Eyes of Faith

By Carin LeRoy –

I love thinking, reading and learning about faith. It must be because I lack so much of it in my spiritual life, and God keeps trying to teach me. The word “believe” and “faith” are used over 4,000 times in the King James Bible, so He must have thought it a pretty important concept for us to grasp! If I can put faith in my fellow man and society each day, I wonder why I have such a problem trusting God?

Driving on the road takes faith. We hope that people aren’t drunk and are going to obey the traffic laws. We believe that the traffic lights are working correctly as we drive through them. Stepping into an elevator, I trust it’s not going to break down and trap me inside. Walking into a restaurant, I have faith it has clean sanitary food that won’t make me sick. I go to a doctor believing he made a correct diagnosis and prescribed the right medicine for me. These are ways we put trust in our world each day.

If we can believe in an imperfect and flawed society, why do we struggle to trust in a perfect and all-knowing God?

We like to be in control. We want to plan our own future, to believe in what we see as tangible and to hold on to things dear to us. How can we trust God with our lives if we want to control our own destiny? How can we believe if don’t trust in the promises in His Word? How do we let go of things that are important to us?

Eyes of faith see God for who He is. The vastness of His power and the greatness of His love are the foundation upon which our faith must rest. His purposes are far bigger than mine and His knowledge and love for me is more than I can understand. When my faith becomes blurry and I can’t see God with a clear focus, I put on those eyes of faith. One lens focuses on His great love; the other on His limitless power.

PRAYER: Thank You for Your great love and vast power. Keep my heart focused on that as I learn to trust You. Give me eyes of faith that will see You.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).

Abundantly Blessed

By Carin LeRoy –

Shortly after our second anniversary, my husband and I found out we were expecting a new addition to our family. As we anticipated the birth of our baby, I was excited to prepare and get ready. At the time we lived on a remote station in the jungle as missionaries, so I could not go shopping or prepare a nursery like most mothers. A friend purchased some material in a local town and sent it to me, and I began sewing a blanket and some nightshirts. As I worked I wondered how to get the necessary things needed to care for our little one. As my tummy began to grow, so did my concern. I figured when I flew into the capital city, Port Moresby, to await the delivery that I’d race around hoping to find things I needed.

Months later I received a letter from my mother that our church in South Carolina had given us a baby shower. My mom was the guest of honor and opened all the gifts. She listed all the items that were given for our new baby—clothes of every size for a baby boy or girl, shoes, diapers (Yes, cloth ones!), bottles, playpen, foldable crib, toys, blankets. You name it, they had given it. While reading my mom’s letter, I burst into tears. God had more than provided for this baby; He had abundantly blessed her with provision.

Short term missionaries coming for the summer brought everything to the capital city. When I arrived in town preparing for the baby’s delivery, a trunk, suitcases and duffel bags full of all the items awaited me. Overwhelmed, I sorted through the gifts. I had everything I needed—and more.

If God sees the sparrow fall and knows the number of hairs on our head, then doesn’t He know our needs? Let’s claim the scripture “and my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV). God’s provision that day showed me that God loves to bless us with His abundance and to show us His love and care. Whether He provides for us in unexpected and copious ways or chooses not to, we need to trust that whatever He chooses for us is what we need. He is a God that is active in our lives and will meet our needs according to His desires for us.

PRAYER:  Father, thank You for Your promise to supply my needs. Keep me mindful that You are a faithful God who loves to bless me with Your provision. Help me keep my eyes on You for meeting what need I have today.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21 NIV).

I See You

By Cheri Cowell –

How silly we must look on Sunday mornings dressed in our Sunday best driving our air-conditioned fancy cars to attend worship, all the while passing by the real needs of the world. This idea struck me the other day when I passed by a church with its manicured lawns, and right across the street was an old man struggling to remove a fallen tree from his front yard. How many people at that church even knew the old man lived there? How many people saw the large oak tree in his yard and thought about his needs? There is nothing wrong with worshipping on Sunday morning, or even dressing up and driving our nice cars to church, but God doesn’t want us to miss the needs along the way.

The Pharisees probably knew the man with the crippled hand. He had no doubt been there before, praying, and offering sacrifices for his sins that supposedly caused his deformity. When the man entered the temple, Jesus was angered by the Pharisees’ desire to continue in their pious worship rather than tend to the needs of this man. They were more interested in playing the part of religious observer, than acting like the true follower they were supposed to be. Jesus not only wants us to worship Him, but that worship should cause us to see the needs around us, and to act upon them, healing in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for the community of faith where I am able to worship the Word Made Flesh who came to serve and heal. On my way to worship this week, help me see beyond the walls of my church to the needs of the man or woman across the street.

“Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’ Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent” (Mark 3:1-6 NIV).

The Benefits of Personal Worship

By Art Fulks –

The Book of Psalms is filled with the passionate, personal worship of David and others. Its variety gives us confidence that God desires us to sing to Him in both the good and bad times, with transparency of feelings and genuineness of faith. God desires and deserves to be worshipped by surrendered followers for both what He does and for Who He is.

But could there be supplemental benefits to our acts of worship, such as the praise we offer in song? I believe there is. There are two similar passages of Scripture found in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. Both refer to singing or speaking to ourselves and others in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

During the years of worship wars, both have been used as proof texts for worship styles. However, in the context of both passages, I found an interesting similarity. Both are sandwiched between texts that speak about the difficulties of being conformed to the image of Christ and living out our faith in the context of family relationships.

True personal worship is achieved when what we believe about Who God is and what He has done is allowed to change us and then lived out. Many of us know it is often most difficult to live out our faith in the context of family relationships. So what does this have to do with personal worship through singing songs?

God has given us the gift of music to help us not only praise Him, but to also help us remember and apply His Word. As the words of biblical truth pass from our minds through our lips to the melody of whatever style best fits our personality, it often gets to our heart. And when those words of truth are consistently engaged, they begin to be used by the Holy Spirit to change us—transform us—into the image of His glorious Son.

Recently, one of our kids picked up a guitar and learned a few chords. It is amazing how fast they learn and progress.  He tries to get his sisters to sing the praise songs while he plays, but often ends up going solo—not always singing on key. But over the past few months, I have noticed a difference in how this group process has impacted relationships in our family. There is more singing in the house and car. And the phrase, “I love you” is being said more. Sing on!

AUTHOR QUOTE: “True personal worship is achieved when what we believe about Who God is and what He has done is allowed to change us and then lived out.”

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16 NASB).

Today’s devotional is by Art Fulks, a church planter / pastor at Connection Fellowship in Greenville, South Carolina. Married for 22 years and father of four, Art is a graduate of The Ohio State Univeristy and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a passionate Bible teacher, speaker, musician, worship leader, and life coach. Read more at http://www.connectionfellowship.org or walk the journey with him daily on Facebook., a refreshing oasis in our journey today.

Turn on the Music!

By Carin LeRoy –

Listen to any song and you will get multiple responses from all of us. We clap, tap our feet, dance, sing along—sometimes all of the above! Music has a way of engaging our emotions and bringing out our rhythm. When my 18-month-old grandson, Logan, hears music he starts shaking his shoulders and dancing around in little circles. The sound of music puts a little jig in his heart, and his body demonstrates his pleasure. We watch in delight at his cuteness.

The Institute of Creation Research recently had an article on their website which states we are uniquely designed for music. They said, “Humans have a unique capacity to experience music. Dogs, for instance, hear the sounds of music but do not recognize them as music, and do not derive a similar pleasure from listening to them. This solely human characteristic…makes sense if people were originally intended to enjoy their Creator through pleasurable activities ordained by Him.”

Although I love all types of music, I prefer to listen to Christian music. To me, it keeps my mind focused on something positive and helps me to worship God as I listen. My heart is encouraged and uplifted through hymns, praise and contemporary songs. I listen and am reminded of God’s greatness. Discouragement, depression, fear and any number of emotions dissipate as we listen to words of encouragement and praise through music.

The pleasure we derive from music is God’s gift. It’s one of His ways to connect with us. Many Scriptures express how His people need to worship Him with song and music. Feeling down or discouraged? Turn on Christian music to praise and worship God. It will do wonders with your outlook on life.

PRAYER: Thank You for the gift of music and that through music, I can praise and worship You—for You truly are a great God!

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all else” (Psalm 95: 1-3 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Carin LeRoy, wife to Dale, mother of three grown children and one high school teenager. She has served as a missionary with PIONEERS since 1982. Her passions are family, playing and teaching piano, missions, and writing stories that show glimpses of God.

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