Category: Devotional

Focus on Jesus

If you’ve read this devotion very long, one of the phrases you’ve heard me use repeatedly is “focus your eyes on Jesus.” Part of that comes from Colossians 3, which tells us to fix our mind on things above, and part of it comes from this passage. You will never go wrong when you focus on Jesus. He is the author and finisher of your faith. If you keep your mind on what He is concerned about, you will rarely venture off the path.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭12:2

“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Run the Race

The writer of Hebrews likens the Christian faith to running a race. This is why many think that Paul is the author of this book. This passage is similar to the ones in his epistles to Timothy. If you’re gonna run a race, you need to be lean and unencumbered with any excess weight. Hebrews 12:1 tells you to shed the sin and run with endurance because a great cloud of witnesses surrounds you. Then it goes on in verse two to say fix your eyes on Jesus because He is the one who made you who you are.

God Requires One Thing

I’ve met many people who have difficulty following Jesus because when they think about a Heavenly Father, they think about their earthly father and the emotional scars he caused. Nothing they did was ever good enough, and they only wanted the love and affection they never received. To trust a God they can’t see is difficult. God requires one thing, faith. Put your trust in Jesus, and you will please Him. Without it, it is impossible.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭11:6

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

It is so easy to misinterpret this verse. So many people I know think the bigger the faith, the more God is pleased with you. Wrong! Reread the verse. It is impossible to please God unless you believe in Jesus, period! God is a rewarder of those who seek His Son. That pleases God, not some gigantic vision or bold step of faith. It is those who are devoted to Jesus and do not waver when things get tough! If you don’t believe in Jesus, you will never please God.

The Secret to Happiness

Everyone is looking for the secret to happiness. People write books, sell seminars, and create experiences promising that path to a blessed life. All of it leaves a lot to be desired, and you’re still seeking. The writer of Psalm 128 gives us the secret to happiness. You will find your life blessed and overflowing if you do these two things.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭128:1‬

“How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.”

David wrote many of the psalms. This isn’t one that he penned, but there is a recurrent theme that we see time and time again. The author wants the reader to live a blessed life. Another word for blessed can be happy. I don’t even have to ask if you want to be blessed or happy. He lays out what it takes to achieve that status, fear the Lord, and walk in His ways. As the Psalm goes on, there are promises of eating the fruit of the labor of your hands, and it goes well with you and your wife.

Hold Fast to Your Faith

Charles Spurgeon has a great quote, “That exhortation, ‘Let us hold fast,’ might well be written on the cover of every Christian’s Bible. We live in such a changeful age that we need all to be exhorted to be rooted and grounded, confirmed and established, in the truth.” Are you wavering in your belief? Hold fast to your faith. Jesus is faithful, and He will be with you through it all.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭10:23

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Have you ever been so discouraged you thought you would never come out of the doldrums? That’s how the early church was feeling. They were discouraged by the persecution and the infiltration of wrong doctrine. They were being attacked on all sides, and the writer of Hebrews tells them to refocus their eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of their faith. He encouraged them to hold fast to their confession of hope without wavering.

One Sacrifice for All

It was customary for Israelites to make annual pilgrimages at least once a year to Jerusalem to sacrifice animals to atone for the sins they committed. They would place their hand on the head of the lamb or bull as a symbol of transferring their sins to that sacrifice. When Jesus died on the cross, the need to sacrifice animals stopped. He became one sacrifice for all of humanity. Your sins are forgiven.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭10:12‬

but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET

Jesus only had to die once. It may sound silly reading that, but his death was enough for everyone. Nothing needs to be added. There are people who will preach that every time you sin, it is like crucifying Jesus all over again. That is not true. The power of Jesus’ resurrection was strong enough to cover all of your sins for your entire life. Push back on the evangelistic guilt. You don’t drive the nail into His hand each time you say something wrong. Once Jesus conquered death, He sat down at the right hand of God.

Someone is On Your Side

I still remember watching a movie where a poor guy was standing trial for a crime he didn’t commit. The public defender he had was incompetent, and it looked like he would be convicted because the public defender was more interested in padding his victory record than finding the truth. During the middle of the trial, a well-known lawyer walked in and told the judge that he would represent the defendant. When asked why he stepped in, the lawyer told the defendant, “I guess you had my mother as a first-grade teacher, and she didn’t believe you were guilty, so she told me to do something.” Jesus is constantly appearing on your behalf before God.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭9:24‬

“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

A lot is going on in this passage. First, Christ went to a holy place that wasn’t made with human hands. This is inconceivable. We can’t imagine what it looks like and is made of, but it is glorious beyond our finite human minds. He is in heaven with His Father sitting at His right hand. He earned that right by His death and resurrection and now does all of His Father’s bidding. Part of that is advocating for us, as Satan stands as our accuser. Think about that for just a second. Jesus is your lawyer and redeemer.

Protect the Innocent

New technology has changed the way that crimes are solved. Forensic Scientists are able to take DNA from decades before and determine if someone committed a crime. This has resulted in a lot of wrongfully accused people, especially African-American men, being released from prison after years behind bars. Scripture tells us to protect the innocent by staying far from false charges and standing up for righteousness.

‭‭EXODUS‬ ‭23:7

“Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.”

God established an effective judiciary system with the Israelites before they entered the promised land. When bringing charges against someone, there had to be more than one person making the accusation to prevent false charges. There was also another unique aspect of the process. If the person was found guilty because there were multiple witnesses, the people who brought the charges were the first to cast the stone when the person was stoned to death. This meant the person’s blood was on their hands. That claim better be valid and sound because God knew the truth.

Lost for Good?

When I was young, there was a show called “Land of the Lost.” It was cheesy back then, and there have been many attempts at remakes, all with the same amount of cheesiness. The underlying theme is a family trapped in the past trying to return to the present. They have to navigate dinosaurs and living in the wilderness. Will they be lost for good? That is the tension of the show and what we find the today’s passage.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭6:4-6

“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

This is one of the most controversial passages in all of the Bible. Can you lose your salvation? Most reformed people will scoff at this and rudely refer you to Romans 9. Others will cheer you on and say yes. If you take this passage at face value, you can’t argue that this person has experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit, been moved by the power of God’s Word, and then fallen away. The challenge is that no mention of salvation is made. Each theological side will dig in its heels and declare itself right. The truth is only Jesus knows who is saved.

The Source of Our Salvation

Have you ever hiked along a stream to the point where you got to the source? Most streams come from underground wells, trickling downhill until they join other streams or rivers and become bigger. This water is a source of life for many people along its route. Jesus is the source of our salvation. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

‭‭HEBREWS‬ ‭5:9‬

“And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”

Jesus’ experience on the cross and being resurrected from the grave make Him uniquely qualified to be the source of our salvation. Another term for source could be author or cause. In a nutshell, Jesus is the one we go to for new life and our ticket to eternity. The cross and the empty tomb made Him the perfect source for our salvation.

Peace and Prosperity

Anti-semitism or discrimination against Jews seems to be on the rise. Just recently, Kanye West said some Anti-semitic statements, and when pressed to clarify or recant, he doubled down. Kyrie Irving, a guard for the Brooklyn Nets, was suspended for supporting an Anti-semitic movie. This is nothing new. It seems to go in waves. The Bible tells believers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that it may bring peace and prosperity.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭122:6-7‬

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.”

Even when the Israelites entered the promised land, they didn’t take hold of Jerusalem. It wasn’t until David conquered the Jebusites that it became theirs. He then made it the capital of Israel and the home of his palace. It has long been a place of contention for the Jews and the rest of the world. When the Jews revolted against Rome in AD 70, the Roman army burned it to the ground, fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 24:2 “There will not be one stone left upon another.” There has been little peace in Jerusalem, so we need to pray for the ultimate peacemaker, Jesus Christ, to come.