Eyes Wide Open

October 12, 2015Leave a comment

Challenges in our lives often point us to spiritual truths if we are looking for them. Several weeks ago, I had an ulcer on my cornea – ouch! As I drove home from the eye doctor, I asked the Lord, “What do You want me to learn from this challenge?” My thoughts went to the psalmist words, “Open my eyes that I may see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” Throughout Scripture we find references to spiritual eyes which see beyond the physical.

Think about Elisha who prayed for God to open the eyes of his servant, so he could see the mighty army of God encamped around them (2 Kings 6:17). Isaiah wrote that God opens the eyes of the blind (Isaiah 42:7), and I believe that he was referring to both physical and spiritual eyes. Think about Jesus, who healed people from their physical blindness, but He also opened people’s eyes spiritually. He called the Pharisees “blind guides,” yet He opened the willing eyes of the two on the road to Emmaus.

When it comes to challenges in life, Paul reminded us to keep our eyes on the eternal. He wrote:

Our light and momentary afflictions are preparing us for

an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

as we look not to the things that are seen,

but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient,

but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17,18

Let’s look at life with our spiritual eyes wide open. Spiritual eyes see hope when others see difficulties. Spiritual eyes see an opportunity to trust God, while others are focused on what is wrong in a challenging situation. Spiritual eyes see that God can use our present troubles for something far more eternal. May we step back and view our circumstances in light of eternity, seeing God in the midst of our struggles.

Father, open our eyes to see the beauty beyond the obstacles. Remind us of your presence, even in the darkest valleys. Strengthen us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

***You may enjoy my devotional, Pursuing God in the Quiet Places. It’s on sale for $5. Click Here to order.

Wake Up

October 5, 2015Leave a comment

Lately, in sort of a random way, I’ve been noticing verses in the Bible that mention the term, “Wake Up.”

Isaiah 51:9 “Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength.”

I Corinthians 15:34 “Awake to righteousness and do not sin.”

Revelation 3:2 “Wake up! Strengthen what remains.”

Personally, I believe God is telling us as believers that this is the time to wake up from our slumber – to be watchful and alert. As evil continues to thrive in a variety of ways in our culture today, there has never been a more important time for God’s people to wake up and grow stronger and deeper in our relationship with Christ. As believers, it’s easy to push the snooze button, happily resting in our comfy Christianity while a spiritual battle is raging around us.

So how do we wake up? What does it really mean to “awaken and clothe ourselves with strength?” Well, perhaps our first step is found in the phrase itself, “Wake up!” In other words, let’s deliberately wake up earlier, so we can spend time on our knees in prayer. This is where the battle is won!

The recent movie War Room, reminded us that our prayer time is our equipping room for battle. God prepares His army on their knees and adorns them with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). It is in the secret place, that we are reminded of His love, power and mercy. As we devote ourselves to prayer, we become grounded in our faith, and comforted in our pain and strengthened in our inner-being.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a weak and sleepy follower of Christ. I want to be alive, awake, strengthened by God and useful for His Kingdom. Will you join me in becoming more committed to prayer? Let’s wake up earlier (which may mean going to bed earlier) in order to shine His light more brightly in an ever-darkening world.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. Isaiah 60:1

God Speaks to His People

September 28, 2015Leave a comment

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your county… to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1

God is not a silent god; He is a God who speaks. In the Old Testament God spoke to His people through prophets. Throughout the Old Testament we see that God spoke to His servants like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah to name a few. Sometimes He spoke directly to his people and other times through visions. Does God still speak to His people today?

One of the foundational ways He speaks to us is through His written word, the Bible. We learn who God is and how He wants us to live as we read His word. He also speaks through that still small voice, His Spirit within us, gently convicting us to turn from sin and lovingly prompting us to follow His direction. Now we must be careful not to think that every thought we have is from Him. We must test it against scripture. The more we get to know Him through scripture, the more we recognize His voice.

Just as God gave Abraham direction, so He guides and directs our lives. David wrote, “He guides me down the right path bringing honor to His name.’ In the New Testament, James reminds us that if we lack wisdom we should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault. God is always speaking. The question is, “Are we listening?” I want to be a good listener, don’t you?

Father, open our ears to hear and our hearts to understand.

This is an excerpt from Karol’s devotional, Pursuing God in the Quiet Places.

On sale now for $5. Click Here for details.

Disappointment with God

September 18, 2015Leave a comment

You prayed and prayed, and no clear answer came. Or worse, you prayed fervently, passionately, ceaselessly . . . only to have the situation turn out exactly the opposite of what you asked. You thought God loved you and would take care of you, but your life fell apart.

When disappointments like these come into our lives, we find ourselves asking, “Where is God?” Maybe you have shaken your fist at God in anger or given up on him completely. Perhaps you just decided to slowly distance yourself in your relationship with him, because you haven’t seen him show up. Disappointment with God comes in many different forms. Usually it brings with it a fair amount of guilt as the enemy whispers in your ear, How could you give up on God? What kind of person are you anyway?

Actually, some of our greatest Christian leaders have had moments of doubts or disillusionment. Even in the Bible we see Job’s questioning and David’s hopeless feelings. John the Baptist sent a message to Jesus from his dark prison cell asking, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Often disappointment with God results from not being able to understand God. We can’t comprehend that a loving, sovereign God would allow bad things to happen in our life, so we question if he is really there or if he is who he says he is.

Understanding why he allowed something in your life will not change the reality of who he is and what he can do through your circumstances. Whether we understand why God allowed something or not, we do know his comfort and care is available to us in the middle of our pain, for Scripture tells us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” So take your hurts, your pain, your questions, your doubts to Him. Don’t allow these things to turn you from Him, but rather to turn you to Him. He is bigger than your doubts, your fears or your disasters. He loves you with an ever-lasting love.

From: Thrive, Don’t Simply Survive by Karol

Experience the Joy

September 17, 2015September 17, 2015Leave a comment

Experience the joy of giving and changing lives for generations to come.

Today is North Texas Giving Day and we invite you to participate!

ENGAGE Positive Parenting Initiative serves parents in at-risk communities, equipping and encouraging men and women to make a positive difference in the lives of their kids. We invite you to invest in strengthening and building families through your gift on North Texas Giving Day.

Simply click the link below and it will take you to ProvenWay’s landing page. Important: You must put “Engage” in the notes box in order for us to receive your donation.

http://www.northtexasgivingday.org/#npo/provenway-ministries