Fixing Our Eyes Upon Jesus

Over the weekend my brother and I went for a snowshoeing adventure on trail neither of us had ever been on before.  We started at a parking lot which led to a field.  The path took us through the woods.  There were hills to climb and twist and turns.  Every once in a while I stumbled and a few times my right snowshoe fell off.  One time I fell down on both knees and I said to my brother, "I just stopped to pray for a moment."  That was a great snowshoeing journey through the woods.  There were lots of twists and turns.  There was some stumbling and sometimes some falling down.  At one point I missed the trail and we ended going the wrong way.  We had to back track and we ended up on the right path.  We passed through beautiful terrain and we even went past a pond way out in the middle of the woods.

We eventually made it through the woods and back to the field and back to where we parked our vehicle in the parking lot.  Well today I was at work thinking about our adventure.  The more I thought about it the more God impressed something upon my heart.  The snowshoeing journey was like a picture of our walk with the Lord here on the earth. 

We realize we are sinners and can't save ourselves.  We accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and our race begins.  We follow Him through the twisting paths of life.  Sometimes we stumble.  Sometimes we fall to our knees (We should do more of this in prayer).  Sometimes we fall badly.  Sometimes we head down the wrong path and have to turn back and get back on the right track.  Then after leading us through the paths of life our journey will end when the Lord will take us Home to Heaven to be with Him.

We need to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus as we run the race of faith here on the earth.   The race will not be easy.  We will stumble into sin.  We will confess our sin to Him and we will get back up and continue our race while focusing on Him.  There will be good times.  There will be hard times.  There will be times when we will feel helpless.  There will be times when we feel powerless to help someone in need.  There will be times when we will feel so weak and feel like we can not go on.  We must take heart and trust the Lord.  The Lord will always be there by our side.  He is the one who is leading us and He will guide us 

The Lord will not fail us.  We must serve and follow Him.  We must fix our eyes upon Jesus as we run our race that has been placed before us.  I am reminded of Hebrews 12:1-12 which says,

"1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

References for Hebrews 12:1

• Cross References

• 1 12:1 - S 1 Corinthians 9:24
• 2 12:1 - S Hebrews 10:36

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

References for Hebrews 12:2

• Cross References

• 3 12:2 - Psalms 25:15
• 4 12:2 - Hebrews 2:10
• 5 12:2 - Philippians 2:8,9 ; Hebrews 2:9
• 6 12:2 - Hebrews 13:13
• 7 12:2 - S Mark 16:19

3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

References for Hebrews 12:3

• Cross References

• 8 12:3 - Galatians 6:9 ; Revelation 2:3

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.                                    

References for Hebrews 12:4

• Cross References

• 9 12:4 - Hebrews 10:32-34 ; Hebrews 13:13

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,                                    

References for Hebrews 12:5

• Cross References

• 10 12:5 - ver 3

6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”                                                                       

References for Hebrews 12:6

• Cross References
• Footnotes

• 11 12:6 - Psalms 94:12 ; Psalms 119:75 ; Revelation 3:19
• 12 12:6 - Proverbs 3:11,12

• š 12:6 - Prov. 3:11,12 (see Septuagint)

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?                                    

References for Hebrews 12:7

• Cross References

• 13 12:7 - Deuteronomy 8:5 ; 2 Samuel 7:14 ; Proverbs 13:24

8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

References for Hebrews 12:8

• Cross References

• 14 12:8 - 1 Peter 5:9

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!

References for Hebrews 12:9

• Cross References

• 15 12:9 - Numbers 16:22 ; Numbers 27:16 ; Revelation 22:6
• 16 12:9 - Isaiah 38:16

10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

References for Hebrews 12:10

• Cross References

• 17 12:10 - S 2 Peter 1:4

11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

References for Hebrews 12:11

• Cross References

• 18 12:11 - Isaiah 32:17 ; James 3:17,18

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees."

The race will be long and challenging for us here on earth.  The culture is changing rapidly.  Acceptance for things that are not right in God's sight seems to be on the increase.  God's Word and His truth never changes.  We believers in the Lord must cling to the truth of the Living Word and never back down from it no matter how tempting it might possibly get.

Even if we have to stand alone we must take a stand for the truth of what the Bible says and who Jesus Christ is.  He is the Son of the Living God and the Only Way to obtain Salvation and 

Eternal life.

We must fix our eyes upon Jesus Christ and live for Him.  The path may seem difficult and it will be, but the end result will be great if we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and have chosen to follow Him.  

Lord,

The path we are on is tough.

Sometimes we trip and fall.

We are thankful that You are there waiting to pick us up and lead us on.

Help us to has courage and the strength we need to continue on.

Help us keep our focus on Jesus.

Lead us and guide us.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen.