Our blind spots

Reading through John 9, we notice a lot of powerful imagery around sight, blindness, light and darkness. In reflecting on this passage, I was struck by the 'blind spots' in the lives of the disciples, as well as the religious leaders. 

When we are learning to drive our instructors make it a serious point to teach us that we all have a blind spot, even if we drive very well. This blind spot is not necessarily a fault of ours, but it is a reality. And so, it is humbling to admit, that there are some things that we just can't see and if we want to avoid an accident, we need to learn to adjust our vision.

In John's account of the man who was born blind, Jesus reveals to the disciples and the leaders where their blind spots were, but they didn't all react positively to this. 

"Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So, they were divided." - John 9:16

Thought: Where could my blind spot be? How would I react if someone pointed this out to me?

"No man is wise at all times or is without his blind side." — Desiderius Erasmus

Living in Grace

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An authentic prayer by Thomas Merton

Prayers can be contrived at times, but they can also be deeply authentic. Take this famous prayer by Thomas Merton as an example. There is so much heart and honesty in his words, that I feel we all can relate to his thoughts.

"My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore, will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." - Thomas Merton

Hebrews 5:7 - While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

Living in Grace

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Suffering does not discriminate.

The first verse of the book of Job tells us much about the character of the man: “He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.” (Job 1:1). 

This is important for us to understand as we read the rest of the book, as it addresses a common misunderstanding amongst modern Christians, especially regarding suffering. We are sometimes led to believe that if we are holy and super-spiritual (close to God), that we can bypass suffering. 

However, this is not what the Bible actually teaches at all. Suffering is part of the experience for all believers and in fact, suffering doesn't discriminate at all. Every person can and will experience some degree of suffering: rich or poor, black or white, Christian or non-believer, young or old. 

The challenge for me will always lie in how we handle the suffering we encounter and how we view God in the midst of our trials. That is the hard part.

Matthew 16:24-26 (Eugene Peterson) - 

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Living in Grace

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A 17th Century prayer that still resonates today

I was looking for something in one of my desk drawers today and I stumbled across this lovely prayer that I had completely forgotten about. It is accredited to a 17th Century nun, and I think it is still very pertinent for us in the 21st Century. Hope you enjoy it and that it resonates with you. There is so much beauty in her words: 

"Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. 

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. 

Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. 

With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, 

but you know Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;

give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. 

They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. 

I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, 

but help me to endure them with patience. 

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. 

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; 

I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with – 

but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the Devil. 

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and 

talents in unexpected people. 

And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Amen."

Living in Grace

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Why is it so hard for me?

"Why, O Lord, is it so hard for me

to keep my heart directed toward you?
Why does my mind wander off in so many directions,
and why does my heart desire
the things that lead me astray?
Let me sense your presence in the midst of my turmoil.
Take my tired body,
my confused mind,
and my restless soul into your arms
and give me rest, simple quiet rest." - Henri Nouwen

I believe that one of the most important things to focus on, during Lent, is our honesty and authenticity. This prayer strikes a chord with me, as it 'tells it as it is' - Henri Nouwen owns his frailty, but still reaches out to God for strength and rest.

How is your Lenten journey going?

Psalm 10:1 - "Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"

Living in Grace

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Strengthen my faith

For those who receive this blog via email I notice that there is a big issue with the subscription service I was using - my apologies about that. I am working on sorting this out, but in the meantime, please access the devotion directly from this site (www.delmelinscott.blogspot.com) or via www.livingingrace.co.za. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your support. 

For some inspiration, here is a prayer from Martin Luther. I love his honest and reliance on God.

"Behold Lord,
An empty vessel that needs to be filled,
My Lord, fill it.
I am weak in faith;
Strengthen me.
I am cold in love;
Warm me and make me fervent,
That my love may go out to my neighbour.
I do not have a strong and firm faith;
At times I doubt and am unable to trust you.
O Lord, help me.
Strengthen my faith,
And my trust in you."

Have a blessed day.

Living in Grace

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A dangerous veneer

 

"You can't wait for the Sabbath day to be over and religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless." - Amos 8:5

When Amos challenged the people of Israel about their shallow faith, he was pointing out that they were good at creating a 'veneer' of religiosity, but their lives hadn't changed one bit. 

This is a dangerous veneer for us to put over our hearts, because we may fool others, but we will never fool God. 

Are their any parts of your faith that are easier to hide than to openly bring to the Lord?

“God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another.”
― Shakespeare, Hamlet

Living in Grace

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Which mask today? Why we choose to wear masks to hide our true selves.

I jumped into the car the other morning worrying that I had forgotten my mask. I needn't have worried as there were 3 or 4 masks lying around inside the car, some needing to be disposed of, but others ready for a wash and another day in business. As I reversed out the driveway this thought struck me: 

"Is this how we start our days albeit a little subconsciously? We think about who were are going to meet and then decide which mask we are going to wear? I am off to work so I need to put the "I'm all together" mask on. Or I am off to church so let me put the "deeply spiritual" mask on? Or we are going out to be with acquaintances so the most suitable mask will be the "I am fine" mask. Is this how we live our lives?"

The trouble with living like this is that we get caught up in changing the masks all the time, until eventually we wear the wrong mask at an awkward time and suddenly we feel exposed. We can't keep up the pretence forever.

I am thankful that God knows who we are even before we put the masks on and that Jesus doesn't require us to pretend when we come to him. We are invited to come 'as we are' and God will embrace us in that moment. 

Joshua 7:19 - “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honour him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

Genesis 28:15 - "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Living in Grace

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Honesty Box - book giveaway

Lockdown has changed the way many of us view life and it is teaching us to embrace a slower pace of being human. One of the dangers of being in Lockdown is that we feel disconnected from community and people who would help us along the journey of life and faith. So, in a small way, I want to offer you something that may help along the way.

I have been privileged to write a few books over the years and I would like to offer you the chance to read any of them via PDF. All you need to do is send me an email requesting a book and I will send it you via PDF, which will allow you to read it on your computer, tablet or phone.

No doubt, you will be asking the question: “How much will this cost me?”

My answer is this: “Let’s work on the Honest Box principle. If you decide you want to give something, then you are welcome too. If things are little tight at the moment and you don’t have spare resources, then that’s also okay - You are still welcome to read the books for free.”

How does that sound?

It is my prayer that the books may encourage you to get through this time of ‘Lockdown’ and also offer you some spiritual guidance for the future. Remember that Jesus Christ is with us during these unprecedented times and He longs to draw near to us.

Living in Grace,

Delme

Website: www.livingingrace.co.za

Email: delmelinscott@gmail.com

Knowing yourself

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle

Being self aware is such a rare thing nowadays. Either people are so full of themselves or so critical of themselves, that they can't strike a balance. I know that the older I get, the more I understand about myself, but I have a long way to go yet. 

In my opinion, the more we are honest with ourselves and come to understand who were are, the more open we should be to receive Jesus. When we understand our weaknesses, sins and need of a Saviour, then we are in the right space to call out to God.

Even if you are still struggling to know yourself, turn to the One who knows you better than anyone else.

Psalm 139:1 - You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

Living in Grace
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Playing at Religion

 

“Why doesn’t one of you just shut the Temple doors and lock them? Then none of you can get in and play at religion with this silly, empty-headed worship. I am not pleased. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is not pleased. And I don’t want any more of this so-called worship!" - Malachi 1:10 (Message)

Wow, God is really upset by the attitude of his people. He doesn't even mince his words either! Read through these responses and feel yourself melting into the naughty corner!

• "Shut the Temple doors."
• "Lock them."
• "Playing at religion"
• "Silly, empty-headed worship"
• "I am not pleased."
• "So-called worship."

Each one of these valid responses is an expression of how God feels when we just "go through the motions" of worship. There is no point in playing at Religion, because we can't deceive God at all. 

I am challenged this Advent season to make my own worship more REAL, MEANINGFUL, and HONEST. I hope you will join me as we all seek to welcome the Christ-child into our hearts. 

Living in Grace
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Get up, God!

Wow, either David is very stupid or he knows that God appreciates his honesty! I mean, who in their right mind tells God to "wake up!" The thing I love about King David is his complete vulnerability before God. He leaves nothing to chance or pretense. He tells God exactly how he feels, because he has come to trust in the AWESOMENESS of his God. David allows his thoughts to spill over in his prayers, and it is a sign of his Faith in God, NOT in his disbelief.

I think that David knows God intimately, so when he questions God, it is because he knows that God can make a plan. He trusts in God's providence and care, even though he is not witnessing it in the present.

When you and I pray, are we too polite with God (out of fear) or are we totally honest with him?

Get up, God! Are you going to sleep all day?
    Wake up! Don’t you care what happens to us?
Why do you bury your face in the pillow?
    Why pretend things are just fine with us?
And here we are—flat on our faces in the dirt,
    held down with a boot on our necks.
Get up and come to our rescue.
    If you love us so much, Help us! - Psalm 44 (Message)

Living in Grace
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