THE EVIL EYE!

 Image result for CLIP ART OF AN EVIL EYE  I follow a reading of my Bible from a chronological program, and I have been "pulled" from Acts to the book of Galatians. Paul has asked an intriguing question in chapter three, "You foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you?  Before your every eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.  I would like to learn just one thing from you.  Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" False teachers had infiltrated the early church telling the Gentile Christians that they could be saved if they adhered to Jewish law.  Basically, salvation received and maintained by good works. 

What Paul is really questioning:  Who has put the evil eye on you to cause you who were saved by grace and NOW, to think that you must move into perfectionism to maintain your salvation? To all us recovering perfectionists, perfectionism is a lie of the evil one to keep us ensnared in his trap...always trying but NEVER attaining that goal on earth!  When we are admonished in Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." the Greek word for perfect is teleios, in English:  full grown, mature, completeness where no part is defective, or not wanting.  The term was originally a term applied to a machine.  To us humans: our completeness comes about because of the life of Christ in us.  We were made complete when we received Christ as our Savior and the completeness is being worked out by the Holy Spirit's empowering in us called sanctification, a process.  Disclaimer:  WE CANNOT EXPERIENCE THIS TOTAL COMPLETENESS IN THIS BODY WHILE WE ARE LIVING YET WE WILL EXPERIENCE IT FULLY WHEN WE ARE WITH CHRIST.  However, we do choose obedience to delight and please the Lord in this life.  Colossians 2: 9-10, "For in Christ all the fullness (completeness) of Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness (completeness) in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."

For your own sanity and spiritual and mental health, STOP THE STRIVING TO BE PERFECT WHICH IS CONFORMITY TO A LIE AND NOT TRUTH!  Forever learning.  In process.  #IHAVETHREESONS.  BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THOSE SEEING CAN BECOME BLIND

Image
John 9 is the story of the healing of the blind beggar.  Not only is it a marvelous story of the miraculous healing of the man as he is given his sight, but a sad story of the religious of whom Jesus said, "For judgment, I have come into this world, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind ." The religious have seen the miracle, even though it has taken place on a Sabbath, and they interview the man and his parents for their stories and understanding. I find it so thrilling that the healed man speaks so articulately and logically with the religious in their "interview" with him.  His statement, " Now that is remarkable!  You don't know where HE comes from, yet HE opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners.  He listens to the godly man who does His will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." What truth he has spoken to the religious wh
Read more

REHEARSALS

Image
  I wonder how much time do I give to rehearsing God's goodness and how He has intervened in my life to "save" me from myself?  How alike the Israelites I can be, complaining about what goes wrong, how it affects me, and what I lack.  As a Christ follower, I have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to give me remembrance NOT of my complaining and grumbling, but of a recall of God's faithfulness to me.  It is recorded in Psalms 78 and 106 that " They forgot what He had done, the wonder He had shown them", "They did not remember His power--the day He redeemed them from the oppressor...", "They did not remember Your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.", "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.", and "They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt...". Contrast with me, God's remembrance: Ps. 106:44-46, "But He took note of their distress
Read more

ORDER AND DESIGN

Image
    I do not have OCD, but I do confess that I like order in my home.  Now that I am retired, I am not so much into spotless, but "picked up" and "kinda" clean. (Do not open drawers and closets!) I might go to more trouble when I know I am having company, but otherwise, I remove the clutter that seems to reproduce on its own.   When I began the reading in Genesis in January, I was again taken with the with the orderliness and design of God in creation, and have seen Him use Moses and Aaron to ORDERLY marshal the Israelites to move out of Egypt. How do you move some 600+ males and that is not even wives and children? Animals also?  They have been one year+ out of Egypt, and have been camped at Mt. Sinai where God has given them laws for their spiritual and physical welfare.  God gives Moses the design of the Tabernacle and Moses is able to bring together the workers to complete the Tabernacle.   The clip art at the top is the positioning of the 12 Tribes and the
Read more