Eyes on the Prize

Dear child and saint of the Most High, whether brand new to the things of God or a seasoned veteran in the Word and Spirit, hear this brief word of encouragement--keep your eyes on the prize!!!

All too often we allow our circumstances and situation to predicate our spiritual condition. Not that it's always because of negative conditions, rather, sometimes simple "life" can cause us to lose our focus.

But we are warned in Proverbs 29:18 that without vision, the people perish. Likewise, Jesus warned adamantly against putting our hand to the plow and looking back (Luke 9:62) and Paul said we don't focus our attention on the temporal but the eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Yet, in living our lives each and every day it's often difficult to keep our focus where it needs to be. The world and our natural, carnal mind have a way of "lulling us to sleep" as it were, and in so doing our eyes start to waiver, just like Peter's did when he was walking on the water toward Jesus. What happened to him? He starting looking at his surroundings and lost sight of Jesus (see Matthew 14:25-31).

So we need to keep our relationship with Jesus Christ fresh and vibrant. Anyone that tells you that task can not be daunting at times is doctrinally incorrect, and often in danger, because once that feeling comes on them, or once they go through a dry place, they may fall away.

How do we keep it alive? How do we continue to look to Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews says (Hebrews 12:2)?

The answer is through our relationship with Him. We must pray EVERY DAY, whether we FEEL like it or not. We must get ourselves in the Word of God EVERY DAY, whether we FEEL like it or not. We must get around the people of God (Bible study, church, fellowship, etc...) consistently, not hit and miss here and there. In doing so, we can keep our love for Him alive and fresh, thereby preserving our focus and keeping it in the right place and on the right things...

Relationship with Jesus Christ is the ONLY thing that will truly keep us. Without it, the spiritual high and hype of a great Sunday service (which we need) will wear off, and eventually we'll find ourselves cold and indifferent. But a true love relationship with our wonderful Savior will save us, keep us, and deliver us....Keep your eyes on the prize!!!

It Began and Ended at a Tree

Long ago, at the foot of a tree, a man disobeyed God. Because of his choice, sin entered into the world and a great divide was formed, a schism separating mankind from the glorious presence of Almighty God...

Adam and Eve learned, as we often do today, that the only thing necessary to reap the wages of sin is simple disobedience to God. The Bible tells us that because of one man's disobedience we were made sinners (Rom 5:19).

But that's not the end of the story. Thank God for His mercy and grace. In His divine love, and infinite foreknowledge, He planned for a way to bridge that gulf created by the fall of man. He came to earth, robed in humanity (I Tim 3:16), and because of the obedience of that man (Rom 5:19 & Phil 2:8), the man Christ Jesus, we can now reunite with the lover of our souls and walk in relationship with Him.

Jesus, stretched out on the cross, cried out, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30), and allowed for the construction of a bridge by which man and God could be reconciled and commune once again. Sin began at a tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but it was conquered at a tree as well, that tree was precious Calvary!!!