Fixing Our Eyes On Jesus

AT WELCH COLLEGE

STUDENTS are THE MISSION

Treasure ISSN# 8960038) Volume 10 • Number 1

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-chief Elizabeth Hodges Managing editor / Circulation Phyllis York

Who Will You See?

WNAC Board

Educating leaders to serve Christ, His Church, and His world through biblical thought and life

Amy Johnson, Illinois Pam Hackett, South Carolina Jonda Patton, Kentucky Sarah Sargent, Ohio Tracy Payne, Oklahoma LeeAnn Wilfong, Missouri Khristi Shores, Oklahoma Jessica Edwards, Tennessee Katie Postlewaite, South Carolina

Contributors Amy Johnson, Illinois Sarah Sargent, Ohio Elizabeth Hodges, Tennessee Danny Gasperson, Tennessee Emily Faison, Oklahoma Ana Bates, Tennessee Sandy Mounts, Ohio Lydia Provow, Bulgaria

Studies January Who Will You See?

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February Be Thou My Vision

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March Cloudy Vision

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Feature Articles A Servant’s Heart Our FWB Family

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In Every Issue 4 5 6 35

Amy’s Tidbits Behind the Scenes Thirtysomethings Vision JAN·MAR 2021

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2020. 20/20 Vision. Hindsight is 20/20.

I don’t think any of us had a vision of what the year 2020 would really hold. But God knew! When we arrived back on American soil in March after attending the dedication of the Women’s Center in Africa, little did we know what lay ahead in the days, weeks, and months to follow. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve held tightly to two little words containing one big truth. If you’ve seen my FaceBook posts, you will find a common thread, amidst many other tidbits of info and happenings, “God Knows!”

Our upcoming theme for the 2021 Bible studies is “20/20 Vision.” We are to fix our eyes upon Jesus, seeing things through God’s eyes, not our own. We must obey His instructions, draw close enough to God to get a clearer vision, and make sure an “I” doesn’t get in the way.

To have a clearer vision takes planning. In July, Dr. Eddie Moody introduced in the 3 for 30 Plan three goals on which we, as a denomination, can focus: Reach, Train, Give. As the WNAC Board met in October, we strategically planned our goals as we purposed within the Women’s Ministry to Reach, Train, and Give. You will see these goals posted and shared throughout the year in various places.

We live in interesting times, but oh, it is so exciting to see what God is doing. We can look back throughout the history of WNAC and see His hands moving, molding, and making, which encourages us to move forward, plan, and draw closer to Him. The closer we become to God, the clearer we see Him. The closer I get to God, the more hope I have. Hold tight, my friends, continue to lean into Him, and remember…God Knows!

About the Writer: Amy Johnson is the new WNAC board chairman.

She is a Michigander living in Southern Illinois. A pastor’s wife, mom of a graduating senior, and deer hunter enjoys family time, encouraging others and being outside.

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Daily life in Bulgaria is challenging for me. I don’t naturally reach out to people I meet in the store or on the playground. It’s challenging to maintain relationships with family and friends ‘back home’[ while trying to be present and ‘at home’ in our adopted culture and country.

To be honest, I have to beg the Lord to give me His vision and fill me with His love. Otherwise, my natural desire is to stay home, read a book, listen to music, play with my kids, and only go outside to hike in the woods or ride a bike. Of course, there is a time for these things. Still, so much of my daily life and ministry is spent in uncomfortable situations: starting a conversation with a stranger (in Bulgarian), responding in love to the blunt opinions of our neighbors, opening our home regularly for Bible studies and conversation groups, and walking to and from the grocery store with heavy bags to provide meals for our family and guests.

Is it so different from your life, though? Maybe. On the surface. If we look at the daily routine or the differences in culture, of course, our lives look differently. You probably take a car to the grocery store, and you don’t speak Bulgarian at your parent/teacher’s meetings. People around you might tend to be politely interested rather than directly interrogating. The cultures are different, but the need for Jesus is the same. The desire to be known and loved is definitely there. We all face the challenges of our culture, where ever we live. My prayer is this: Jesus, may Your name be glorified among the nations, and may I be a willing instrument in Your hands.

Will you join me in this prayer of faith and obedience today?

About the Writer: Josh and Lydia Provow and their five children Naomi, Phoebe, Zoe, Malachi, and Pavel are missionaries in Bulgaria.

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thirtysomethings

by Sarah Sargent

I have a confession. I am one of those weird people who sometimes skip to the end of the book to make sure it has a happy ending. I work hard not to read spoilers for upcoming movies, but I desperately want to know what happens and usually exercise no patience whatsoever.

As a kid, my parents attempted to break this habit by introducing me to a young reader book series called Choose Your Own Adventure. The publisher says, “These books are written from a secondperson point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character’s actions and the plot’s outcome.” Unfortunately, I found my way of reading these books, too. When given a choice to the protagonist, I would read both scenarios and choose the one I liked better. I didn’t choose based on my thoughts and opinions; I decided based on the outcomes I had already read.

This idea of needing to know the outcome worked out for my reading the Bible. Revelation makes it clear we win and enjoy a happy ending in Heaven with our Savior. However, when it comes to the daily walk, I’ve learned there aren’t spoilers nor can I skip ahead. So, since I can’t jump ahead and find out what will happen, I’ve learned to turn to Scripture for help. Verses like Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:8, Matthew 6:33, Proverbs 15:22, 1 Corinthians 10:31, and Romans 8:38-39 have been instrumental in helping me navigate this adventure called life. No spoilers needed for this; when it’s all said and done, I want my life to be defined by 2 Timothy 4:7 In honor of choosing your own adventure books…

Read about a missionary who is special to me (page 13). (When I was a little girl, I prayed for her by name every night.)

Read about eye exams for six kids that lead to enlightening spiritual insight (page 29).

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Who Will You See?

My arms are too short! Actually, that is not true. My arms are the appropriate length in proportion to the rest of my body. The problem is, I have reached the age where my eyes no longer focus on objects nearby.

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JANUARY STUDY For a time, I could extend my arms the right distance to hold the things on which I was trying to focus. But eventually, the deterioration of my sight exceeded the length of my arms and now I need the help of glasses to see clearly.

But physical sight is not the only area where I need help to see. And poor vision in any capacity is frustrating, limiting, and can even be dangerous.

Tucked away in the eighth chapter of Mark’s gospel is an interesting and unusual encounter in which Jesus addressed the issue of vision problems.

Jesus and the disciples arrived at the little town of Bethsaida on the north side of the sea of Galilee. Some people

brought to Him a blind man and requested that Jesus help him.

Jesus took the sightless man by the hand, led him out of town, spit on him, put His hands on him, and then asked if he could see anything.

Here is where the incident becomes curious. When the man looked up, he replied, “I see men as trees, walking.” So, Jesus again touched his eyes and made him look up. This time his eyes were perfectly restored and he saw every man clearly.

At the top of my list of the many interesting details about this incident is the fact that this is the only time I recall when the Lord spoke or acted and the thing He said or did was not completed perfectly.

When God said, “Let there be light,” there was light.

When the Lord told Moses to strike the rock in the wilderness, water came forth.

When Jesus said to the storm, “Peace, be still,” the winds died and the waves calmed.

When Jesus called to Lazarus, “Come forth,” Lazarus revived and responded.

But here, when Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes, he received his sight, but not completel What happened? Was Jesus having a bad day? Was the problem greater than Jesus’ power?

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Did Jesus underestimate what was required to completely heal?

Obviously, none of these things is true. Jesus has never been less than fully God so He can’t have a bad day. He has all

power in Heaven and earth, so it was not a power problem.

He is all-knowing, so He never miscalculates.

It must have been intentional. Therefore, the question is, “Why would Jesus choose to do it like this?”

Often God does the unexpected when He wants to get our attention. The truth is the blind man was not the only one present that day who was not seeing correctly. Jesus chose to heal in this manner to teach those in Bethsaida and us something important about vision.

There are at least three lessons we should learn from Jesus’ unexpected method of healing.

1. God Cares About Physical Things.

I am thankful He is concerned about every aspect of my life. My frailties, finances, fears, frustrations, and failures are not beyond His attention or action.

Much of the work Jesus did during His earthly ministry was caring for hurting people. He used a quote from Isaiah to describe the purpose and practice of His ministry saying, He was sent to minister to the poor, set the prisoners free, heal the sick, free the oppressed.

Jesus has called His followers to continue that work. We rightly distinguish ourselves from those concerned only with the social Gospel, but I fear our reaction to their imbalance has caused us to be imbalanced as well.

If you were to ask your unchurched neighbors what they think the church should be doing, chances are high they would say the church should be addressing practical needs in the community. Being balanced in our ministry is both beneficial and biblical.

2. His Ultimate Desire Is for A Deeper Healing If all Jesus wanted to do was bring physical healing to the blind man, he would have been perfectly healed with the first anointing. There is no doubt Jesus is interested in the physical, but His compassion and concern do not stop there. His chief concern is for spiritual healing.

He desires to bring help, hope, and healing to a heart wrecked by sin, separated from God, and headed for eternal destruction.

The physical is only temporary, but the spiritual is eternal. This is the work that is God’s priority and it must be our priority as well.

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3. The Result of Deeper Healing Is New Vision.

God not only wants to give us sight; He wants us to see clearly. From the events earlier in the chapter, it is obvious that the disciples were seeing and hearing things from Jesus without proper perception or perspective. Jesus miraculously fed four thousand with only seven loaves of bread, afterwards warning the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees. The disciples thought He was still talking about physical bread.

They were “seeing men as trees.”

They needed new vision.

This new, clearer vision has two directions. It gives us a better understanding of God. It did this for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. Jesus walked with them expounding all the Scriptures from Moses to the prophets about all things concerning Himself, yet they did not recognize Him. But when He prayed, “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him” (Luke 24:31). They got new vision.

The same thing happened for the disciples in our story. Imme-

diately after this two-fold healing of the blind man, Jesus asked the disciples the most important question, “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter responds with his great declaration, “Thou art the Christ.” Apparently, he had benefitted from the deeper healing.

This deeper healing also gives a clearer vision of others. When Jesus first asked, the man if he could see, his response was interesting, “I see men as trees, walking” (Mark 8:24). We, too, can see people in different ways.

Sometimes we see them as objects, as the blind man did, like trees.

We may often consider others to only be part of the scenery.

We can become so consumed by our own lives that we don’t really notice people.

Every person we meet is someone God has sent our way.

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Jesus was not this way. John 8 concludes with Jesus escaping for His life because the Jews were ready to stone him. John 9:1 says that as He was fleeing, He saw a man who was blind from birth. The Lord’s circumstances did not blind Him to others. Jesus always noticed people whom others overlooked.

Application: During each day several people pass through our

field of vision, but how many of them do we see? Do we recognize them as individuals or are they just part of the scenery? We may need that deeper healing.

Sometimes we see people as obstacles. People are the cause of our problems and frustrations. This happens when my wants and needs become my priority and others are in my way. (Have you ever been stuck behind a slow driver?) Jesus never saw people as obstacles.

After learning of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus wanted to take the disciples to a desert place where they could grieve and rest. But the multitudes, ignorant or insensitive to their needs, would not allow them to enjoy solitude. The crowd followed them and expected their time and attention. “And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd” (Mark 6:34).

How quickly do we become

irritated or aggravated when others disrupt our schedules or impede our progress? Jesus said that He came not to be served but to serve. Is that our attitude?

Sometimes we see people as opponents. We view them as our adversaries. Everyone should want to be and do our best, but that can lead to a desire to win. We become competitive. If our goal is to win, someone has to lose.

Paul reminded us in Ephesians 6:12, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.”(NIV) People are not the enemy, although sometimes people posture themselves as our adversaries. When that happens, we have ‘weapons’ to use. We are to love our enemies, pray for those who want to hurt us, and forgive those who do us wrong.

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Application: Do I desire the downfall of others so that I am pro-

moted? How do I respond to those who consider me an opponent?

restored sight, we gain a better understanding of the Lord. We all would benefit from a fresh view of God. But perhaps He would also have us sing, “Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see like Jesus.”

I do not need longer arms. I need clearer vision.

Will you see anyone today?

Jesus calls us to see people as opportunities. They give us the chance to demonstrate the love of God in our hearts. Every person we meet is someone God has sent our way. Each has value because they carry the image of our God. They need and deserve to know and feel the love of God. They are worthy of our attention and affection. This is how the Lord wants us to see people. It is the clearest evidence of the deeper healing.

God does not want us to have perfect sight only in our direct field of vision. Jesus commanded us to, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields” (John 4:35). This means we must be intentional in our vision. The fields include those who are marginalized around us, hidden in plain sight. It includes those living in faraway places with strange cultures and misguided worldviews.

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it involved Jesus spitting in his eyes. That sounds neither pleasant nor appealing. But if your vision is impaired and you are desperate to have it restored, you must be humble enough to submit to the ways of the Healer.

Restoration requires time and effort. It requires relinquishing rights, preferences, comfort, and stepping outside our comfort zone and away from our agenda. It means offering grace to those who offend and love those who are unlovely. It demands our having concern and compassion toward those who are radically different. We must surrender our presuppositions and prejudices. It means developing a global perspective on our responsibility to love and serve. Practicing all these things means we will begin to see like the Lord wants us to see.

The familiar chorus, “Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see Jesus,” could be our prayer for clearer vision because, with

About the Writer: Danny Gasperson is the Director of Mobilization for IM,INC. and the Administrative Director of The Hanna Project. Prior to joining the IM,INC. team, he served 19 years as pastor of Zephyr Hills Free Will Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. He and his wife, Jackie, are blessed with a son, daughter, son-in-law, and two wonderful grandsons.

A Servant’s Heart On May 14, 2019, I had the honor of speaking at missionary Cathy Crawford’s Home Going Celebration. Five years before, in August of 2014, Cathy was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer.

On that day everything changed for her, her immediate family, her church family, and all her friends in France.

In 1982, we first met Cathy when she began her fund-raising itinerate for France. In 2010 my husband, Mike, became her pastor.

After her diagnosis she told us, “You started this journey with me, and I am blessed you will end it with me as my pastor and his wife.”

During the last five years, Cathy didn’t give up. She made two short-term trips to France in 2017 and 2018. Cathy was determined to see her friends. She had a servant’s heart for the French and JAN·MAR 2021

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Turkish people with whom she had built relationships.

For many years Cathy’s home church was the Harrison Free Will Baptist Church in Minford, Ohio. Cathy taught VBS, started a new Velocity Teen class, built an ark for our N2Y kids, helped in our WMO projects, served alongside our ladies in WNAC, and three weeks before her passing, she hosted a Turkish Tea for our ladies.

For our church Christmas dinner, Cathy entered the door doing the royal wave, dressed like a queen, including tiara and fancy jewelry. She was a constant joy and quickly became known as Queen Cathy.

On the way home, after seeing her oncologist for the last time, she started planning her Home Going Celebration with Mike. She wanted everything to be gospel-centered, to point everyone to Christ. Cathy provided gospel tracts for everyone to receive during visitation and the service. She even chose her funeral clothing in colors of red, white, and black. She asked us to wear the same colors and we did. Believe it or not, we had a blast!

During her days at Hospice she continually witnessed about the Lord and how she had served as a career missionary in France. The morning Cathy went home, I was sitting beside her as she breathed her last. The song Glorious Freedom was playing; Glorious Freedom, wonderful freedom, No more chains of sin I repine Jesus the glorious, emancipator, Now and forever, He shall be mine.

—Haldor Lillenas, 1917

D6 EveryDay Curriculum . . . cultivates generational disciple makers to live out what they learn.

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Continues the hallmark emphasis of generational discipleship

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Emphasizes daily discipleship— not just Sunday discipleship

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Promotes biblical worldview development

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Introduces enhanced discipleship tools for church and home

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Emphasizes biblical literacy

• Easily expands to facilitate a

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Addresses apologetics naturally throughout scope and sequence

• Incorporates the FWB Catechism,

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Tells the story of the Bible

mid-week session

instructing the foundational truths of the Christian faith

My life has been greatly enriched because of Cathy’s dedication and grace. Her life personified the words of missionary William Carey: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

About the Writer: Sandy Mounts is a member of Harrison Free Will Baptist Church, Scioto County, Ohio, where her husband, Mike Mounts, is pastor. At the age of eight, she came to know Christ as her Savior at Forest Valley Free Will Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio. Mike and Sandy have one son, Jared, and granddaughter, Aslynn Jo. She enjoys working at the church, cooking, music, and spending time with her family and friends.

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D6EveryDay.com powered by D6Family.com

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Our FWB Family Each of us is part of a biological family, but we are also part of the Free Will Baptist (FWB) family. Within this family, there are eight national agencies and four commissions. As 2021 unfolds, we will highlight each of these.

The Executive Office https:// nafwb.org/site/ promotes the entire work and ministry of our denomination. They plan our national convention and participate in publishing ONE Magazine http://www.onemag.org/.

Dr. Eddie Moody is the Executive Secretary.

The Board of Retirement, directed by John Brummitt, focuses on providing financial education to our denomination. Their retirement program is open to employees of a FWB church, state, or national agency. https:// boardofretirement.com/.

IM, Inc., our international missions’ agency directed by Clint Morgan, exists to labor with the body of Christ to fulfill the Great Commission. Career missionaries plant churches and train leaders. https://iminc.org/.

Dr. Ron Hunter directs Ran16 treasure

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dall House, the publisher for FWBs, working to build believers through discipleship in the church and home. They produce various materials relevant to everyday life, emphasizing generational discipleship. Truth and Peace, Vertical Three, and D6 Conferences help train ministry leaders, parents, teens, and children worldwide http:// www.randallhouse.com/.

The FWB Foundation, directed by David Brown, serves the denomination with basic estate planning assistance and charitable planned gifts through special trust arrangements. http://www.fwbgifts.org/.

Dr. David Crowe directs North American Ministries https://www.fwbnam.com/.

New churches are being established in North America, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. NAM commissions FWB chaplains and coordinates disaster relief, Master’s Men, and Hispanic ministries.

Welch College, led by President Matt Pinson, is the educational interest of the denomina-

tion. The college is accredited to offer associate, bachelor, and master’s degrees. https:// welch.edu.

The Historical Commission seeks to educate FWBs about who we are and how God has used our movement. The website https://fwbhistory.com/ includes information about our past, in-depth studies on our beliefs, and its impact on America and the world.

The Theological Commission was https://fwbtheology.com established to resist the effects of Protestant liberalism and safeguard the denomination’s theological direction.

The Music Commission http://www.fwbworship.com desires to help everyday people become better worship leaders vital to a church’s overall health. They coordinate music for our annual convention and offer training seminars and webinars.

The Media Commission has focused primarily on streaming the NAFWB convention. However, during the pandemic, webi-

nars helped pastors and ministry leaders’ transition to stream local services. Seminars at the convention raise awareness of the importance of a quality online presence as we continue to reach the world for Christ. http://www.fwbmedia.org/.

And we, WNAC, are the final member representing FWB Women’s Ministries. We exist to provide opportunities for each woman to fulfill the Great Commission at home and abroad.

Treasure is an online Bible study resource. Shine! Conferences, designed for 12 to 18-year-olds and the adult leaders in their lives, stress finding one’s identity in Christ. Flourish Ladies’ Day regional events help encourage, strengthen, and challenge women while building relationships. Our scholarship programs invest in the next generation at home and abroad. http://www. wnac.org.

As we serve in tandem with the FWB family, we are better together!

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Is Your Church

Miss

In 2019, the Free Will Baptist Church Directory moved online. However, many churches have not submitted a picture or video for their church page that will help potential visitors find and learn more about them. If your church is “missing,” contact the Executive Office immediately: 877-767-7659 anna@nafwb.org

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S W E N B W F NA

Extra! Extra!

Did you know the Free Will Baptist Executive Office provides a weekly email newsletter called the NAFWB NEWS? This quick weekly snapshot will keep you and your church up on all the latest news and ministry initiatives of the denomination.

The best part? It’s free, and you can start this week.

Email questions@nafwb.org to subscribe.

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FEBRUARY STUDY

Thank you so much for all the gift cards you have blessed me with recently. With traveling so much to visit churches and individuals, they are a tremendous help with meals on the road without having to spend personal or account money.

Thank you also for the provision closet. Now that I am stateside for a time and in need of so many things, it was an overwhelming blessing to have so much provided. I wish I could personally thank every person who has given toward that, but I hope they all know what a blessing it is.

I so appreciate all the prayers that have been prayed for the samburu people and myself these last years.

What a comfort to know so many were lifting me up and f ighting for and with me. Our God is so faithful.

Looking forward to meeting with more of you this next year.

Thanks again, Victoria Little

Be Thou My Vision

What a blessing you all are! We recently got to pick up items for our house from the provision closet, and in one trip we were able to stock our kitchen with all the necessities. Thank you to each of you who give to this ministry. I can’t explain it, but when I use the items from the closet, I can’t help but think about /be grateful for the ladies who make this possible.

Thank you!

Doug & Miriam Bishop

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FEBRUARY STUDY The year 2020 isn’t turning out to look like any of us envisioned it. But then, what year ever is? The truth is, our vision for our lives is not enough.

focus and fill your vision, lift your eyes. See the bigger picture: The Lord made everything around you, and He is in control of all of it.

Application: What areas of your life cause you anxiety, fear, or simply off-center focus? Do you ever catch yourself focusing so much on the little things that you neglect to “lift your eyes unto the hills”?

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1, KJV), emphasis added.

“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1c-2a, KJV), emphasis added.

“Set your minds on things that are above” (Colossians 3:2-3, ESV), emphasis added.

Again, and again, Scripture reminds us, in both Old Testament and New, to set our sights above. We know the world we are living in now is temporary, and only a shadow of things to come. When things get to be too much for us to bear—whether in our personal lives or the state of the world around us—we can take comfort fixing our eyes above.

Take a moment to physically raise your head—literally lift your eyes from the phone screen or printed page from which you are reading this study. Your view should be quite a bit different! Rather than a tight focus on what is immediate, your vision is immediately 22 treasure

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broadened to include your forgotten cup of coffee beside you, a pile of laundry you still need to fold, or a mess made by a little one in your household.

Your vision may also now include a glimpse of sunshine hitting your backyard just right, a favorite photo or trinket in your home that makes you smile, or a neighbor waving hello as they pass your front porch. We all have everyday details that need our attention, making close, intense vision quite necessary and useful. But big picture vision is equally necessary, and sometimes we simply need to lift our eyes to get a shift in perspective (Psalm 121).

When anxieties creep into

When we lift our eyes, not only do we gain a broader perspective, but we are also reminded that we are not alone (Hebrews 12:1-2). When we set our eyes above, Scripture tells us we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. When we look to Jesus, we can’t help but see the generations of saints who have come before us! We are not alone.

Centuries of women and men

have walked with Jesus, studied the Word, taught, written, sung, painted, and preached. Some of those women and men walked with Jesus quite literally, and we are left with their stories in the gospels. Other women and men throughout history have left us hymns and meditations. And still, other women and men in our own lives may have proved to be witnesses, even in the most unlikely circumstances.

Application: What women in your life have challenged or encouraged you in your faith, whether intentionally or not? How has God used individuals in your life to give you a shift in perspective or to communicate His vision?

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FEBRUARY STUDY Life is not always easy, and these are particularly trying times. Yet Paul tells us to lay aside every weight. Our focus is not on the details that can so easily weigh us down, but instead, our eyes are fixed on Jesus.

Now, let’s take this concept of vision a step further and consider

Completely replace my vision with Yours.

together what it would be like to not only look to God but to allow ourselves to look as God looks.

To look as God looks means to ask, “How does God see?”

The old hymn puts it so powerfully: Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart. When we sing this hymn as a prayer, we ask God to not only share His vision but to be our vision. Naught be all else! Blot everything else completely out!

I love that this hymn leaves us no wiggle room—this is not merely placing a filter over the lens of our worldview. This is even more radical. BE my vision, Lord. Completely replace my vision with Yours. In other words, our vision is dead.

Look at Colossians 3:2-3, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For 24 treasure

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ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Immediately after we are exhorted to set our minds on things above, rather than things that are on earth, we are also reminded that “[we] have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God” (ESV). When we set our sights on Christ, when we die to ourselves to take up His cross and follow Him, vision is part and parcel.

Often, when we think about the idea of praying for God’s vision, we are asking God to direct our lives, or perhaps asking God to direct a ministry or mission. Of course, that is something we should seek! But I want us to think about vision from a different perspective.

Asking for God’s vision for our lives can still be a self-oriented prayer. The act of asking for God’s vision to replace our own places God at the center of that prayer, decentering ourselves. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, He becomes the center and He replaces our vision with His own.

When we ask for God’s vision, we can’t help but see those in need around us, those whom God sees with tenderness and compassion. When we turn our gaze upward, He turns our gaze outward (Isaiah 1:17).

Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6 (NKJV) This is what the Lord Almighty said: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Zechariah 7:9-10 (NIV) For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in. Matthew 25:35 (NKJV) Show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Hebrews 13:2-3 (NIV)

When He is your vision, what does that enable you to see around you? Consider what be thou my vision could mean practically. Can you see individuals or families in your community who are oppressed, burdened, and hungry? Can you see the effects of racism and other prejudices, whether intentional or not, tearing apart neighborhoods and schools? Can you see your own biases that have crept in and clouded your vision?

Application: What do you allow to cloud God’s vision in your life?

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FEBRUARY STUDY

God created his daughters to be kingdom builders—to pay attention to what is happening around us, to take action and contribute.

How would you see your kids or your spouse differently with God’s vision?

How would you interact with your neighborhood, city, and state?

Carolyn Custis James

Our vision doesn’t only affect those immediately in our dayto-day lives. Choices in local elections can affect, positively and negatively, members of your community you’ve never even met. Choosing where to shop for clothing and groceries have a ripple effect across the globe, from farmers in far-off regions to child laborers in southeast Asian countries. Choices in household

budgets can make a major impact on missionaries’ funding.

How does God’s vision shape our thoughts on poverty, homelessness, and justice? Are we focused on the minutiae of a few dollars, or looking at the big picture of root causes? God’s vision centers Himself, allowing us to see Him more clearly, and in turn, allowing us to see the world around us through His eyes.

Application: How could allowing your vision to be replaced by God’s vision shape the way you interact with others? On a small scale?

What about on a larger scale?

What are practical ways to “see” the world around you with God’s vision? Start close to home and expand outward to your community, your region, and the world.

How would you engage with communities you aren’t a member of?

God’s vision is a call to move forward into the future in the full operation of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, with a fearlessness that could only come from him.

Sarah Bessey

Asking be thou my vision is not a small request. It’s big. It’s radical. And it can be overwhelming. Dying to self and replacing our vision with His vision is a daily prayer and action, not a one-time magical wish. But there is grace. God does not expect you to do it alone or without His help. Lift your eyes unto the hills. Be encouraged by the cloud of witnesses. Lay aside every weight as you fix your eyes on Him. About the Writer: Emily Faison works as an editor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she also serves at Bethany Church.

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DECEMBER

Be Thou My Vision Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart naught be all else to me, save that thou art thou my best thought by day or by night waking or sleeping, thy presence my light Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord thou my great Father, I thy true son thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one Be thou my battle shield, sword for my fight be thou my dignity, thou my delight thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tower raise thou me heav’n-ward, O Power of my power Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise thou mine inheritance, now and always thou and thou only, first in my heart High King of heaven, my treasure thou art High King of heaven, my victory won may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall still be my vision, O Ruler of all

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MARCH STUDY This year we celebrated our 7th anniversary of a beautiful Batts’ family tradition. Summer eye exams. Yes, six kids’ eye exams in one day. (I am sure our eye doctor loves that!) We have this fabulous tradition because our children’s hail from a long line of glasses wearers. Their genes hold all the vision challenges, nearsighted, far-sighted, astigmatisms, cataracts, and more. I can look at their eyes all day long and never know what is going on with their vision. I need a doctor to examine their eyes and tell me what I cannot see. They need a doctor to heal their vision.

As true as that is of my children’s physical bodies, it is even more true of our spiritual selves. In John 8, Jesus heals a man born physically blind. This account of physical healing also reveals the reality of humanity’s spiritual blindness and the healing that is available. This chapter shows three different types of spiritual blindness that can occur in each of our lives.

Inherited Blindness—The Blindness of Adam’s Race In John 9:1-7 we see that Jesus heals the man’s physical blindness. However, this man wasn’t only born physically blind, he was also born spiritually blind. As a member of humanity, from the line of Adam, this man and all humans are born into spiritual darkness.

In John 9:35-41, Jesus shows he is not only concerned with this man’s physical healing but his spiritual healing as well.

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, ‘Dost thou believe on the Son of God?’ He answered and said, ‘Who is

he, Lord, that I might believe on him?’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.’ And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, ‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind’” (John 9:35-39).

This man who was born blind was healed spiritually by placing his trust in Jesus. “Lord, I believe” is the step of faith that all must take to be free of spiritual blindness.

Application: Have I taken this step of faith to heal my spiritual blindness? Have I placed my faith in Christ above all else?

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Willful Blindness The second type of spiritual blindness is the blindness of the Jews and the Pharisees.

It is willful blindness. Three times they hear about the healing work of Jesus, but they have hardened hearts toward him. Each time they choose to continue to walk in blindness.

1. Personal Traditions—The first time they question the man born blind, they discount the healing work of Christ. He didn’t measure up to their man-made traditions and standards. “This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day”. (John 9:16) They allowed their self-imposed rules of the Sabbath to be a stumbling block to their belief in Christ.

2. Prejudice—After the Pharisees had questioned the man Jesus healed, the Jews continued by questioning his parents. Scripture says the parents knew the Jews had already decided that if someone confessed Jesus was the Christ, they would be excluded from

the synagogue (John 9:22).

They were not truly interested in hearing truth. They had set their hearts against Christ and all who followed Him. Their prejudice prevented them from hearing truth and being healed from their spiritual blindness.

3. Pride—Finally, we see for the third time they choose to remain blind. This time it is pride they chose over healing. The Jews again question the man Jesus healed. After he answered their questions a second time, the Jews reviled Him, saying, “Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28-29).

They chose to place their faith in the exclusivity of their heritage and their perceived knowledge rather than humbly turning to faith in Christ. In the end, it is their pride that kept them from recognizing their need for healing.

Application: Do I allow my convictions to take precedent over what Scripture teaches? Does tradition take an unhealthy priority in my life? Do I refuse to listen to the word of God and change my long-held beliefs in light of its truth? Do I allow my pride to stand in the way of true repentance?

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MARCH STUDY

Partial Blindness—Cataracts Found at the beginning of John 9 is the final type of blindness. It would be more precise to call this vision issue a blind spot, or a cataract. A cataract is a cloudy spot in the lens of the eye that prevents you from focusing or seeing clearly. This is the vi-

Correct vision should motivate us to show grace to everyone around us.

sion issue of the disciples. They had a blind spot when viewing the suffering around them.

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, ‘Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’

Jesus answered, ‘Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: 32 treasure

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the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world’” (John 9:1-5).

Here we see the disciples asking Jesus about the man born blind. They assumed someone had sinned which caused the man to be born blind. Jesus answered them, correcting their wrong assumptions and setting an example of compassion toward the blind man. The disciples’ vision of the world and those in it, what we might call their world-view, had been shaped by their personal history and heritage. They needed it to be corrected to see the world through the eyes of Christ.

If I am completely transparent, it is not inherited blindness or willful blindness that is the greatest vision issue most of us face. Rather, it is the cataracts of our hearts that blur our ability to see the world the way God sees the world. Jesus acted in compassion toward both the blind man and the blind disciples and was able to correct both the spiritual and physical blindness through one action.

There are two main areas where blind spots can become a spiritual issue in the life of the disciple.

1. Things we don’t know. We cannot see the world through the eyes of Jesus if we don’t know Jesus or His teachings.

The Bible is the greatest revelation of who He is. The quickest way to adjust your vision of the world around you is to know Him more. Spending time reading Scripture, praying, and practicing the spiritual disciplines is essential in clearing our vision. The importance of spending time with Christ cannot be overstated.

2. Things we don’t do. If you are familiar with Scripture and have been in the faith for a long time, this can be the biggest challenge to having a healthy spiritual vision. We can become so familiar with what Scripture says that we become blind to the fact we aren’t acting on it.

James 1:22-27 says “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into

the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

James reminds us it is not enough to simply know what Scripture says. The Jews and the Pharisees in John 9 knew the Scripture in a way few ever will. The disciples walked with Christ, yet they failed to understand how to view the suffering of those around them.

Our knowledge of Christ and our relationship with Him should affect our hearts, how we speak, and how we behave. It should cause us to act with compassion toward those suffering from spiritual blindness and those dealing with the painful reality of living in a fallen world. Correct vision should motivate us to show grace to everyone around us.

Application: Am I spending time in the Word? Do I study what the Bible says within its context, with a willingness to be corrected by what it teaches? Am I acting on all that I know is right in JAN·MAR 2021

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Scripture? Am I consistently practicing the spiritual disciplines? Do I feel compassion or condemnation toward those suffering around me? Am I seeing the world through the eyes of Christ?

This year, as our eye doctor handed over the six prescriptions for glasses for my kids, she mentioned there was some exciting research for children with a genetic predisposition to myopia and cataracts. Studies suggest taking regular doses of Vitamin D helps reduce their risk of developing these conditions later in life. She also mentioned that the best way to get Vitamin D was for them to spend time daily in the sun. Likewise, Jesus is the spiritual light of the world. The best way to prevent issues with our spiritual vision is to spend daily time with Him. About the Writer: Ana Batts is wife to Craig and homeschooling mama to five daughters and one son. Craig and Ana have served Cross Timbers Free Will Baptist Church for 7 years and have been in full time Christian ministry for over 16 years. Ana works with the FWB Women’s Ministries Shine! team investing in the young women of our denomination.

WNAC provides educational scholarships as part of its ongoing mission: helping Free Will Baptist women discover and utilize God-designed roles for communicating the gospel.

The Mary R. Wisehart Scholarship assists young women studying at Free Will Baptist institutions for higher learning in the United States.

The Cleo Pursell Foreign Student Scholarship helps international students pursuing Christian education in their own country or region of the world. The Miley International Student Scholarship helps international students pursuing Christian education in the United States.

To read more or donate to one of these scholarships go to: https://www.wnac.org/ministries/scholarships/ 34 treasure

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VISION by Elizabeth Hodges

For those of us who wear corrective lenses, we are very conscious of blurry, cloudy, or distorted vision. When any symptom occurs, we make an appointment to see our optometrist or ophthalmologist. We desire to see clearly, not to struggle to read or drive at night. We are protecting our focus.

Are we as conscious of our drifting from a singular focus on God? Do we prioritize our time with Him daily? Do we allow the “cares of this life” to encroach and diminish the very life of our relationship with Him? Or do we allow Satan to cause us to doubt the promises of God? Do we recognize his attacks, or are we deceived like Eve? Each of us is building our legacy of faith one day at a time.

Will we leave footsteps that lead our children, grandchildren, and friends to the cross? Or will they see that the “cares of this world” were more important to us? Do they observe a life poured out in service to God? A life of contentment?

Jesus’ command in the Sermon on the Mount is evident. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Paul instructed Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

Are we protecting our spiritual focus? Paul admonishes the Colossians (and us) to “set [our] affections on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Together, as Free Will Baptist women, let’s “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

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P. O. Box 5002 Antioch, TN 37011-5002 www.wnac.org 877-767-7662

When it comes to discipleship and evangelism, every day is more important than Sunday.

Pastors, we need to develop more robust plans than just our weekly messages.

—CAREY NIEUWHOF

The

—ED STETZER

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