With Eyes Opened!

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:11-25 NKJV  (the entire chapter is an eye-opener in times like these)

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray!

Open the eyes of our hearts and minds and help us to remove the blinders that keep us from seeing truth when it is right in front of us.

Remind us O Lord, that our goal in the earth is bring others into the knowledge of Jesus Christ and encourage them to live for You on a daily basis.

Keep us focused on Your Word that we might use it as a filter to seeing and understanding Truth for we know there is nothing in Your Word that would lead us to anything that is not like You.

For those who have been blinded by lies and deceit, I ask that You dissolve the scales from their eyes and give them a heart of flesh which will allow the light of love to shine brightly in those dark places that promote hatred and bigotry. Help us to resist the urge to hate when You are Love and to turn away from lying for we know the lake of fire has been prepared and is reserved for liars.

Help us to see O God, that Your Word is the only standard or benchmark by which we can measure goodness, gentleness, kindness and integrity.

Lord, I thank You for hearing and answering prayer and for keeping us looking to You for all the answers to any questions we might have about living for You.

Amen!