March 15, 2020 · Hebrews 12:1–3

All Eyes on Jesus

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, 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.

“I said, "Why did it take two phases?" And what he said to me is that sometimes it takes time to heal. Sometimes he wants us to take the next step towards him. He wants us to take the next step of moving towards seeing Jesus. And this hit me personally. Not just on an intellectual level. The Scriptures are becoming alive to me, because I was listening to God's voice. I saw Jesus at that moment. Let's do that this week. Take some time, and let the Scriptures open up to you. Seek his face. Look towards him. Imagine if we did this regularly, where we actually just — actually took the time to let the words speak to us. And we took time and let the Holy Spirit speak to us. Truly fixing our eyes on Jesus — allowing him to have our attention. How many times a week do we spend our time mesmerizing, staring at a screen or a movie? How often do we let that be our vision? What would it look like if the church allowed Jesus to be their vision? Lord, give us eyes of faith to see. We all have the areas of spiritual blindness, and I believe God wants to heal us. He wants us to see more of Jesus. He wants us to fix our eyes on the prize, and see through the lies. We want to change. Let's let Jesus change us from the inside. Fix your eyes on Jesus.”