Wednesday, July 17, 2013

A LIFE WELL LIVED, Part 2 - PERCEPTION

The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet...John 4:19
Perception is the way we look at things, nay, at Life! Perception is everything because the way we look at life pulls in EVERYTHING we ever thought, believed and experienced. All of this influences our thinking and our actions. All of this influences our entire outlook. We then become creatures of our environment, allowing that plus our experiences to determine how we react.

Perception is significant to living well.  This is why a person’s worldview is so critical to his/her personal, emotional and spiritual well-being. Your worldview could be worldly – like most people in this country, and you can be just as deluded as they are about their eternal future. OR, you can choose to be informed and seek true wisdom, which comes from God (James 1:5).

Function follows form. What this indicates is that the more a person is immersed in a certain environment, such a person takes on its characteristics. It is evident, by the very nature, of the incredibly vile behavior of all sectors of society these days, that two entire generations from the Baby Boomers on, are lost forever. It is almost as if this was done by design. The ungodly indoctrination of filth masquerading as sex education in public schools; the unseemly social conduct promoted by perverted professors in American colleges; the willful re-education of our college student by over-priced colleges and universities away from the Great American experiment of Life and Liberty for all, have all taken a huge toll. People are more depressed than ever and fearful.

But look at the simplicity and beauty of what the Samaritan Woman at the well said (to Jesus), in the verse above – “I perceive,sir, that You are a prophet”. That’s it – one line and very basic one, obviously. The word “perceive” original language means Biblical discernment.So how can an unsaved Samaritan woman – who had nothing to do with the Jewish religion or Jews – be filled with this kind of Divine Perception? Well,  the answer is simple – the Holy Spirit had already called and revealed to her just Who this "prophet" was/is! On top of this truth, the original word in the Bible for "perceive" is "theoreo" in the Greek...as in "THEO" - God! Therefore Godly perception and discernment can only come from God.

The perception of the Samaritan woman when she encountered the true Living God - Jesus - Who knew EVERYTHING about her, was immediately self-evident to her and it forever changed her life.This is the kind of perception which WE should have. This is the Supernatural Perception which has the power to change, transform and redirect lives to a more purposeful pathway! This is the kind of perception, which when properly deployed as the foundation of WHO we are, as children of God, can lead to a Life Well Lived!
NEXT: WISDOM

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