Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus– Hebrews 12:1-2

Here’s the way to start the day, stay in the way, and succeed in the fray. This verse tells us what we should do all day and dream about at night. The daily devotional,”A Good  Thing” put it this way:

“Where do we find the strength for this grueling, often disheartening, many-obstacled race that is the Christian life? It is only found in fixing our gaze upon the God-man. Only as we look to Jesus do we find the persevering grace to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.

Duty, without the beatific sight of Christ firmly focused before our eyes, will be nothing more than drudgery. On the other hand, to truly see Christ is to be transformed by the sight. There is no such thing as looking at Jesus and not being changed.

Do you struggle with personal purity? Look to Jesus, and be reminded of the superior pleasure of your perfect Savior. Are you wrestling with grief? Look to Jesus, and be comforted by the sovereign goodness of your God. Have you given into temptation? Look to Jesus, and see the forgiveness that pours from those cross wounds.

Only an unclouded, Bible-grounded view of Jesus can inspire us to faith, and give us the strength that we will need for faithful living. Fear of hell, fondness for family, love of fellowship, or hope of heaven—none of these are strong enough to build a joyful, persevering, self-sacrificing, Christ-exalting life upon.

Conversely, if we see our determination lagging or our strength diminishing, this is a certain indicator that our gaze has dropped, that our eyes are not fixed upon Jesus as they ought to be. As hymn writer Helen Lemmel exhorts:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.–2 Cor. 3:18

There is something in all of us that needs to be changed. Sometimes we are aware of it and sometimes we’re not. If we truly care about pleasing God we want to make whatever changes that are necessary. The problem is that we often go about it the wrong way. We try to change ourselves, rather than look to God as the change agent. The real need is not to change, but to be changed. Although I preached an entire series on the subject, I still struggle with this at times–most of us do. I don’t know David Powlison from Adam, but I was blessed by what he said about this matter:

“No one can truly change who does not know and rely on gifts from the hand of the Lord. Since Christ is both Giver and Gift, attempts to change without grace are barren of the very purpose, power, and Person that change is about. Self-manufactured change does not dislodge almighty me from the center of my tiny self-manufactured universe. Still in the futility of my mind and the hardness of my heart, I only act a bit different.

Successful living without grace describes mere self-reformation: get your act together, save your marriage, get off your duff and get a job. Failure in living describes failed self-efforts: when you can’t get a grip, you despair. Christ-less, grace-less attempts at change conclude either with the praise of your own glory or with your shame.“

It is my earnest prayer that you,and I, will be changed from glory to glory to glory to glory—- until others see nothing but Jesus in us!

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

What happens when you worry? You bring tomorrow’s difficulty into today.

God didn’t give you grace for tomorrow’s difficulties. He only gives you grace for today.

When you reach into tomorrow’s troubles, you overload today’s circuit. Worry doesn’t take the sorrow out of tomorrow, it takes the strength out of today. When you meet tomorrow, you’re out of breath because you’re already overloaded from today. Worry, therefore, does not make you ready for the future, it really makes you unready.

Yesterday is just a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today has all the cash you can handle. Spend it wisely.

Worry will eat your lunch! It’ll eat your breakfast and dinner, too! Confess your worries as sin (because they are). Put your concerns at the throne of Almighty God, trusting Him to provide.–Adrian Rogers

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.–John 17:4

Isn’t it strange–no one wants to get old, but when they do they want to get as old as possible. They say, “Getting old ain’t so bad compared to the alternative”. When someone dies earlier than normal we often say their life was “cut-short”, or “what a shame”, or it isn’t fair”, etc. We act as though success depends on longevity. Truth is that we don’t have to live three-score and ten to be successful. The story of Jesus teaches us this valuable lesson. I love the observation, regarding our text, made by J. R. Miller in 1895.

Jesus is the only man who has ever lived—so as to be able to say this!

The best lives are but fragments, leaving many things unfinished. Yet we ought to take a lesson from Christ’s finishing of His work. He did it, simply by doing each day—the will of His Father for the day.

He was a young man when He died—only thirty-three. We think of those who die young—as dying before their work is completed. We learn, however, that even a young man, dying, may leave a finished work.

The truth is, enough years are given to each one—in which to do our ‘allotted work’. Even a baby that lives only a day, merely looking into the mother’s eyes and then going away, does the work that was given it to do. The young man who dies at thirty-three, with his hands full of tasks—if only he has lived faithfully, has finished the work which God gave him to do. Not years—but faithfulness, counts with God!

“I’m content”, you say. Of course you are–you don’t have cancer or heart disease, your bills are paid, you have a job, your wife hasn’t filed for divorce, your husband isn’t cheating on you, your loving spouse is still alive. Who wouldn’t be content? But how content would you be if all those things were gone? Anyone want to take bets on it? I suspect you will feel far different if your world falls apart.” I’m content”, you say, but is it really true? Chances are you are “content” only until you discover something else you want.

You claim to be content because you have everything you want–for the moment. That’s nothing to brag about.If a person can’t be content in those conditions nothing will make him content. It’s when we lose all that we hold dear that we are really put to the test. However, our duty to be content isn’t dependent on our welfare. We, Christians, are obligated to be content regardless of our circumstances. It’s when things are at their worst when we are truly tested. We don’t hear much bragging then. But, difficulty never exempts us from duty. Keeping that in mind, it’s easy to see that most of us are not as strong and spiritual as we think–or as we would like for others to think we are.

Conditions for Paul were horrible, yet he could say in all honesty, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. Perhaps you’re thinking, “But I’m not as strong as Paul”. So? Tell me something new–I already had that figured out. I’m not either, but that doesn’t matter. It’s not a matter of how weak or strong we are. It’s a matter of how surrendered we are. Paul’s God is our God. What he could do we can do, if we do as he did– surrender our all to God. We are strengthened and enabled to do as we are commanded only when we acknowledge our weakness and appropriate His strength. The first step to becoming content is admitting we’re not. That’s something most people will never do. What about you?

The key to Paul’s contentment, and ours, is found in Phil. 1:21,”For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” When we can say that and mean it we will truly be content– regardless of circumstances. When He is all that matters nothing else will matter, because pleasing Him is all that matters. Knowing He is content makes me content.