BELIEVE: week fourteen: Single-Mindedness

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Max Lucado tells the story of a little girl who earns enough money to buy a pretty faux pearl necklace. One night her daddy comes to tell her good night and asks her, “Do you love me?”

The daughter replies, “Oh, yes, you know I love you!”

“Then give me your pearls,” he says.

“Oh, not my pearls, Daddy! You know I love my pearls.”

Kissing her good night, he says, “I understand.”

Several nights pass, then one evening the dad sees tears filling up his little girls eyes. He asks, “What’s wrong?”

Holding out her hand, she opens it and offers her strand of pearls to her ad, explaining, “I love my pearls, Daddy, but I love you more.”

The dad accepts the pearls and then reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a beautiful genuine pearl necklace and places it in his daughter’s hand.

Your heavenly Father wants you to open your hand and let go of the temporal things of your world so he can relate them with genuine eternal things of his kingdom.

“I focus on God and his priorities for my life.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee]

BELIEVE: week thirteen: Bible Study

“The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

A surgeon determines that you need surgery by evaluating your symptoms. He may treat your symptoms, but this only masks them. When the medicine wears off, your symptoms return. The illness is caused by a deeper problem. Until the root problem is cut out, the symptoms will not disappear.

The writer of Hebrews says living the Christian life without consistently reading the Bible is like treating symptoms of a disease instead of removing the actual cause. Symptoms like anger, bitterness, depression, or hatred are indications of a deeper problem and can be masked for a time, but they always return.

Studying God’s Word is like being under the skilled scalpel of a surgeon. During this surgery, however, you’re awake, peering over your draped body in a mirror. Now you see the deeper problems—insecurity, doubt, and sin.

Engaging in surgery by Scripture daily will bring healing and comfort for deep wounds, reinforce beliefs where doubt has crept in, and lead you in practices that will strengthen your faith.

The very best surgeon in the universe is available to you. Put your trust in the Great Physician!

“I study the Bible to know God and his truth and to find direction for my daily life.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee]

BELIEVE: week twelve: Prayer

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” Psalm 66:18-20

Asking for forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do, mostly because it requires admission of guilt. If you have wronged a friend—and whether or not your friend knows you have wronged them—you naturally avoid eye contact or avoid their presence altogether. You certainly would not be calling on them to do you any favors.

If you knew approaching your friend with an apology would mean reconciliation, you might be more likely to attempt the hard conversation, but most of the time your chances are fifty-fifty at best.

With God you never need to fear rejection if you approach him with a repentant heart. He’s your loving heavenly Father who wants nothing more than to be in a relationship with you, to hear your requests, and to grant the desires of your heart. The chances of reconciliation with God are one hundred percent. He already knows what you have done. He even knows your motives, and he loves you anyway. So you might as well come clean.

“I pray to God to know him, find direction for my life, and to lay my requests before him.”

BELIEVE: week eleven: Worship

“Come, let us song 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.” Psalm 95:1-2

I love to hear my father share memories of his days as a US Air Force staff sergeant in Morocco during the Korean War. His duty started at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and sixty years later, I made a point of taking my dad back to that base for a visit.

An active lieutenant colonel graciously offered to provide us with access to the base and to give us a personal tour. We saw restored fighter planes, from WWI to the present. When we came to the Korean War plane, the lieutenant colonel stopped us, looked my father straight in the eyes, and said these heartfelt words: “Al, as an officer and representative for the United States Air Force, I want to thank you for your dedication and service to our great nation.” He finished with a strong salute.

Overwhelmed by this display of honor and respect, my dad saluted back, his eyes filled with tears.

Do you think our heavenly Father becomes overwhelmed, his eyes filled with tears of joy, when we salute him with our heartfelt worship?

"I worship God for who He is and what He has done for me."

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee]

BELIEVE: week ten: Eternity

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2)

After twenty-two years of living in Texas, we were moving. Leaving behind our life troubled our hearts. We purchased a beautiful little bungalow in Chicago with one problem: there was no room large enough for all of us to hang out. Determined to prepare the house for our family, Randy headed up to renovate the basement to create our much-desired family room.

As he left, I wanted to go with him, but it was more strategic for me to stay behind and finish handling all the details to ensure a smooth transition. My husband would be back to take us home, to the place he was preparing for our family.

When Jesus told his disciples he was leaving, they desperately wanted to go too. But strategically he needed to leave them behind to share the gospel with others to build his kingdom. So he taught them how their hearts could be comforted while he was gone: by believing his promise to return.

Is your heart troubled by your circumstances? Comfort yourself with Jesus’ promise to return and to take all of us who believe in him home, to the place he has prepared for us.

“I believe there is a heaven and hell and that Jesus will return to judge all people and to establish his eternal kingdom.”

[Excerpt from “Believe: 31-Day Devotional” by Randy & Rozanne Frazee]