He is the “chief among ten thousand.”

Look at his sinless, yet real humanity;
without a single taint, yet sympathizing
with us in all our various conditions….
afflicted in our afflictions;
tempted in our temptations;
infirm in our infirmities;
grieved in our griefs;
“wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities;”
and now that he is in glory, still cherishing a
brother’s heart, bending down his ear to our
petitions, ever standing near….
to catch our sighs,
to dry our tears,
to provide for our needs,
to guide us by his counsel, and
afterwards to receive us to glory!

O what a Savior is Jesus Christ!

When he is known, all other beings are eclipsed.

When his beauty is seen, all other beauty fades.

When his love is felt, he becomes supremely
enthroned in the affections. To know him more,
becomes the one desire of the renewed mind,
and to make him more known, is the one aim
of the Christian life. –Octavius Winslow

O what a Savior is Jesus Christ!

“—Let the people renew their strength.”–Isaiah 41:1

All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continueth by itself.—- Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labour, must drink of the rain of heaven and suck from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap fresh drawn from the earth. Neither can man’s life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap, and grasped the rock with many intertwisted roots. When tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, perhaps, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfilment of the promise, “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” –Charles Spurgeon

Someone wrote, “If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,000 that carried over no balance from day to day…Allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent every day, of course, and use it to your advantage! Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever of this you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.”

That ought to make us think! Those who accomplish the most in life are those who value time. Here’s an example:

The great 19th-century naturalist and Harvard professor Louis Agassiz was once approached by the emissary of a learned society and invited to address its members. Agassiz declined the invitation, saying that lectures of this kind took up too much time that should be devoted to research and writing. The man persisted, saying that the society was prepared to pay handsomely for the lecture.

“That’s no inducement to me,” Agassiz replied, “I can’t afford to waste my time making money.”

The truth is that none of us can afford to waste time seeking fortune, fame, or fun. We spend time wise only when we invest it in the pursuit of God’s purpose for our life—things of eternal value. Naturally that leaves room for a certain amount of time for rest and recreation, but we have to keep it all in proper balance. A life well-lived is determined by time well-spent. Don’t waste it! You use it or lose it.

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” Hosea 6:3

On this New Year’s Eve, you may be wondering what is going to happen. Years ago, some men were on a leaky old ship in the middle of a rough and stormy sea. One of them asked the captain, “Are we safe?”  He said, “Well, the boilers are weak and may explode at any moment. The ship is taking on water. To be very honest with you, we may go up, or we may go down, but at any rate, we are going on.”

And that’s the way we are as we face this new year. Jesus may come; we may go up. We may die, and go down and then up, but at any rate, we are going on.

Reflecting on this past year, allow the Holy Spirit to invade your heart, convicting and drawing you to Himself. Ask for wisdom, courage, and faith to continue on, whatever happens this next year!– Adrian Rogers

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.–Colossians 3:23

Maybe your name will never be in a book like Warren Wiersbe’s 50 People Every Christian Should Know. But you need to look at the servants between the pages of God’s Word to understand that a godly vision doesn’t require you to be well-known. You can live in obscurity and still have a great vision for living a Spirit-led life that is filled with purpose.

Countless people who were instrumental in God’s plan for redemption served without fanfare. Remember Simon who helped carry Jesus’ cross to Calvary? Or the women who served Jesus and his disciples as they ministered? How about the mother who made the lunch for her son that would unbelievably be multiplied to feed thousands?

Are you finding yourself in a routine — one that doesn’t include a vision for your role in the body of Christ? Each of us has abilities to accomplish much for God’s glory and for the lost in our world. You are not insignificant in God’s eyes. Tell Him that you want to share His vision for your life — it will be life-changing.–David Jeremiah

The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest — our best for His glory.
Oswald Chambers