Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes

OH, BE CAREFUL LITTLE EYES

Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see.
Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see.
There's a Father up above, looking down in tender love,
So be careful little eyes, what you see.

Most of us have sang this song as children in Sunday School and the song goes on to add; ears, mouth, hands, feet and heart.  I googled this song to find out who wrote the lyrics, to no avail.  I was surprised to discover, the vast amount of sermons and blogs that have already spun off this song.  Casting Crowns sing SLOW FADE playing off ~ Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes.

How many of us would have avoided sin if we would have set boundaries (safeguards) around our eyes for what we are willing to look at?  We need to put on safety glasses.  In the workplace people wear safety glasses to protect their eyes from situations or environments that could cause damage.

Unless we are physically blind chances are before we do anything we see first.  However, we have become spiritually blinded, numbed and discernment has left us.  The Bible gives us clear direction and leaves no gray area for what we should allow our eyes to see. 

Matthew 6:22(NLT)
“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 

Psalms 101:3(NLT)
 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.  I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

Job 31:1(NLT)
    “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.

Psalms 119:37(NLT)
    Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.

2 Peter 2:14-22(NLT)
They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.  They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. 
But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice. 
These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 
They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 
They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.  And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 
It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 
They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” 

We would all do well to take an inventory of what we allow our eyes to see. 

• What are we reading?  Books, magazines, off the internet?
• What do we watch on TV or at the movies?
• What kind of stores do we enter and view the merchandise?
• How do we look at the opposite sex?
• What are we willing to watch others do? 

Ephesians 5:12(NLT)
It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 

If it is shameful to talk about these things…what about watching them with our eyes? 

Today I encourage us to put on our spiritual safety glasses.

SLOW FADE



 

Newspaper Article on WE PROMISE

Thank you Tim Keith of the Allegan County News / The Union Enterprise for your time and this excellent article you published.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

MAGICAL MARRIAGE MOMENT

COMMERICAL BREAK

The Scene: 

You are watching TV with your spouse.  A commercial comes on with a barely dressed man or woman.

The Moment:

Turn the TV off and look intently at your spouse.  With complete sincerity say; “I only have eyes for you.  You are the most incredibly beautiful/handsome woman/man I have ever laid eyes on; you still take my breath away.”

Psalms 101:3(NIV)
    I will set before my eyes no vile thing.  The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.

The NLT version says:

 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.  I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

A TRIBUTE TO MR. ROBERT O'ROURKE ~ A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

A TRIBUTE TO MR. ROBERT O’ROURKE

A TRIP DOWN GOOD MEMORIES LANE

The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy (what week isn’t).  The up and coming release of our book in September has kept my mental computer (brain) on overload.  Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church the Lord suddenly invaded my heart with some truths.  Little did I know I was about to take a trip down good memories lane. Sometimes I tend to reflect on all the negatives that have happened in life instead of focusing on the good.  The Bible does say in Proverbs 17:22(NKJV) A merry heart does good, like medicine,  But a broken spirit dries the bones.

When I was living at home with my parents I loved it when they would take me into O’Rourke Jewelry Store.  Mr. O’Rourke always greeted you with his warm smile and he was never in a hurry. I was always intrigued to watch him examine a piece of jewelry with that extra piece of magnifying glass attached to his glasses that swung down to give him a an in-depth view of a delicately fashioned piece of jewelry.

Gazing upon all the treasures I would wonder what I might receive for the next gift day.  Hum, would I open a necklace, earrings, or get a new charm for my bracelet!  You see growing up in a small town O’Rourke’s was the only jewelry store my parents shopped at.  All of the jewelry gifts I received until I married came from O’Rourke’s and they represented a special occasion.  Birthdays, Christmas, Valentines or some other special event would surely present me with a small box to open.  To this day I still wear the Lindy Star ring my parents gave me for my 16th birthday; I had it downsized into a pinky ring.

The Lord began to flood my mind of days gone by and what gripped my heart the most ~ the charm bracelet.  I have about 45 charms on my bracelet; each with its own unique detail and meaning. The charms show a little girl growing up and becoming a teenager.  Several birthdays and Valentine Days are represented through the years.  One of the Valentine Day charms is a box of chocolates and the lid actually opens.  Another charm is a money box with an opening lid.  Inside the box was play money and the play money was replaced by my Mother and brother with a real dollar bill.  I cannot forget how diligently they work to fold that dollar tight enough to fit it into the box and still close the lid.  My mother told me it was my “mad money”.  She let me know as long as I had the charm bracelet I would always have money.  Several school activities that I participated in made their way onto the bracelet.  My faith in God is very evident and on display.  So many charms each with a story to tell about my life and each one very good, marking life’s milestones. 

One year for Christmas I took my charm bracelet to our local jeweler and had him make three charm bracelets.   He divided up the charms, 15 charms on a bracelet for each daughter.  That year I gave my girls a little piece of my life.

Sometimes life has a way of giving us sour grapes and we all could benefit from taking a trip down good memories lane.  I bet there are thousands of stories to tell out there of priceless memories that had their start at O’Rourke’s Jewelry Store!

Sunday my life was touched in a special way, as I took my trip down memory lane and little did I know that those memories would not have had their beginning had it not been for man named Mr. Robert O’Rourke and his decision to set-up shop in a little town called Bronson. We never know how our life will impact another, but rest assured we all impact others around us each and everyday.  What, when and how we do things will always produce something good or bad.  The Bible says we will reap what we sow.

Galatians 6:7(NKJV)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 

Proverbs 11:18(NKJV)
    The wicked man does deceptive work,     But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

May God’s peace be with the O’Rourke family as they mourn the loss of their husband, father and grandfather.