Take a good look at the table below.  Do you see the grey spots where the lines intersect?  Now look directly at a spot, and watch it "disappear"!  The spots were never there in the first place!

        Isn't it amazing to see how our minds so easily jump to conclusions, when in fact, the conclusions we jump to sometimes have no basis in reality?  What you are looking at is nothing more than an optical illusion... a puzzle for your eyes.  However, we are not the only ones to jump to a wrong conclusion.  It's been going on for a LONG time!

        Consider the people who lived during the time of Jesus.  Specifically speaking of the Jews, these people had intimate knowledge of the Scriptures.  They had access to the Law and the Prophets.  They recited the words of Isaiah, saying, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

        Surely this is a case of jumping to exactly the opposite conclusion.  They had it all - right there in front of them.  Jesus perfectly matched not just one, but ALL of the prophecies of the Messiah written by the prophets of old.  And yet, even though it was all right there... they did not (would not) see it.  How easy it is to jump to the wrong conclusion... and how important to be sure that we don't.

        Today, as you go about your everyday business... take just another moment to consider the reality of the truly important things in your life.  And if you need... take care of business with the Lord.  He's waiting for you!