[Faith-talk] the blind jesus
Ashley Bramlett via Faith-talk
faith-talk at nfbnet.org
Fri May 23 19:03:40 UTC 2014
Sheila,
good post. it takes advocacy. no one can do it for you. I guess services are
lacking in canada but surely andrew could find some role model along with
seeing a psychotherapist.
Ashley
-----Original Message-----
From: sheila via Faith-talk
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 2:17 PM
To: Andrew ; Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] the blind jesus
I don't know all of the circumstances in your life but, I do know that
my life didn't become what I wanted it to be until I started to really
stand up for myself and my right to be treated like a person with
thoughts and feelings and not just the woman with the dog or cane.
People don't want to be around negativity. People haven't walked in our
shoes as blind folks and expecting them to always understand isn't
reasonable. God's grace is always suffinient even if we can't see it
right now. Blindness is a part of my life bot all of my life.
On 5/23/2014 7:52 AM, Andrew via Faith-talk wrote:
> Hi all just wanted to post an article here from somebody else as it
> explaines exactly how i been feeling. and let me tell you right now
> that you can't except way i feel then that is just to bad it will
> show just how judgemental some people are to me and how supportive
> people actually are. anyway hear is the article.
>
> The Blind Jesus
>
> the Identity Of Christ Is You
>
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
> Warning.
>
> Author's Note. This testimony contains offensive language. If
> such
> bothers you as a Christian, don't read passed this point. If you
> want
> to hear the truth, read on. The particular language is used
> to
> demonstrate the level of frustration people experience. Therefore,
> it
> is representative in nature and not actual. The rest is up to you.
>
> End of author's note.
>
>
>
> Recently I was praying with a lady, by the name of Mari, who
> is
> blind. I'm blind, too, so this normally doesn't have anything to
> do
> with the prayer sessions. However, blind people, and those with
> other
> disabilities, forgive me for using the term disability,
> are
> perpetually faced with blind related issues which refuses to let
> them
> think of themselves as normal. What do I mean? Well, let's say
> you
> need to go to the grocery store because you are out of milk,
> bread,
> and Frosted Mini Wheats. So you get on the horn and call 25 of
> your
> best friends, if you have that many, and you get a lot of no
> answers
> and a boat load of excuses and even one friend who says they will
> do
> it but you'll have to wait until next Thursday before they can
> go
> because their car is in the shop. Of course, you know they have
> three
> cars but you let that one go. Then you break down and call
> your
> family members but they rarely want to help in the first place
> and
> they always say no anyhow. They did this time, too, but one
> also
> added that you should be a better planner and keep track of
> things
> more efficiently. Nothing new here, of course, because your
> mom
> always says that and usually one of your sisters, too. You let
> it
> slide. This is all understandable, you've been told by
> experts,
> normally who aren't blind themselves, so you can't blame your
> friends,
> and God only knows you can't blame your own family, but, dad gum
> it,
> you've got to blame somebody and you can't blame yourself, for
> crying
> out loud, so you have only one thing left; your blindness. After
> all,
> you are truly blind; right? So it has to be because of your
> freaking
> blindness. For that matter, if you weren't blind, you could, if
> you
> had enough gasoline left in the tank, run right down to the old
> store
> and buy the things you need for breakfast. Even if you are out
> of
> gas, you could walk, if the store isn't far away, so what's the
> big
> deal? The big deal is your damn blindness and it has been a big
> deal
> all your miserable freaking life. You can never forget that you
> are
> blind because things keep reminding you, including people, that
> you
> are blind. Bumping your head, tripping over your kid's, or
> grandkid's
> tricycle they never put up, stepping over, and falling over, the
> dog
> or cat, receiving a registered letter, or a court summons and
> not
> having any sighted people around to tell you what the hell it is
> for,
> taking a dump and wondering if you are bleeding from the
> rectum
> because your hemorrhoids hurt like somebody is squeezing them with
> a
> pair of pliers, waking up in the morning and discovering one of
> your
> false eyes is missing, or you
> have misplaced your false teeth, or discovering you had a nose
> bleed
> during the night and there is nobody to see if you got blood on
> the
> snow white waterbed sheets you paid 130 bucks for, going to work
> with
> two totally different color shoes, brushing your teeth
> with
> Preparation H, unable to find your tampons box, sticking a
> toasted
> marsh mellow in your from you just roasted over a cook out fire
> only
> to discover a honey bee has landed on it and it stings the crap out
> of
> you, bumping your face on the cardoor window as you climb into
> your
> friend's vehicle on the way to church so everybody at church wants
> to
> know what happened to your bruised face, picking up a cold snake
> the
> dogs dragged into your kitchen, thinking it's dead, only to find
> it
> isn't, drinking out of someone else's glass at the church pot
> luck,
> entering the wrong gender public restroom, being targeted at church
> by
> some concerned parishioner and asked how you got pregnant,
> being
> denied a room on a second floor of a hotel because blind people
> can't
> walk up and down stairs, getting off on the wrong floor and
> entering
> the wrong doctor's office, sitting down on the couch to
> watch
> television only to suddenly discover one of your kids left his
> monster
> truck right where you sat down, wearing two different colored
> socks,
> two different styles of cowboy boots, discovering your dog pooped
> in
> the middle of the living room right after company has come to
> visit
> and they pointed it out to you, having someone at church indicate
> to
> you that you didn't eat a remaining morsel of food on your plate
> so
> they stick it on your fork and shove it into your mouth for you
> in
> front of everybody, and I could add at least another 300 things
> to
> this short list. The bottom line is being reminded of your
> blindness.
> Now, some blind people say this isn't a problem and they never
> have
> such thoughts. These are blind people never to be trusted. It
> could
> also be that they are young but God help you if you are around
> them
> once they get over 50 years of age. What does all this have to
> do
> with prayer? Let me explain.
>
> As I said, I was praying recently with a lady who is blind.
> Her
> blindness, mixed in with all the other things she has faced in
> her
> life, felt as if it were getting the best of her. Since I, too,
> am
> blind, I understood the feelings she was facing. I know what it
> feels
> like never to have anybody from your church call you, let alone
> come
> and visit you, and I know what it feels like at church, when
> everybody
> shakes hands with everybody else but you during the greeting
> song.
> Oh, it has absolutely nothing to do with your blindness, of
> course,
> but people just are busy and they overlook things. Yeah,
> that's
> right. That's what it is alright. A chicken has lips, too. I
> know
> what it feels like to be lonely. Not lonely because you don't have
> a
> friend to call or go visit but because your blind. I know what
> it
> feels like to be standing in a group of perhaps a dozen men
> after
> church, everyone talking to each other, and soon they all drift
> away
> without a single soul even saying hello to you. I've set in
> circles
> of men at pot luck dinners on the church grounds and watch every
> man
> eventually get up and leave without saying one word to me. I was
> a
> deacon in this same church and had preached in this same church
> many
> times so don't tell me they didn't know me. I take that back.
> Maybe
> they did. You see, one time I was sitting in the auditorium where
> the
> head pastor had about 150 people come to his Sunday school
> teaching.
> My wife and I got there early. My wife went with someone, probably
> to
> the bathroom, and soon a man sat down next to me before the
> class
> began. "Hello, sir," he said. My name is Frank."
>
> I stuck out my hand, shook his, and said," Hi Frank. My name
> is
> Phil Scovell. Nice to meet you."
>
> We talked for a couple of minutes and one thing and another
> and
> finally Frank said, "I don't believe I've seen you hear before,
> Phil.
> Have you been coming here long?"
>
> "Only 13 years," I said with a sigh wondering if I should ask
> him
> if this was his first Sunday or what? I didn't. Yes, he
> was
> surprised. I hope he felt stupid, too, but I give him credit;
> at
> least he said hello. As it turned out, he was assigned to meet
> the
> new people who came to the class so what he was doing was his
> class
> participation appointment and far from natural. I had been in
> this
> particular Sunday school class for a year so I have no idea where
> this
> guy had been all that time. I mean, it is sort of difficult to
> miss
> two blind people every Sunday coming in with white canes. Unless
> you
> are blind yourself, of course, but I digress.
>
> I also know what it is like to lose friends because they
> discover
> you disagree with them on something in the Scriptures. I've lost
> five
> close friends, four of them pastors, over this very type of issue.
> I
> know what it is like not to be accepted by your own family because
> you
> are blind.
>
> One day I called my oldest sister just a block away. It was
> a
> Sunday afternoon. I asked what she was doing. At this time,
> my
> youngest sister was living with our older sister because she
> was
> between marriages. "Oh, we are just trying to fix a dumb kitchen
> sink
> but we can't get it," my sister confirmed.
>
> "What's wrong with the sink?" I asked.
>
> "Oh, nothing. You couldn't fix it any way. It's just going
> to
> be busted till we can afford a plumber to come in here and that
> is
> going to be a long time because neither of us have any money."
>
> "What is wrong with the sink?" I said a second time.
>
> "Oh, nothing."
>
> "Describe it to me," I insisted.
>
> She did. I said, "I can fix that."
>
> "Oh, no, It is broken for good. It'll take a plumber at
> 100
> dollars an hour to fix it. Thanks anyway."
>
> I told my sister that I had just fixed the exact same problem
> all
> by myself with my own kitchen sink and it works fine and there are
> no
> more leaks."
>
> She almost believed me.
>
> "I'll walk right down there. Do you need any other parts?"
> I
> asked.
>
> "No, we have everything but don't bother, Phil. I'll get
> it
> fixed. I'll call one of the men in the church and get them to
> come
> over."
>
> "I'm leaving the house now so I'll be there in five
> minutes."
> She was still talking when I put the phone down.
>
> MY oldest sun, he wasn't driving yet, and I walked the block
> to
> my sisters. When I arrived, we went into the kitchen. It was
> only
> the goose neck. It looked identical to mine I had just replaced.
> I
> got under the sink, put everything together, shoot, even a blind
> man
> could do it, and within five minutes, everything was back to
> normal.
> My sisters were amazed. I went home thinking that my sisters
> probably
> went through things like that dozens of times when they could
> have
> just called their dumb ass blind brother to ask him for help.
> They
> never did. They still don't.
>
> All of this has been said simply to explain I know what
> being
> blind is really like. If you meat a dishonest blind person, they
> will
> deny these things bother them. If that is so, good for them, but
> I
> for one never wish blindness on anybody. So, back to the
> prayer
> session. I'm sorry I keep getting sidetracked.
>
> We prayed into some similar issues, but in short, she was
> just
> tired of being blind. This provides a golden opportunity for
> demons
> to attempt to gain handholds, then possible footholds, and
> ultimately,
> strongholds, in our lives. What we are facing is normal
> emotional
> responses to every day natural experiences of
> frustrating
> circumstances, but the Enemy never plays fair. So, if a lying
> spirit
> is around, this makes it easy for him. "Yeah, nobody really
> likes
> you. Remember school? The kids never liked you and they were
> even
> blind themselves. You don't have a chance. No one from the
> church
> ever calls or comes over and even if they do make plans to come
> and
> see you, they cancel, or worse, they just never show. It's
> your
> blindness alright. Of course, there are other things, too, and
> you
> know what I am talking about. Why, if those people at church knew
> the
> things you had done, they'd never like you. Why don't you just
> get
> drunk. Oh, I know you haven't had anything to drink for 20 years
> but
> now sure would be a good time to start up again. Say, I bet some
> of
> your old contacts have some dope you could score. Yeah, let's
> do
> that. You know how good you felt stoned. Let's do that.
> Besides,
> just once won't hurt anything. Those people really did like
> you
> anyhow. These Christian people have proved they don't because,
> after
> all, you are blind. Remember?" this scenario could be expanded
> to
> include hundreds of variables and other possibilities, blind or
> not,
> and often it works. This time, it didn't because we prayed
> together
> in agreement and let Jesus into the picture.
>
> Within a few seconds of praying, she was in school. She
> was
> little and everybody seemed to move away from her and she
> didn't
> understand why. A lying spirit whispered into her thoughts and
> told
> her a bunch of lies that sounded logically to her little girl's
> mind.
> She felt sad.
>
> Suddenly, and this rarely happens to me, I saw Jesus
> standing
> across the room from the little girl who was all by herself. He
> was
> wearing sunglasses and carrying a white cane which he was tapping
> in
> front of him as if he couldn't see where he was going. I
> nearly
> laughed out loud but didn't. Jesus surely looked comical doing
> that,
> though. That was one of his Intents. I said nothing during
> the
> prayer session about what I spiritually saw as we prayed.
>
> Near the end of our short prayer session, lying spirits
> were
> gathered up and dismissed from their lying assignments against
> the
> little girl. A tremendously strong feeling came over me, as I
> prayed,
> to command the lying spirits to go blind since they used the
> little
> girl's blindness against her to make her feel bad. I didn't because
> I
> didn't want to suggest anything to the woman and spiritually
> misdirect
> her healing experience with the Lord. This was Jesus at work and
> not
> me.
>
> The woman began laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked quietly.
>
> "A hammer came into view and broke something that looks like
> a
> clay pot. It shattered and all these bug like looking things
> spilled
> out. Jesus is gathering them all up," More laughter. "They are
> all
> blind. Phil! They are blind. I am not kidding. They are all
> blind.
> I can tell. They can't see where they are going and Jesus is
> sweeping
> them down a long glass tubing that goes down for miles and
> miles.
> They try and cling to the sides but it is too slippery and they
> are
> falling." Silence. "They are all gone now." Her voice even
> sounded
> clear whereas before, it was depressed and filled with sadness
> and
> frustration.
>
> "Does this really happen?"
>
> No. I'm making the whole thing up. I like fooling people
> and
> misleading them. So don't ever call me because I'll fool you
> into
> thinking all types of weird things, too. "Besides, this can't
> be
> Jesus doing this stuff. He doesn't do this type of healing any
> more,
> does he?" It sounds like to me that you have your theology screwed
> on
> backwards just a little bit. Does Jesus identify Himself with you
> in
> impossible and painful situations you experience as a Christian?
> No?
> Oh, really? Why not? Can't you see Jesus in your life? Doesn't
> He
> care about you and what you face? You see, this was the
> second
> purpose Jesus had in mind which He wanted this lady to
> experience,
> that is, His true identity, with her and in her, as what she faces
> as
> one of His children. Remember the first? He wanted to show
> Himself
> and demonstrate the buffoonery of the enemy and expose his
> stupidity,
> while at the same time, demonstrating His superiority in our lives
> as
> Jesus our Lord. Is He the Lord of your life or did you just
> accept
> Him as your Savior? Do you only have half of Jesus or did you get
> Him
> all at the moment of your salvation? If the Enemy is still
> torturing
> you, Jesus isn't Lord. To whom do you turn when you feel bad? If
> you
> identify with Jesus, He will identify with you. Even if you
> don't
> identify with Him, He will still identify with you. In such case,
> you
> may not recognize His presence but He is there because He said He
> was.
> Remember where you heard i
>
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