May 7, 2013
Holly Starr – “Through My Father’s Eyes” is the official New Christian music video for the radio single “Through My Father’s Eyes” from the Christian singer’s upcoming full-length release, Focus.
~Jesus did for me what I could not do myself. He changed my life by changing my mind. He healed all that was broken inside~Through My Father’s Eyes by Holly Starr
Though it tarries, wait for it… —Habakkuk 2:3
Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. “…he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue— he is devoted to God Himself.
You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God.
“Though it tarries, wait for it….” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, “What shall I render to the Lord…? I will take up the cup of salvation…” (Psalm 116:12-13). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, “Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure.” Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…” (Philippians 3:12). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.
by Oswald Chambers
Yes You May, Ask and You Shall Receive
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7, NIV
Evangelist D. L. Moody told of two Christian women who were burdened for their unsaved husbands. They agreed on a radical plan. They would each spend an hour a day praying for the salvation of their men. After seven years, the women grew discouraged and debated giving up. They could see no progress. But the women decided to persevere as long as they lived, so they rededicated themselves to the task. Three years later, one of the women was awakened in the night by her husband, who was in great distress about his soul. As soon as the sun rose, that woman hurried off toward her friend’s house to tell her that God was about to answer her prayers. She was astonished to meet her friend coming from the opposite direction with the same news. Ten years of persevering prayer was crowned with the conversion of both husbands on the same day.
The month of May is a good time to remember that yes, we may pray anytime, anywhere, for anything. Don’t grow discouraged in prayer. Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
Nothing is more pleasing to our Father in heaven than direct, importunate, and persevering prayer. D. L. Moody
Recommended Reading: Matthew 7:7-12
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The Impact of Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
When something’s on our mind, we are wise to consult Scripture or trusted spiritual mentors. God has also given His children the privilege of prayer, and He wants us to bring our concerns directly to Him. But believers often have questions about the power and effectiveness of prayer.
Will god’s plans fail if I don’t pray? God is not subservient to us or dependent upon our prayers. The time we invest in speaking with Him involves us in the work He is doing in our lives and in the world, but He will carry on with or without us. Laboring alongside the Lord is a blessing.
Does my prayer (or lack thereof) impact god’s work? I believe Scripture indicates the answer to this question is both yes and no, depending upon the situation. There are times when God’s purpose is set. He is in control and has determined the best course. In the Old Testament, He often revealed what He would do and then brought those events to pass.
In other cases, we “do not have because [we] do not ask” (James 4:2). There are some good things that God holds back until we extend prayerful hands to receive them. But He is a loving Father, who also pours out blessings that we wouldn’t even think to request.
Believer’s prayers have tremendous impact, particularly on their own faith and life. Do you understand what an awesome privilege it is to kneel before the all-powerful Father and know that He listens and will respond? God loves being good to His children and answering their prayers.
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Psalm 119:18)
The word “law” (Hebrew torah), as used in the psalms, actually refers to all the revealed Scriptures. We may well understand it today to mean the entire Bible. And we can indeed behold wondrous things in the Word if we have eyes to see and hearts to believe by the grace of God.
The adjective “wondrous” is often used to describe God’s mighty miracles in Egypt and elsewhere (e.g., Psalm 106:22 “Wondrous works in the land of Ham”). This would indicate that there are many evidences of divine origin that can be gleaned from the Scriptures, if our spiritual eyes are open to discern them as we search.
This 119th Psalm itself illustrates this truth. It has 22 stanzas (keyed in turn to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each with eight verses (the number eight representing new life, since eight suggests a new beginning after the “completeness” represented by the number seven). In each stanza, each verse begins with the same Hebrew letter—aleph, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, in the first stanza, beth in the second stanza, etc.—and the 176 verses (i.e., 8 times 22) of the psalm (the longest chapter in the Bible) have 176 references to the Holy Scriptures.
The great theme of the psalm is, therefore, the wonder and power of the life-giving, written Word of God. As the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead on the “eighth day,” and as there are eight other instances of the dead being restored to life in the Bible, there are eight different Hebrew words used for the Scriptures in the psalm.
Life through the Word! This is also the testimony of the gospel of Christ, revealed in “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). HMM
The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. —John 12:21
Toward anything like thorough scholarship I make no claim. I am not an authority on any man’s teaching; I have never tried to be. I take my help where I find it and set my heart to graze where the pastures are greenest. Only one stipulation do I make: my teacher must know God, as Carlyle said, “otherwise than by hearsay,” and Christ must be all in all to him. If a man have only correct doctrine to offer me I am sure to slip out at the first intermission to seek the company of someone who has seen for himself how lovely is the face of Him who is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley. Such a man can help me, and no one else can.
Forgive me, Lord, and give me afresh and new vision of You—so that any pasture I spread will be worth grazing in. Amen.
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. James 2:1
A system of literature has grown up around the notion that Christianity may be proven by the fact that “great men” believe in Christ!
A magazine article carries the caption that “Senator So-and-So Believes in Christ.” The implication is that if the senator believes in Christ, then Christ must be all right.
When did Jesus Christ have to ride in on the coattail of a senator, or a governor, or some other well known man?
No, no, my brother! Jesus Christ stands alone, unique and supreme, selfvalidating, and the Holy Ghost declares Him to be God’s eternal Son. Let all the presidents and all the kings and queens, the senators, and the lords and ladies of the world, along with the great athletes and great actors—let them kneel at His feet and cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!”
Only the Holy Ghost can do this, my brethren. For that reason, I don’t bow down to great men. I bow down to the Great Man, and if you have learned to worship the Son of Man, you will not worship other men.
The Holy Spirit is God’s imperative of life. If Christ is to be the Christ of God rather than the Christ of intellect, then we must enter in beyond the veil, until the illumination of the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and we are learning at the feet of Jesus—not at the feet of men!
Cleanse your hands… and purify your hearts, ye double minded. JAMES 4:8
Christians habitually weep and pray over beautiful truth, only to draw back from that same truth when it comes to the difficult job of putting it into practice!
Actually, the average church simply does not dare to check its practices against biblical precepts. It tolerates things that are diametrically opposed to the will of God, and if the matter is pointed out to its leaders, they will defend its unscriptural practices with a casuistry equal to the verbal dodgings of the Roman moralists.
Can it be that there is no vital connection between the emotional and the volitional departments of life? Since Christ makes His appeal directly to the will, are we justified in wondering whether or not these divided souls have ever made a true commitment to the Lord? Or whether they have been inwardly renewed?
It does appear that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but are not willing to endure the inconvenience of being right! Jesus Himself left a warning: “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Revelation 3:1).
Lord, help me to do more than pay lip service to the teaching of Your Word. I invite Your Holy Spirit to point out any shortcomings I may be developing.
