"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." John 10:27–28

Look deeply into this Haitian child’s eyes and know that she has confessed that Jesus died for her sins, rose from the dead and has prepared a mansion in Heaven for her. You and I can and prayerfully have made that same statement of our faith. But there are days when the challenges we face may cause us to doubt what Jesus did for each of us. I have had them and she has too; it’s what satan does to us…lies.

Heavenly Father, loving Lord, the beauty of the natural world and all of its elements that never rebel, remind us that we're serving a living Savior. These things tell us that You are very much alive and in full control. The life around us reminds us that Your Son has been raised from the dead. The world around us testifies to Your working in the world as well as Your care for Your creation. While all this should soothe our doubts about You, Your promises, and Your power; too often, it doesn't.

We come today on this last day of July, with a desire to be renewed within. We are totally dependent upon You to do that, to effect within us that which we cannot do within ourselves. Enlighten those dark shadows and give truth where now ignorance, superstition and fear reside. Replace our countless doubts with the assurance of our great salvation; increase our faith. May it not be dependent upon the flimsy and fragile web of feelings we have, but upon the solid rock of God's truth.

And then having done that, give us a song that brightens our day and brings a ray or sunshine into our path. Help us to live in Your truth that removes our burden of doubt. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.