Seeing People as Trees – CONFESSING to it

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Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.”  (Mark 8:23-24 – NASB)

Jesus waited to complete the miracle of full sight until the man told him what he saw after the first touch.  He had to tell Jesus exactly what he saw. Likewise, the miracle of full sight will only happen to us after we admit that when we look at people they don`t appear more important to us than trees.

Once we come to that place of total honesty, Christ will take us to the next level  and cause us to see people as they are, living, breathing creatures of God, with real needs and desires.

As a result our hearts will, like the heart of Jesus, be moved with compassion, seeing them as sheep without a shepherd.

What do you really see when you look at people? Are they simply part of the scenery, part of the background to the life that is really important to you – your own? Sure, Jesus has touched your life, but still, you can relate to your own loved ones, your own children, your own kin, but the rest of humanity is of no real concern to you. Perhaps it is time for you to come to Jesus for a second touch and admit to Him you see people merely as trees.

Ask Jesus to give you the ability to see people as He sees them – as sheep without a Shepherd and as precious souls upon whom God longs to bestow His Love and Grace.

I had to Confess

(© Monday 19^th January 2025 – by Christopher Shennan)

And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.”

                                                                                        (Mark 8:24 – NASB)

I had to confess what I saw:

I saw people merely as trees,

To be used and admired and then,

Forgotten or not as I pleased.

Before I confessed what I saw,

No hope of correction was there;

My blindness continued to be,

Until I confessed it in prayer.

Once it was out in the open,

My Lord, in His mercy and love,

Touched my blind eyes with compassion,

And full sight came down from above.

So, if you see people as trees,

And are blind to what they are worth,

Just tell God and ask Him to grant

His power to correct your soul’s dearth.

 Please visit My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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Photo by Joe Mabel. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this final link. No changes were made to this photo. Photo also used under the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2

A “Crumby” Prayer Life

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A “Crumby” Prayer Life

Matthew 15:21-28

Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. (Matthew 15:25-27 – NKJV)

Most people will be aware of how the word “crumby” is used in everyday language.

It is a slang word meaning “of not much worth.”  I have no idea how the word came into common usage; probably because crumbs are not greatly valued. We say, “My, that was a crumby performance,” or “that was a crumby deal.” Someone has a bright idea we don’t like, and we say, “What a crumby idea that is.”

Well, today I want to talk about a “crumby” life of prayer, and contrary to common usage, I am going to put a high value upon it. I am going to suggest that we all need to be brought, at one time or another, to a place where we engage in “crumby” prayer.

The Syrophoenician woman persisted in prayer despite initial denial. She was willing to be compared to a dog, and the answer to her prayer compared to crumbs. Think of her what you may, but she finally prevailed. By definition “crumby” prayer is prayer that will not be denied, regardless of discouragements along the way.

“Crumby” Prayer

(© Saturday 24^th January 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

If you get right down to it, friend,

And pray from the depths of your soul,

For things you desperately long for;

For things that will make your heart whole:

Let go of pride, and if pretence

Is cast aside at your Lord’s feet;

You’ll find it’s like begging for crumbs –

The needs of your soul He will meet.

There are times this kind of praying

Will be just the kind that prevails;

Your heart will rejoice in mercy.

And the love He gives will not fail.

So if you are pleading for crumbs,

From the table your Lord has set,

You’ll find the master will give you,

Your place as the most honoured guest.

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Photo by unknown photographer. Contributed by Andrew pmk. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. No changes were made to this photo. Also used under the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2

The Father’s Business – Renewal

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The Father’s Business – Renewal

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 – NKJV)

The Father and the Son are in the business of taking the cast-off or redundant areas of our lives and re-form them into something of uncommon beauty.

                Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16 – NASB)

…and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind… (Ephesians 4:23 – NASB)

Driftwood

(© September 2010 by Christopher Shennan)

(A poem of free verse)

Just a piece of driftwood; Yet I have seen these random cast-offs of Nature, chosen, re-designed – lovingly re-crafted into objects of beauty – displayed in prominent places and treasured by those still gifted with the capacity to discern beauty in unconventional things.

I have seen them, the cast-offs, rescued from the cruel sea, or the barren beaches – a bird about to fly; a cane re-carved into human likeness; a clock now mounted on a piece of driftwood well-varnished; a unique and unrepeatable treasure.

Just like these drifting pieces, thrown up on the beaches, I have also seen much human flotsam, cast off – ravaged by storms that life has viciously let loose – has cast upon those barren places that seem devoid of Love – undervalued members of the human race.

I have seen this human garbage re-shaped by Love, by instruments sent forth from Heaven’s Heart. These instruments – themselves once cast-offs, but now re-claimed, are fit to work a miracle by God’s own power. They see these rejects, and hold them to their heart, and see them placed once more into Heavens Treasure House, the place where only reclaimed objects of God’s Grace may dwell.

So when I see a piece of driftwood, worn and ravaged by the action of the sea, and cast upon forgotten shores, I remember from whence I came. I remember, too, that I am called, not to the grand designs within palace walls, but to the long-despised alley-ways of life where the dregs of humanity dwell.

Not to these alone am I called, but these are burned with searing iron upon my heart, a heart re-shaped by the Master’s hand. I cannot forget from whence I came, so memory drives me to look with longing upon the broken ones – to see the Master bring them back; to snatch them from the burning flames and bring them home – once again.

 Check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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Driftwood sculpture by Heather Jansch. Photograph by Alison Cassidy. Copyright.

CC BY-SA 3.0  (note the disclaimer at this link.) No changes were made to this photograph.

The Father’s Business – Restoration

The Father’s Business – Restoration

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3 – NASB)

The Father and the Son are in the business of restoring in us what damage sin and Satan has worked upon us.

“A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt’s famous painting ‘Nightwatch.’ Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo’s beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures. (From SermonIllustrations.com)

No matter how slashed, and smashed and damaged you may feel you can be restored. God the Father is in the restoration business, and His Chief Restorer is Jesus Christ, working in the power of the Holy Spirit. Satan is the Destroyer; Jesus is the Restorer.

Soul Restoration

(© Thursday 11^th December 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3 – NASB)

The journey was long and the pilgrim walked

Over paths that were both rugged and steep;

His spirit was weary and danger stalked –

Trials appeared that oft caused him to weep.

His face was set to follow the true course

Of righteousness and of a godly sort;

He’d chosen his path for better or worse,

And thought of the battles he often had fought.

Though weary of soul his spirit will rise

As the restoring breath of God he breathes.

Though his strengths diminish and almost dies,

His weariness of soul just bows – and leaves.

No matter how far you are from your goal,

You can trust in Jesus to restore your soul.

Check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca/
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Photograph by Philipp178. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license (note the disclaimer at this link.) No changes were made to this photograph.

Call the Doctor!

Call the Doctor!

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Reading: Mark 2:13-17

And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 – NASB)

Religion can be a terrible thing; it has the ability to create hardness of heart and strangle compassion before it has a chance to take a breath. The Pharisees were not concerned for the healing of souls, only for the maintenance of their religious code.

I use the word `religion“ to describe those religious devotees who see Christianity as a kind of obstacle course in which some are good at it, some not so good, and some very bad.  Those who are good at it can then gloat upon those who struggle, or who come in last. That kind of religion is a terrible thing.

For one thing it is not good news, and the Gospel, if it is anything at all, is good news. If Christianity were an obstacle course, then most of us would not make it; indeed, I think none of us would make it, for God`s standards are so high only perfection is good enough. And perfection is so far from the human condition, to think we can reach it and so attain salvation is more like a cruel joke.

What`s more, religion places the responsibility upon the sinner to cleanse himself from his own sin, which is an impossible thing.

What has been largely lost in the church is the understanding of sin as a bondage.  Men and women bound with chains cannot free themselves; they have to be freed by Someone who Himself is not bound.  And since we are bound by chains of supernatural power, only the supernatural power of the risen Christ can free us.

We need to call the only Physician (doctor) who can heal our sinful condition.

The Great Physician

(© Monday 29^th September 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

The Great Physician: He healed me

From the disease of sin and shame;

While religious folks despised me –

They had nothing for me, but blame.

Sure, I was a poor, lost sinner;

The wrack and ruin I caused was vast,

But my Lord, he came and rescued

Me, and wiped my guilty past.

Yet those who worship religion,

And not the sweet Giver of life,

Seek only to point their fingers

And stir up envy and strife.

No matter, the Great Physician,

Though knowing my sinful disease,

Chose rather to give me compassion,

And the weight of my sin to ease.

So take my advice and cling to

The Great Physician’s healing art;

Though religious folks may strike you,

He will heal your wounded heart.

 My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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Doctor Consults with Patient” This image was released by the National Cancer Institute, an agency part of the National Institutes of Health, with the ID 2528. Photograph is in the public domain. No changes were made to this photograph. Find this photo at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doctor_consults_with_patient_%287%29.jpg.

Withered Hands

Withered Hands

Reading: Mark 3:1-6 – NKJV)

 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. (Mark 3:5 – NASB)

When Jesus saw the condition of the man with the withered hand, and no doubt perceived all he has suffered as a result, it stirred compassion in Him

The CONDITION the Man Struggled with

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. (Mark 3:1 – NASB)

What were the difficulties that the man with the withered hand suffered?

Because of his withered hand there things he could not do, and duties he could not perform.

He probably had difficulty dressing himself.

Luke tells us that it was his right hand that was withered. If he was right handed, as most people are, or in performing detailed tasks that require accuracy he would have had difficulty doing some things his fellow workers could perform without any difficulty at all. There would be some occupations that would have been closed to him because of their physical requirements.

He would not have been able to lift heavy boxes and certain games he could not play.

I think there may be some among us who also have withered hands. Physically your hands are not withered, but spiritually there are things you may want to do, but find yourself unable to do. You may want to witness to friends and family, but find your spiritual gifts are withered. You can`t seem to get motivated, or get the words out of your mouth at the appropriate time. You may want to do a kindness to someone, but find yourself putting it off until it is too late.

You may have a gift of song or of speaking, but shyness or fear of what people may think has withered your ability to perform.

The Greek word translated `withered` indicates that his hand had been withered at some time in the past, perhaps by accident or disease. He had not been born with this affliction.  Perhaps you have been able to function well in some area of spiritual ministry, but that ability seems to have left you. The spiritual gift God gave you has been withered by disuse.

It is time for you to stretch out your hand so Jesus can restore it as it was before.