Not MY Problem...

Meet Greg - He's a hard working father of two married now for 10 years. He has a decent job, takes the kids to their games, and spends his spare time hanging out with his family and golfing when the weather is nice. Greg, like most of us, watches the news and reads the paper. He sees the people who are less fortunate than him but to be honest with you he thinks "Someone else is taking care of that" so he goes about his day not giving any additional thought to helping.

Throughout the course of a few years Greg loses his wife to cancer. He never thought much about donating to the "Cure for Cancer" fundraisers he'd seen until it struck his family. He wonders what he could have done to help - Could he have been more encouraging to those who lost a loved one? Could he have participated in the walks or made a small donation? It wasn't important to HIM at the time but it was important to others...why didn't he see that?

Gradually the loss of his wife takes a toll on him and he begins drinking heavily. Soon, he loses his job and custody of both kids. With no money and no incentive to wake up each day, he eventually loses his house and all his possessions. As he wonders from shelter to shelter occasionally sleeping on park benches or side streets, he reflects on all the times he saw others in this situation but did nothing. Honestly, he used to think they deserved it because they did it to themselves. Judging from what he'd seen they must be drunks who are just too lazy to work. Now he wonders how many of them are just like him - Who have fallen on hard times due to the loss of a loved one, a lay off at work, or some other financial hardship. And then he wonders, what could he have done to help? Could he have offered food, given money, volunteered at a shelter, or simply prayed for them?

Greg's heart begins to change and he starts to see the world with different eyes. He starts to see that "someone else" is not taking care of these people and that HE could have been the someone that helped but didn't. He is now painfully aware of the lost opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others and now he's the one who needs help and no one is there to help him get his life back together.

To be quite honest with you, Greg could be any one of us - How often are we focused solely on our own lives that we overlook the needs of others? How often do we judge someone else's situation without really knowing the journey they've been on? How often could we "give" - whether that means money, time, prayer, or simply offering kind words - but we don't? 

The bible says "God will give to each person according to what he has done"- Romans 2:6

Don't misunderstand me - I'm not saying that good deeds alone will reserve you a comfy place in heaven filled with all your wants and needs. But God does look at what He's given us and he expects that you will give to others according to what you have. So what do you have? Time? Money? An encouraging spirit? Are you giving it? When the day comes, what will God give YOU according to what you have done?

Whatever it is that you've been blessed with, GIVE it to others. You never know when you might be the person on the receiving end.....

The worst kind of illness.....

Michael, a man in his early 30's became incredibly ill. It didn't happen overnight, it was more of a gradual decline over a number of years. It started with small pains here and there but as time went on the pains got worse and so did his health. Every time a new pain showed up he moaned and complained. Each time the response from family and friends was "Why don't you go see a doctor?" His reply was always the same, "I'm not going to a doctor! He probably won't know what it is anyway, I'll just take care of it myself"

As the years passed the illness eventually took over his life. He was miserable all the time, his energy was gone and his quality of life was non existent. Still, even in his last days he refused to see a doctor for advice or treatment.

Towards the end, he became very bitter and angry. When family and friends asked him why he was so angry he replied "All these years I've been sick and that stupid doctor never did anything for me! I thought doctors were supposed to care about people! How can someone who just leaves me to die and lets me feel all this pain care??" His family was confused - How in the world could he be mad at someone that he never went to see? How could a doctor that he didn't even know help him? Still, the man blamed the doctor insisting that he was responsible.

The truth is, had the man just seen the doctor he could have been saved. He could have easily helped him manage his pain and given him back his life.

I see this situation all the time - not necessarily with illness but with anger, frustration, worry, and anxiety. And at the end of the day, who do we blame? God.  

 Why didn't God help us? How could he just leave us here to be miserable? 

The truth is, we never asked God for help. We never prayed, we never trusted in him, we never turned things over to him. So answer me this....How can we blame a doctor we never went to see?

Life or Death?

What is truly in your heart is projected when you speak. What do YOUR words say about your heart? 

"The tongue has the power of life and the tongue has the power of death" ~ Proverbs 18, Verse 21 

 Did you know...

• The average person has 30 conversations a day 
• 1/5 of our lifetime is spent just talking 
• If you were to record a persons words for 1 year, it would be enough to fill 132 books, 200 pages each

What are you posting to Facebook or Twitter? What do your texts say? What about your emails? When you go out with friends for lunch or dinner, are you speaking life into the conversation or are you tearing someone else down with your words? Have you encouraged someone today or have you focused only on their deficiencies? 

It's easy to convince ourselves that everything is ok and that we don't need to make any changes. So I want you to picture the person you respect most in this world..... Now I want you to imagine them pulling a book off your shelf and turning to a random page from last week. What would it say about you?

Free Gifts

I want you to close your eyes and imagine for just a minute that you have it all - Two cars, a house (maybe even a vacation home) a boat, a house full of nice things, money in the bank, and cabinets full of food. The list goes on and on.....

Now I want you to picture a life with little to nothing - A car that you can barely call reliable. An apartment (for now) that you're a month behind on in rent. A few things here and there that you acquired such as a couch, a table, and a used mattress that sits on the floor. The cabinets are anything but full and you're not sure where your next meal will come from. The kids complain that their feet hurt because their shoes don't fit and the littlest one is crying because the kids made fun of her dirty and torn clothes today at school.

Now in your head, I want you to ask yourself a serious question....You're only asking yourself so there's no one to judge, no one to argue your thoughts, no one to question your honesty - 

Ask yourself:  If you were in the first situation, how much would you give to others? Are they even your problem? I mean, you work hard for what you have - why is it your fault that others have needs? And if you did give, is it anywhere near what you COULD give? Could you spare more?

Take a minute and think about your answer and then ask yourself this question ~ 

What if you were in the second situation? Not of your choice, of course, but some things went wrong somewhere along the way. Maybe you lost your job, made some bad decisions, fell on some hard times, or had some medical issues that set you back. How grateful would you be for the help of others? Or how disheartened would you be to see others who obviously had more than enough just pass you by and get more for themselves?


We have each been blessed with the ability to give - Some of us financially, some spiritually, some physically. Whatever your gift is, GIVE IT. I would hate to think any of us would purposely live a life knowing we could have helped but didn't.

Above all else, try to live a life where everything you do is a reflection of God and continues to provide hope for those who do not yet know Him.....

There's always room for one more...

Today is Thanksgiving, yet there are people all over the world who will fail to recognize anything to be thankful for. They will focus on things that have gone wrong in their life, the things they DON'T have, the imperfections in their life, past mistakes, and what they feel to be a lack of promise for the future......

The truth is, every day you wake up it means God is not done with you yet. If you can't find anything else to be thankful for, be thankful for a God who is full of love, grace, forgiveness, and second chances.


"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" 

"Fear not for I am with you" 

"I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me" 

"Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day"



Man to his Friend: "You should come to church with me"

Friend: "The church is full of sinners and hypocrites"

Man: "You're right.....but we always have room for one more"

You don't have to be perfect to have a relationship with God - you just have to be willing.....

This little Piggy paid more taxes and now he's mad....

foun·da·tion

 

[foun-dey-shuhn] noun

1.

the basis or groundwork of anything

Provided you haven't been living under a rock all your life, you've likely heard the story of the Three Little Pigs. One built their house of straw, one built their house of sticks, and one built their house of bricks. Spoiler Alert for those of you who haven't heard the story.....The big bad wolf blows down the houses made of straw and sticks and everyone runs to the house made of bricks (which incidentally the wolf is unable to blow down).

The moral of the story? Besides the fact that 2 out of 3 pigs cannot built adequate houses.....A house built on a strong foundation - solid, dependable, built to last - cannot be shaken. 

This years election has me thinking about what OUR foundation is, meaning us as individuals. Let me start by saying that I am one of the least political people you will ever meet. I'm not here to argue about who should or shouldn't have won, who had the best stance on what issue, or the state of our economy for the next 4 years. I'm here to ask you where you have put all your faith and trust? I'm here to ask you what drives the foundation for your day to day life, your family, and your thoughts? 

I'm sad to say based on the comments I'm reading on Facebook, Twitter, and the internet,  the foundation seems to be driven on one of two things for a lot of people....It's either hate or money. 

When I read things that include the sentences "I don't think I should have to give MY money to xxxx group of people" or "I'm not working hard so xxxx can take MY money" it makes me sad. Truth is, none of it is OUR money. The bible is clear when it comes to helping others and allowing God to be the one who judges....

• "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" - Matthew 5:41

• "Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink - even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk - It's all free!" - Isaiah 55:1

• "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink" - Romans 12:20 

• "Freely you have received, freely give" - Matthew  

• "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" - Timothy 

• "For God will bring every act to judgement, everything which is hidden whether it is good or evil" - Ecclesiastes 12:14

• "Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love" - 1 Corinthians 13:13

• "Whoever wants to be the most important must take the last place and be a servant to everyone else" - Mark 9:35 

• At the gates of heaven God will say "Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters (no matter how unimportant they seemed) you did for me" - Matthew 25-40 

So I will ask you again....Where is your foundation? Have you put all your faith in your paycheck? Is money causing you to stir up hate or have hate for others? 

Or are you putting your faith in God and asking him to guard your heart and guide your actions? Are you allowing him to be the one to place judgement when your kindness or generosity is abused or have you taken that role into your own hands? 

I can sum it up with one verse from the bible: 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. There are no other commands greater than these" 


Rich or poor, on welfare or not, from this country or from another country, lower class, middle class, upper class, on disability, working 50 hours a week, etc - It doesn't matter. We are all God's children and we should love one another. Let God handle the rest...

Crouch Down and Assume the Position....

When you were younger you may remember tornado drills at school. That siren would go off and you would nearly wet your pants getting up out of your desk and following the teachers every instruction, fearful that the tornado was just minutes away from hitting your classroom. Drill or no drill, you acted like it was the real deal because you just didn't know. But as the years passed, you became less and less anxious to crouch down in the hallway like an idiot. I mean after all, you hadn't been caught in a tornado yet so why was this drill any different? So you ignore the warning sirens and the teachers instructions and you think "It hasn't happened yet so it's not going to happen". And slowly, that mentality carries over into your adult life until  one day the siren goes off while you're watching TV and you just stay put, confident that the tornado isn't going to hit YOUR house....but it does. You are caught off guard, and because of your lack of response your life is now at risk -

I feel like that's how we treat the warning signs of life. God gives us warnings time and time again and instead of paying attention and acting on them, we dismiss them, complain about them, and go on about our business.I mean after all, we're still alive right? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger - isn't that the motto a lot of us live by?

Truth is, the warnings we are given are meant to save us, not hurt us. Three times in the book of Revelations Jesus says "I am coming soon".   What does "coming soon" really mean when thousands of years have gone by and no Jesus? I mean, if you saw a commercial for a movie that said "COMING SOON!" and 10 years had gone by you would think "Umm, yeah right. I don't even want to see that stupid movie anymore. It's been 'Coming Soon' for 10 years!"

But Jesus does not see time as we see time. Peter warns in the bible, "There are a lot of people in the last days who are going to dismiss it. Do not forget this one thing dear friends, with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises as some understand slowness but rather he is PATIENT with you not wanting anyone to perish but wanting everyone to come to repentance." Bare in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation. The longer he waits, the more people are able to hear the warnings and respond. More time = more salvation.

You got that? More time = more people saved. It doesn't mean you have unlimited time, it just means you have MORE time. Time to get it right. Time to listen. Time to act.



I have a saying I use all the time that goes "Every day that you wake up it means God isn't done with you yet." It means more time - It means He's still working ON you or working THRU you to help someone else. Don't miss out on the opportunities in front of you because you get frustrated with work, have a bad day at school, run into some financial trouble, or stumble with day to day life. Each day is a new opportunity to listen and act on what God is filling your heart with. Is he trying to tell you to stop a bad habit? Stop worshiping other things like work, TV, money, your spouse etc. and spend more time with Him? Or is He trying to tell you to reach out to a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or family member who needs guidance?

I once heard a quote that said "Go to heaven and take as many people with you as possible". How powerful is that? The question is, who will YOU take?

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If you're not tired of reading yet and you want to know more about what the bible say regarding the warning signs of the return of Jesus take a look below - I'm sure glad this doesn't describe life today (yeah right!) Two words - BE READY

1. In the world, before he returns there will be wars and rumors of world wars
2. When we are in the last days people will call evil good and good evil - You will see a culture that holds up the value of tolerance but becomes increasingly intolerant to the things of God
3. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure, lovers of money
4. There will be false teachers within the church - They will say what itching ears want to hear. They will pick and choose the truths that they want to proclaim based on what people will want to come listen to.
5. Within the church there will be a rise in persecution - Persecution begins with dis-information. You will have growing reports - growing focus where Christians are going to be portrayed as intolerant. Any news of hypocrisy will be big news. Eventually there will be false accusations made against Christian leaders. 
6. The whole world will have the chance to hear the gospel. "And the good news about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world so that all the nations will hear it and then the end will come" - Matthew 24, verse 14
7. People will ignore the warning signs...It will be as it was in the day of Noah. Jesus warns "Keep watch, because you do not know the day your Lord will come. You also must be ready because the son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him".....In other words, BE READY
8. There are a lot of people in the last days who are going to dismiss it.....BE READY

Hey, that's mine...Give it back!!

I work in an industry where it's all about "saving". What do we need to do to "SAVE" this account? How much money can you "SAVE" me if I stay with you?  And I bet each and every one of you knows exactly what commercial I'm talking about when I say "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance!"Yep, one of the many Geico commercials.

As a society, we're pretty focused on 'saving' wouldn't you say? Just about any advertisement or commercial focuses on saving in some way. And when the TV isn't on or we aren't reading a magazine, our friends are always trying to tell us how they saved and what we should do to save. We have coupons, savings accounts, rewards cards, etc. Heck, even in sports one of the most pivotal moments in the game of baseball is when they umpire throws his arms out and yells "SAFE!"

So riddle me this......

In a society where saving and being safe is so important, why don't we do more to help save each other? 

C'mon, don't act like you don't know what I mean. I'm not talking about brushing a spider off your friends shoulder and "literally" saving their life (although a gesture like that is greatly appreciated and I love friends like you who do those type of things, lol) I'm talking about putting yourself out there and helping save someone with your words, your testimony, and your guidance. 

I hear people say a lot "I don't talk about God because that's personal". I used to be one of those people. But what does that really mean? It's like having the key to eternal life and keeping it to yourself. Maybe that's the culprit. Our subconscious desire to 'not share'. I believe it starts at a young age. Little kids snatching and fighting saying "that's mine, give it back!" And that mentality only seems to grow bigger as time goes on and unfortunately we carry it into our adult lives.  

That's mine, give it back!

I was reading today and there was a particular verse in Luke that made me stop and take notice. I remember seeing this same verse over and over again in other areas of the bible but today it really hit me. After Jesus had finished healing a man he said "Go back home and tell people how much God has done for you." He didn't say "Hey, let's keep this on the down low. This is between me and you, ok?" No, he said go tell everyone what God has done. SHARE. Basically he's saying that with your testimony and your faith, you can help others to be saved as well. 

Last weekend I heard a Pastor from Kenya speak and he told story after story about things that God has done for him and how God has used him to help others. When trying to understand why things had happened the way they had, he just laughed and said "I guess God just wants us to have stories to share with others." I mean, isn't that they way most of us learn best? With stories, real life examples, and testimonies. Let's face it, if our salvation was contingent solely on us reading a super long book written thousands of years ago a lot of us would be screwed. God knows that a lot of us are ADD so he gives us stories to learn from instead, lol. 

I will leave you with this thought - Think of a time in your life where someone shared something with you that changed the way you thought or impacted your life in a significant way. Now, understand that each and every one of you has a unique talent and a story to tell that can change the life of someone else. Can you imagine how much impact we would have on this world if we all stepped out of our comfort zone and actually talked about God instead of keeping it to ourselves? At home, at work, at the grocery, out with our friends? 

Please understand that helping others doesn't always mean giving money. It can be as simple as offering a kind word or a smile to a stranger. Or maybe it's offering guidance to someone who is in a place you worked hard to get out of at one point in your life. Bottom line, what has God done for YOU? Tell someone about it, don't keep it to yourself anymore......Be the light for someone else. 

Devotional

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a secret place or under a bowl, but on a lamp stand so the people can see. Your eye is a light for the body. When your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light." - Luke 11:33-34

Chick Fil-A...Eat More Anger??

Ok, I've sat silent for weeks and watched the comments, pictures, and hate get tossed from one side to the other. Me personally, I don't side with anyone. But I do have an opinion and I'm finally able to put my thoughts into words so here goes....

This is about the only picture I've seen that I agree with. The whole thing 'tastes like hate' to me.

Here's my recap: 

So let me get this straight - One person said something that was interpreted as sounding like hate so the group who was appalled by this hate retaliated with hate and then the group who was supposed to support Christian beliefs and the bible responded with more hate. Does that about cover it? 

Yeah, about that......For those of you who are leaning on the bible for your quotes, let me throw this one out there for you.

One of the teachers asked Jesus "Which of the commands is most important?"

Jesus answered, "The most important command is this; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. The second command is Love your neighbor as you love yourself. There are no commands more important than these." 

No commands are more important than these huh? Interesting....I don't recall it saying "Love your neighbor as yourself unless they are gay and then hate them instead."

Some of you are cheering right now and saying "Yeah, that's right!" But I'm not done yet - I still need to address the flip side of this argument. If you don't fit in the category above, you might fit into the other group of people who were throwing around hateful comments, pictures, etc. Believing in God or the bible aside, what is the logic behind retaliating what you feel is hateful with more hate? It all sounds a bit hypocritical to me. If I'm going to support something that you believe in, YOU'VE got to believe in it too. By that I mean don't respond to what you feel is a personal attack by posting pictures of a man standing in front of Chick Fil-A with a shirt that says "Jesus is a Cunt" (yes, there was a picture that actually said that), or "We didn't invent chicken, we just serve it with hate", or one of the most disturbing pictures I saw that said "You'd never see that many Christians lined up to help at a food bank or homeless shelter and that's something Jesus actually said to do". 

Really? I mean, really? C'mon now.....

I try to love everyone - I try to support my friends and family in every decision that they make. I don't see color, race, sex, etc. when it comes to love but I will tell you that I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people (both Christians friends and gay friends) when I saw how they reacted to this issue. 

Final Thoughts: 

For those of you who pushed yourself further away from God as a result of this situation, I would like to apologize on behalf of all Christians. God is not about hate and you should never feel like He doesn't love you because of who you are. The God I know is loving and forgiving and literally died to have a relationship with you. So regardless of ANYTHING you have going on in your life - who you are, where you've been, what you've done - my prayer is that you come to know Him. 

For those of you who already have a relationship with God but have maybe fallen into the category of a hypocrite, remember this verse: "But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." People are watching you, looking up to you, and waiting for you to guide them. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back to doing what He's called you to do. 

And lastly, for those of you who handled this situation with love and respect - THANK YOU! I realize that not everyone responded hatefully and it makes my heart happy to know there are people (gay, straight, Christian, Non-Christian, etc) that can overcome hate and respond with love instead. 

Life is No Nintendo Game....Or is it?

We're gonna take this one back a few years. Let me set the scene for you....

I'm 12 years old and I'm on what very well could be my 800th hour of trying to save the Princess in Super Mario Brothers 3. For you younger folks, keep in mind that there was no Internet, Google,  Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube which means short of having that one friend who got some underground gaming magazine with "secrets" to help you win, you pretty much had to figure stuff out on your own.

I'm getting frustrated - I'm doing the same thing I've always known. I'm switching it up a little bit here and there stomping on TWO turtles instead of one. I'm flying extra high when I got my raccoon tail hoping there was some special box in the sky that would give me ultimate powers. I tried, I failed. I tried, I failed. So frustrating....

And then it happened. I don't remember who it was - Although I wish I did, because a victory of this magnitude deserves recognition. But SOMEONE says to me "Hey, did you know you can squat down on one of the blocks and fall behind the bushes, then run real fast and there's a whistle that will take you to a warp world?" Ummmmmm....WHAT??!!!!

Where was this secret in hour 100, 200, 300, etc? I felt like I had wasted so much time doing the same thing over and over with no success. I thought to my 12 year old self "I wish someone had told me this earlier. I could have already beat the game by now if I had only known this short cut"

Right about now you're probably asking yourself what my personal victory with Super Mario Brothers has to do with anything. Or MAYBE you've actually gone all your life without knowing this secret and you're like "Are you kidding me?!! Honey, where's the Nintendo...I've got a Princess to save!" LOL.

Here's my point......

In life there will always be someone who has figured out a better way....a short cut if you will. Something that will keep you from going down a wrong road, something that will save you days, weeks, months, and even years of heartache and frustration. Let's just call that short cut their testimony. For me, the short cut I have to offer is having a relationship with God. 

My testimony is simple; 

I came from a broken home. Life was rough for a long time. I was sad, I was angry, I was broken. I made mistakes. I fell so many times. I hurt people - I lied, I cheated, I stole. I was unhappy and I wanted others to be unhappy with me. I looked for happiness in the wrong places - I found it for a short time in those "places" but as quickly as it came it went away. Plain and simple, I was lost.

Through the years I had many people offer me their "cheat codes" of life. I listened but didn't act - I chose to play the game the way I had always played it making only minor changes here and there. Truth is, I wish I had listened to them from the beginning. All those short cuts led to God, who I eventually found, but having that earlier in my life would have been amazing.

I finally decided to listen, and today I have a relationship with God that has helped me overcome so much. I'm not perfect - I still struggle. But I have someone who loves me unconditionally and accepts me for who I am and helps re-direct me when I go off course. He fills my heart with love and empties me of sadness, frustration, and anger. He's my "flute" - He whisks me off to a 'warp zone' and helps me skip over paths I don't need to waste my time on. He's the cheat code I want to pass along to you :)

One of my favorite songs is Amazing Grace - This verse chokes me up every time because it's so applicable in my life:


 "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see"

It's not about going to church, reading a bible, eating at Chick Fil-A, or volunteering at a shelter. It's about stopping right where you are, putting your faith in something you can't physically see or touch, and committing to having a personal relationship with God.

It really is that simple.....

What choice do we have?

Today my thoughts are about how much God loves us and what lengths He will go to in order to warn us when we're going down the wrong path. Look at Pharaoh - He chose to do bad but God gave him opportunities over and over again to change. Those opportunities came in the form of second chances, warning signs, and continued forgiveness. Plague after plague swept over his kingdom (a total of 10) - each time God giving him the chance to change before he sent the next plague. 


"With each of these plagues Pharaoh said he'd let the Israelites go if God put things back to normal, but then he kept changing his mind.  You'd think he would've learned his lesson and let the Israelites go.  Unfortunately for him, God doesn't give up."


Sadly, the story ends with God taking the life of Pharaoh's son and eventually HIS life and all his army too. The story talks about Pharaoh and how he hardened his heart and wouldn't listen. He could have avoided all of it if he had just opened his heart and listened. 


How many of us are the same way? Or better yet, how many people do you know that could replace Pharaoh in this story? It's one warning after another followed by forgiveness, a second, third, or even fourth chance but still we choose to harden our hearts and not listen or let God in. How many warnings will He give before enough is enough? 


My prayer for everyone reading this is that God will soften our hearts and allow us to see when the path we've chosen is ours and not His. Open our eyes and our ears so that we can distinguish a warning sign from a "coincidence" or what we like to call "bad luck". Give us the faith we need to trust even when things don't make sense. ~ Amen




Bible Verse - Matthew 13:14-15


You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;

You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull,

With their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Otherwise they would see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.’