E11 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - Heart and Mind of Jesus - Sight for the Blind - Part 2 of 2

Hope’s Harbor

Gritty Bible Devotions

Title: Heart and Mind of Jesus – Sight for the Blind – Part 2 of 2

Date: 6/14/2021

Contact: info@hopesharbor.net

Key verse(s): Luke 4:18

Intro: In Episode 10 we examined some of the causes of spiritual blindness and the need to be able to see from GOD’s viewpoint. Also, how we must choose to see by understanding and acknowledging our harmful behavior, then making the determination to become free from destructive habits.

I explained how I had to see the need for psychological counseling and how GOD used pain to bring me to the point of yielding to treatment. (It was the best thing I ever did concerning this issue of blindness.

Devotion focus: (Lesson point)

To see the truth equals freedom when acted upon - John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

·         To know is to perceive, be sure of, to understand.

·         Freedom and deliverance come through knowing Bible truth.

·         Blindness as a captive leads to long-term bondage –

Continued from Episode 10

·         The pain was so bad at times tears ran down my face as I fell into bed fully clothed at the end of a workday.

·         My wife at the time, before she kicked me to the curb, told me on one such occasion, I needed help. That I needed to talk to someone.

·         The pain was so bad by this point I relented and made an appointment.

·         The long-term result was the counselor helped me immensely.

·         He did so by teaching me about the mind. He had me read books to help me understand that the violence that happened to me in childhood, lead to this level of anxiety I lived in daily.

·         Now, here is where the crucial point is made. This is where I need you to pay close attention if this is something you’re facing in your life.

·         This is the point: The knowledge I gained was necessary before I could change. But knowledge alone does little to bring improvement to our lives though it is the portal through which we must pass.

·         It is when we ACT on the information that change, freedom begins to occur! This is why I put Actions to Consider at the end of every episode.

·         Now don’t get me wrong – there were times I discovered some principle or discovered the root of the mental issue I faced – that discovery was wonderful!

·         One such discovery happened during a shift at work. I was a police officer, on patrol, and as I drove around I was listening to Dr. James Dobson interview Dr. Jim Conway, a psychologist. (if I remember correctly. He may have been a psychiatrist. Hey, it was nearly 30 years ago!)

·         Anyway, Dr. Conway told how he obtained 4 different degrees in psychology trying to discover what was wrong with him and he eventually discovered, during counseling, his issues were rooted in childhood.

·         When he described his experiences as a child he described nearly exactly my own experiences. Those of violence and fear and dread. Even the way his father punished him was the same though the instrument was different. (His father used a stick he left out on the kitchen counter, telling Jim he had one coming, meaning a beating.) My stepfather used a belt, left out on the kitchen counter, and told me the same.)

·         For days I would see that belt and be filled with fear and dread.

·         The point is for the first time I understood what was wrong with me. I wasn’t crazy. I carried emotional/mental scars from the violence.

·         The experience of that realization, of seeing the root causes was like having a veil pulled away. The effect was immediate: I suddenly started crying, sobbing actually, and had to pull over on the shoulder. I tried to stop sobbing with everything I had but could not.

·         The relief was too great. The problem for me was being on duty. What if I got a call? At that point I couldn’t even talk and yet we were required to always answer the radio when our call sign came out.

·         Fortunately no such call came and I eventually regained control but never forgot seeing like that for the first time.

·         Then I discovered, when the wonder of seeing the truth began to fade after a few days, knowledge alone only gets us so far.

·         I had to begin to implement what I learned and this is where the battle lines were drawn. This is when counseling came into play.

·         The process to change can be tough. Long-term habits don’t die or change quickly just because we become aware of liberating truth.

·         Human nature for the most part resists change. Any change.

·         So how can we begin to change and keep at it even when we want to give up on the idea we can ever improve.

·         It is by seeing the benefit, seeing the end result, and pressing forward in the belief (understanding) that what we’re doing will result in becoming free.

·         Again, this is where having a professional counselor helped me so much. He kept me on track by monitoring my progress and encouraging me to keep at it when it all felt hopeless at times.

·         You too can become free when you see first the need to change, and then discover (see) how to change, and then begin making changes.

Summary: Jesus came, He said, to restore sight to the blind. And He must help us to see and understand we need help to change. Prayer becomes vital during such a process of breaking free of destructive habits. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to sanctify us or to set us apart, for GOD.

Seeking GOD’s help, in the Name of His Son, and by the power of His Spirit is the place to start.

Seeing how much our Heavenly Father loves us will help us when the process of freedom becomes exhausting and we want to quit.

Action to consider:

Create a strong commitment to learning how to see what you need to become free, to have peace. You’ll need GOD’s help for this and reading the following verses will give strength and power to your resolve, your commitment, to change.

First read John 15:4, 5 & 9

·         John 15:4 – “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

·         John 15:5 - "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. “

To abide means to remain, to stay. The implication is to stay in close contact with Jesus.

·         John 15:9 - "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

Next week’s episode:  To Set at Liberty those that are bruised, or crushed.    This is where addictions dwell.