him that he often just needs to sit back and watch.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding and in in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
My Dear Reader, turn your eyes upon Jesus.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. Lockman Foundation.
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