May 26 - Thoughts Fixed on Jesus

Overview of: Hebrews

Today's Reading:
Hebrews 3:1 – 5:10
"Christ's Faithfulness"

Focus Verses: Hebrews 3:1, 12-14
1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. … 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

Insight:
The Hebrew writer encourages his Christian readers to fix their thoughts on Jesus, and to hold firmly to him in faith to the end. He warns them to not turn away from faith in the living God, and uses the story of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness to illustrate his point. Their bodies fell in the desert, and they never entered into the promise land because of their unbelief.

Response and Action:
More than just a warning, the Hebrew writer suggests two things I can do to cultivate enduring faith. 1) I must focus on Jesus. I should immerse myself in everything the scriptures tell me about Jesus -- his words, his actions, his promises, his mission, his teaching, his commands, his example, and his call to me. 2) I must be part of a Christian community that encourages and admonishes me in faith. I should seize every opportunity to stimulate and inspire others toward a deeper knowledge and experience of Christ. In my circle of Christian friends, we should be able to help each other identify and turn away from the deceitfulness of sin.

O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you. I will seek you in the morning. I will learn to walk in your ways. Lead me step by step that I might follow you all of my days. Amen.

Old Testament for Today: Psalm 84:2
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."
In Context: Psalm 84

Proverb for Today: Prov. 26:12
"Do you see people who are wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them."

Recommended Reading:
The Incomparable Christ
by John Stott