27 Contacts
The British journal of medicine reported in July of 2018 that a woman in England had 27 contacts removed from her eye. She would put them in but wasn't always able to find them, so she just assumed they had fallen out.
Actually, the lenses were slipping to the back of her eye and getting stuck. She just kept adding new ones in, and they piled up. But despite having 27 lenses in her eye, her vision was not 27 times stronger.
We can add more and more theological information to our minds, but if our hearts aren't transformed, it won't give us a clearer vision of God . Information without the Holy Spirit can't bring about the life that God desires.
"They cannot comprehend or understand, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see, and closed their minds so they cannot understand" (Isaiah 44:18).
Misusing the Bible
Ashley Despain now holds a dubious, ignominious distinction. Visiting an inmate in a Nevada, Missouri, jail, Ashley tried to sneak him marijuana and methamphetamines by sticking them into the binding of a Bible. Officials say they have seen many ways used to smuggle drugs to prisoners, but it’s the first time the Bible was the means chosen.
As incredible (and audacious) as that sounds, Ashley was not the first to misuse the Bible. How many have used the Bible as a means of enriching themselves? Peter spoke of false teachers who exploited listeners with false words out of greed ( 2 Peter 2:3).
How many have used the Bible as a means of defending personal sin or a sinful lifestyle?
How many have used the Bible as a billy club to pound others?
How many have used the Bible to peddle some false doctrine? Peter experienced that, too (2 Peter 3:16).
How many have used the Bible to manipulate and control others? Jesus warned against that very thing (Matthew 23:4).
How many have used the Bible to tempt others into disobeying God? That’s literally a satanic ploy (cf. Matthew 4:6).
None of us will probably try to smuggle drugs with a Bible. But, let’s be sure to “accurately" handle it (2 Timothy 2:15).
Man Digs Hole In The Jungle For God
The Mirror reports:
A man claims God told him to start digging a hole 18 years ago, and he literally hasn't stopped since.
Santiago Sanchez, 69, says he regards it as the Lord's work and he devotes every waking hour to the project.
The pensioner heads to the tunnel in the city of Berlin, in the western El Salvador department of Usulutan, at around 3 AM.
And every time he emerges he is carrying around 90 pounds of rock, stones and debris, following what God told him.
… It is no easy task, and the journalist who went into the tunnel to have a look confessed that by the time he got halfway, was struggling to breathe and had to leave quickly.
… Despite his conviction that he is following God's orders, he has many critics and many more who laugh at what he is doing.
His wife, named Isabel Ventura, said that "there are people who say that he is crazy" but he answers that "no one knows what God is going to demand from you."
Is Santiago Sanchez doing God's will by digging a hole in the middle of the jungle? He certainly thinks he is, and that may be all that matters. Here’s the really interesting thing about God’s will; it can be attached to anything you do, even the most mundane of activities.
The Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24). That means any task can become a divine calling, if it's done with the right motivation!
The real question isn't whether Mr. Sanchez is doing God's will but are you? If you flip hamburgers, you can choose to flip hamburgers for the Lord, or you can flip hamburgers for the pay. Every person in every walk of life and vocation can choose to serve God there.
It doesn’t take a special revelation from God to discover His will for your life. It just takes a heart that wants to please God in all circumstances.
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24).