We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
thedailylily.com 
Oh, WOW, look at words penned by Teri Moffitt (Arkansas, USA) from a devotional….”Many years ago, I worked for a photographer. One of my jobs was to prepare the negatives for the process of developing the photographs. What is dark in the negatives is actually light on the true photo; what is light on the negative is, in reality, dark. So I became accustomed to thinking “backwards” to evaluate the negatives.
In the part of the world where I live, we have another kind of backwards thinking: possessions are too highly valued. Many people feel they must have new cars, the latest phones, the biggest televisions, and the best homes — whether or not they can afford them. We so often trade our eternal possessions for these fleeting luxuries.
May God forgive us and teach us to use earthly possessions only as a means of glorifying God — providing hospitality to others, providing for others’ needs, and acting with compassion when we have opportunities. May God train us to reverse our thinking as we remember that “what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Thought for the Day: When we reverse our backwards thinking, we learn to cherish our eternal possessions.
This is an very interesting concept. When we are accused or admonished of or to cease our ”backward” thinking we usually take it to mean that we are regarded as forward thinkers but revert to old-man thinking…i.e. according to our old nature, the unregenerate ”old man”.
So now maybe when we look at the darkness of the negative [and this seems to be a play on words] we should instead search for the light, any light, a little one, a flicker, even a tiny wavering light in order to evaluate in truth what we’ve perceived as having no merit in the Kingdom of Light. Maybe we will come to the discovery that those souls whose conversion we have prayed for and have dismissed as ‘hopeless’ and unprofitable for the Kingdom of Heaven will come forth in the “true photo”.
Speaking of placing too high a value on worldly possession…. now that I have retired and am keeping an eye on the Eastern Sky for the appearance of the Bridegroom to come and take us home to Father God….the things I thought were so important to my life are seeming like an albatross or a burden to be dealt with. Lovely things are wonderful to have and enjoy and share. But five of each? All the things that I thought I needed to make a comfortable home were in excess of what I needed to make a comfortable home.
And yes it is very charitable to donate, give, etc. but most people of this era don’t want someone’s ”used” things. Even the poor are sometimes embarrassed by the state of the ”gifts’ the charitable donor offers to them. If we had given them away at an earlier time they might have been useful. But now trying to detach myself from these objects that take up pantries and closets and wardrobes and drawers….causes a real problem for me and for the charitable organizations that don’t know what to do with all the ”junk” people are trying to get rid of.
I realize that when I was younger I thought I really needed the latest gadgets and kitchen paraphernalia and machines, etc. to make a happier home. Not true. None of that stuff made me happier. I didn’t really know what happy was until I met Jesus Christ and the wonder of His salvation and I did WONDER where I had been all these years; oh yeah…. buying vacuum cleaners of which I have five and none of them works but one.
I could go on and on….but suffice it to say, I’m looking for another charitable organization to give my next 10 sets of stuff to.
Great words to think on by Terri Moffitt and her comment,”May God forgive us and teach us to use earthly possessions only as a means of glorifying God” particularly struck me. I was thinking that our five senses are also our earthly possessions. As wonderful and useful as they are, if they are out of focus or clamor for attention, I can see how eternal things of value can take a back seat or quickly fly out the window.
Each morning when I have thoughts on this “eye fix” and think I will post my comments I read a devotion that has so rightly formulated and packaged my thoughts. So, here I go again with another great one this one might cover Debi’s comment about the five senses…..
“Our bodies need air or we will suffocate; water, or we will dehydrate; and food, or we will starve. Many of us take air, water, and food for granted; yet each year we waste and misuse more of the essential natural elements God made for our survival. The materialistic lifestyle in some areas of the world puts a high demand on the earth and damages soil, water, air, food — precisely what God provides to sustain us.
Scripture says that everything God created was good and was made for our benefit. The first chapter of Genesis describes the global life-support system that God created for us. If we are truly thankful for the gifts God has provided, we will do our part to take care of them. Working hard to care for our rivers and streams to ensure clean drinking water, keeping our air fresh and sweet for breathing, and making sure our food is healthy and pure are acts of thanksgiving to our Creator.”
Stephen J. Bendit (Colorado, USA)
Thought for the Day:
What can I do daily to help protect God’s creation?
Prayer: Creator God, help us protect and preserve nature because through nature you sustain us. Amen.
Sara, I like your 2-word phrase, ”eye-fix”. It makes me think about the truth that we are temples of the Holy Spirit whereby Jesus dwells in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Whom He sent when He ascended after His resurrection . Since He dwells in us….He sees what we see….that is, He looks where we look; He listens…that is, hears what we hear; He goes where we go since He will never leave us or forsake us. I am thinking that an economy or a dearth of worldliness in our choices and desires would so honor the God Who dwells in our hearts. That we would be sensitive to His presence within us and never let greedy ‘appetites’ dishonor the Lord.
So let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and get an eye-fix, purified and focused on the things that please Him like His beautiful creation and the the Word of God.
St Paul seemed to be bursting with love for his beloved friends as he penned these words…”Think on These Things”….Phillipians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9) The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
I sit and ponder our “eye fix” our “mind thoughts” and wonder if the mind thought is the clothes pins that may just affix the eye from roaming.
I like your clothes pin analogy Sara. Guess if I am understanding, I must practice hanging out lovely clothes of truth, excellence, etc. using these clothes pins to get a banner of peace.
Debi, I think your “lovely clothes of truth” might be the robes of righteousness and gowns of salvation that we could be ”hanging out” on the ‘clothes pin’ that Sara writes about…. or better yet that we are modeling as in a ”fashion show of glory”. Whoa!! I could fix my eyes on THAT lovely vision!!!!