Tag Archives: so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Fix Our Eyes On Jesus

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Let Us - Hebrews 12:2-3 - Fix Our Eyes On Jesus - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Let Us – Hebrews 12:2-3 – Fix Our Eyes On Jesus – Growing As Disciples

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)

Eyes On You

What are your eyes fixed on? What has your attention? I’m not really sure how to answer those questions. What occupies your attention and what your eyes are fixed will guide the course of your life. Then my answer to your questions is very important Yes, it is. To the extent that your eyes and focus are on me I will be guiding your life. If my eyes and focus turn away from you then I am likely to wander off the path that you are leading me on. That’s right. I will waste time and effort on things of this world that are ultimately not that important. I will expend my energy and strength on what will not bear fruit for your kingdom and your glory. I will grow weary and lose heart once I see how little impact my life is making for you. Yes, you’ve got that right.

The problem of not focusing on me is larger than you may realize. How is that? I am the author and perfecter of your faith. Without keeping your eyes on me you can’t really live the life that I have laid out for you. You are not the author of your faith. I am the author of your faith. What does the author of the story know that the reader cannot know? The reader follows the story and only learns of the story while reading what the author has written. Keeping your eyes and focus on me is like reading the story of your faith. You will only know where I am leading you by following me. You will only know what I am asking of you by obeying me. The story of your life of faith with me will unfold little by little, day by day as you keep your eyes and focus on me. I get it.

How hard has it been to keep your eyes and focus on me? It has been very hard to keep my eyes and focus on you. Why is that? The world and everything in it tries to demand my attention. The commitments that are before me grab a hold of my time. The noise of life makes it hard for me to listen to you and keep my focus on you and the life that you have for me. The pace of life wears me out and throws my life completely out of balance. So, the challenge of keeping your eyes and focus on me is great? Yes, it is. What will help you to keep your eyes and focus on me? Meeting everyday with you in your word will help me to keep my eyes and focus on you. Is that what you will do? Yes, it is. I will be looking and waiting for you to come to meet with me. I have a time and place set to meet with you. That will be very good.

Lord, thank you that you are the author and perfecter of my faith. I will follow you. I will keep and my eyes on you. Help me to endure whatever opposition I will face in life. Strengthen me so I will not grow weary or lose heart. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Let Us – Hebrews 12-2-3 – Fix Our Eyes on Jesus – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Run With Perseverance The Race

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The Virtuous Life - Day 192 - Hebrews 12:1-3 - Run With Perseverance The Race - Growing As Disciples

The Virtuous Life – Day 192 – Hebrews 12:1-3 – Run With Perseverance The Race – Growing As Disciples

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.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Focused On Me

Do you want to run well and finish strong on the course that I have marked out for you? Do you want to stay on course and not become entangled in what would hinder you in your race of faith? Do you want to keep on running so you will not grow weary and lose heart? Yes, I want to run well and finish strong. Yes, I want to stay on course and not become entangled in what would hinder me in my race of faith. What will help me to stay on course? What will help me to run well and finish strong? What will prevent me from growing weary and losing heart? Those are all good questions. You are wise in knowing that much will be much required of you if you want all these things to be true for you in your race of faith. I’m listening. What must I do? What will be required of me? First, you must receive encouragement. You must realize that many, a multitude really, have gone before you. Look at the examples of all those who have run the race of faith before you. You are surrounded by a great cloud of witness. Emulate their lives. Follow their example. Let their lives and their godly character inspire you. Know that this cloud of witnesses is not silent. They are behind you, they are beside you, they are in front of you. They are cheering loudly for you. Do what they did. What did they do? They threw off anything and everything that would prevent them from running well. They did not let themselves become entangled in sin. Nothing distracted them. Nothing diverted them. Will you follow their example? Yes, I will. That will be very good.

We are not done yet. There is more? There is much more. Those who stayed on course, have run well, and finished strong have one thing in common. What is that? They kept their eyes on me. I was the focus of their attention. They wanted to follow me to where I was leading them. They wanted to do what I was asking of them. This single-hearted and single-minded focus kept them from growing weary and losing heart. As they lived in an intimate relationship with me, they were continually refreshed and revived and strengthened. They ran with all the strength I gave them as the relied on me. As they remained in me, they lived a fruitful life. They stayed on course. They ran well. They finished strong. Will you keep your heart and mind and life focused on me? Yes, I will. That will be very good.

Lord, I will throw off anything that hinders me from running well on the course you marked out for me. I will not let sin entangle me. I will fix my eyes on you. Help me to endure any opposition with perseverance. Keep me running well. Help me to finish strong. Amen

Key Question…  How is keeping your eyes focused on Jesus helping you to not grow weary and lose heart?

Living It Out…  Fix your eyes on Jesus as you run the race of faith that is marked out for you.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that you will run well and finish strong as you keep your eyes focused on Jesus.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are throwing off every hindrance to your race of faith.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you fix your eyes On Jesus and run the race He has set before you

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Virtuous Life – Day 192 – Hebrews 12-1-3 – Run With Perseverance The Race – 4 Page Discipleship Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Run With Perseverance

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Character - Hebrews 12:1-3 - Run With Perseverance - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Character – Hebrews 12:1-3 – Run With Perseverance – Growing As Disciples

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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Perseverance

You know quite a bit about running. You know a lot about perseverance. Yes, I know a lot about running with perseverance. Tell me what you know. To run with perseverance, motivation is needed at the very start. With rock solid motivation, training can begin. One cannot run well, with perseverance without daily training. Perseverance is built little by little, day by day through consistent and ongoing training. Each day of training builds upon the prior day of training. Running well, with perseverance begins with one step followed by thousands upon thousands of subsequent steps. Will you allow me to train you as you run on the course that I have laid out for you? Yes Lord, I will. That is very good. 

Let me ask you a question about what you have said so far. Go right ahead. What is your motivation to run well in your life of faith with me? You showed me your love. You saved me. You forgave all my sins. You cleansed me of all my unrighteousness. You rescued me from a life without you. You adopted me into your family. You are my Father. I am your child. I now love you because you first loved me. You gave yourself to me. So, I now want to give myself to you. I love you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. There is no place I wouldn’t go or nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I want to live my life fully with and for you. I want to live a life that is pleasing in your sight. So, as you can see, I am highly motivated to run well in my life of faith with you. I can see that quite clearly.

I have another question about motivation. What’s that? What else motivates you to run well in your life of faith with me? Many of your followers that have gone before me have run well in their race of faith with you. Many of your followers who now surround me are running well in their race of faith with you. I am encouraged by their example. They have thrown off everything that might have hindered them from running well. They have run or are now running with perseverance the course that you have laid out for them. They have not grown weary. They have not lost heart. I want to run with that same perseverance so I can be an example for others to follow. That is very good.

One more question. I’m listening. What will help you to run strong and finish well? To run strong and finish well, I will need to keep my eyes fixed on you. A good runner does not look side to side or to the rear. They keep their eyes looking forward. That is what I will do. I will keep my eyes fixed on you as I run the race of faith you have laid out before me. You will keep me running. You will help me to run well and finish strong. Yes, I will. You can be sure of that.

Lord, I will throw off everything that hinders, entangles, and slows me down in the life of faith you have given me to live with and for you. With a joyful heart, I will keep my eyes fixed on you as I run with perseverance. Help me to run well and finish strong. Amen

Key Question…  How will fixing your eyes on Jesus Christ enable you to run with persevere and finish strong?

Living It Out…  Throw off anything from your life that hinders, entangles, or slows you down from running well and finishing strong.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that Jesus Christ will help you to run with perseverance as your keep your eyes on Him.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group the joy that you have in running the race Christ has set before you.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you keep your eyes on the Lord as you run with perseverance the race He has set before you.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Character – Hebrews 12-1-3 – Run With Perseverance – 4 Page Discipleship Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Everything That Hinders

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 21 - Hebrews 12:1-3 - Everything That Hinders- Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 21 – Hebrews 12:1-3 – Everything That Hinders- Growing As Disciples

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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)  

A Race

I know that I am in a race. I know that a course has been marked out for me. There is even a cheering section surrounding me, filled with faithful men and women who have gone before me. They are spurring me on. They are encouraging me to run well. They are cheering for me. Their lives have served as a testimony. They have given me an example to follow. I want to run well. I want to persevere. I want to finish the race. I definitely don’t want to grow weary and lose heart. I will not quit. I will not give up. I will keep on moving forward with you. That is very good.

What will you do so that you will be able to run well and finish your race? First, I will throw off everything that will hinder me from running well. Like what? I won’t carry around anything extra that will weigh me down. Like what? I won’t pursue the comforts and pleasures of the world. I won’t seek after what the world has to offer. What else? Well, I won’t let sin entangle me. How will you do that? Not, with my own strength and ability alone, that is for sure. I will keep my heart and mind and life focused on you. I won’t look back. I won’t look around. I won’t waste time and effort on what will amount to nothing. I will run away from sin as I run to you. My eyes will be firmly fixed on you. I will love and follow and serve you. I will run to where you lead me. I will run to do what you ask of me. In every way and on every day, I will rely on your power and strength. You will teach me. You will train me. You are the author and perfecter of my faith. Yes, I am. You will help me to give my all. You will make me able to run well and finish strong. Yes, I will.

Lord, I will throw away everything that will hinder my running the race of faith marked out before me. I will run with perseverance as I keep my eyes firmly fixed on you. I know you will help me to run well. You will keep me from growing weary or losing heart. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 21 – Hebrews 12-1-3 – Everything That Hinders – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com