Faith Comes By Hearing

Psalm 119:158 - "I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word."

It's been a long day -- a long day, but a good one. We woke up at 5:30 this morning to get Breanna and Cyndi ready for the Eden Prairie Invitational Speech Tournament. It was Breanna's second speech tournament, and her first and only home meet of the season. (For the second week in a row, Breanna got fourth place in her division!) Cyndi was a judge at the tournament. They had to be at EPHS by 6:45 AM, and were not home until a little after 6:00 tonight.

Jeremy had a basketball game at 8:00 today. Chris had spent the night at a friend's house, so after a quick breakfast out with Jeremy and Zachary after Jeremy's game, we drove by to pick up Chris. From there it was on to the speech tournament, where the boys and I got a chance to watch Breanna's speech. Then it was back home for lunch, and back to EPHS for the award ceremony. When that ended we came back here for dinner and then Chris and I went to the Newsboys concert at Northwestern College in Roseville. We got home a few minutes ago.

When I read today's verse, I was reminded of something that Peter Furler, the lead singer for the Newsboys said tonight. Tonight's verse talks about the loathing that David had for those who did not obey the word of the Lord. Furler talked about an experience in his life where he walked away from church for a time. He began to doubt his faith. He wondered if God was even there at all. (His comments reminded me of some recent comments that I had heard from some of our seniors who had quit attending church.) Furler said that he doubted because faith comes by hearing the word of God, and he had not been in a place to hear it. He wasn't reading the word, and he wasn't listening to it. Romans 10:17 says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

We become like the faithless that David talks about when we cease listening to the Word of God. Don't let yourself get to a spot where you are not in fellowship with God's people, or with God. You need others. You need God. And, you need His word!

Dear God,

Our faith is small. So many times we doubt You. And, instead of running to You, we run away. Help us not to be marathon runners who run the other way. Help us to be runners for life, who choose to run with You. You are our ever present help in times of trouble. You are our refuge and our strength. We need You. Help us to live like it.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.