RETURNING MY EYES TO THE SAVIOR

“Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for Him, He thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and He is now seated at the right side of God's throne.”  (Hebrews 12:2 GNT)

With the arrival of Advent, Christians everywhere turn again towards the Savior. Advent marks the beginning of the celebration of His birth and His long-foretold ministry, atonement, death, resurrection and second coming. If Advent is an occasion when I return my eyes to the Savior, then it is also an invitation to consider where my eyes -- and my heart -- have been in the meantime. Advent is the gentle nudge that invites me to remember that the truth most worth knowing is that Jesus Christ is the only way Home. It is also a gentle reminder that I ought to keep my eyes upon Him all year long.  

-- Jean-Michel Hansen

#6257

LOOK AT JESUS

Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  (John 17:1-3 NIV)

If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what it means to be human, look at Jesus. If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what grief is, look at Jesus. [If you want to know who understands your suffering, look at Jesus.] And go on looking until you’re not just a spectator, but you’re actually part of the drama which has Him as the central character. 

– Adapted from N. T. Wright

#5692

PRESSING FORWARD IN THE NEW YEAR

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13b-14  NIV)

It is a mistake to be always turning back to recover the past.  The law for Christian living is not backward, but forward; not for experiences that lie behind, but for doing the will of God, which is always ahead and beckoning us to follow. Leave the things that are behind, and reach forward to those that are before, for on each new height to which we attain, there are the appropriate joys that befit the new experience. Don't fret because life's joys are fled. There are more in front. Look up, press forward, the best is yet to be! 

-- F. B. Meyer from "Our Daily Walk" in “Christianity Today”, Vol. 40, no. 1. 

#5257

FOCUSED ON JESUS

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  (Hebrews 12:1b-2a NIV)

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little daughter, Vanessa.  Finally, he tore a sheet out of his magazine on which was printed the map of the world.  Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Vanessa, and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together."

After a few minutes, Vanessa returned and handed him the map correctly fitted together.  The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly.

"Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then the world came together." 

-- Unknown

#4842

LOOK TO JESUS

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”  (Psalm 56:3)

We all have sleepless nights, don’t we? Tossing and turning. Looking at the clock and seeing it’s barely moved. Stressing because we know we need sleep if we’re going to make it through the next day.

How often do you lie there anxious about situations you can’t do anything about? Jesus tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubles. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” (John 14:1) The answer to fear… is faith. When you’re fearful for a loved one or fearful about some event coming up in your life, you can be comforted and calmed as you think about who God is. Then, as you focus on the attributes of God, your faith is planted in Someone bigger than your fears.

The next time fear overwhelms you, look for a Scripture verse that underscores God’s character. And consider who He is. Don’t look to your problem. Look to Jesus [“the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 NRSV)].

-- Anne Graham Lotz in “Fixing My Eyes on Jesus” 

#4821

TURNING TO JESUS IN OUR PAIN

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”  (Isaiah 53:3 NIV)

We may not get the answer to the problem of pain that we want from Jesus.  We get instead the mysterious confirmation that God suffers with us.  We are not alone.  Jesus bodily reconstructs trust in God.  Because of Jesus, I can trust that God truly understands my condition.  I can trust that I matter to God, and that God cares, regardless of how things look to me at the time.  When I begin to doubt, I turn again to the face of Jesus, and there I see the compassionate love of a God well acquainted with grief.

-- Philip Yancey in “The Bible Jesus Read”

#4195

FACING IMMOVABLE MOUNTAINS

Jesus told them, "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."  (Matthew 17:20 NLT)

If you are facing a problem that seems as big and immovable as a mountain, turn your eyes from the mountain and look to Christ for more faith. Only then will you be able to overcome the obstacles that may stand in your way.

-- Life Application Bible


#4191

ADVENT LISTENING AND LOOKING

I once saw a quote -- maybe it was on a bumper sticker -- that went something like this: “If you feel distant from God, just ask yourself, ‘Who moved?’” If God seems hidden to us, maybe it is because we have stopped looking for God in the midst of our daily lives. In the Scriptures, heaven is not a far away place “way beyond the blue” as the old song says; but rather it is God’s realm, God’s dwelling, and it is quite near to us. All we need to do is put down the mirror and open a window in the relationship God wants to share with us. Rather than a booming shout from the clouds, God more often is revealed in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV). We can hear if we are focused enough to listen.

Advent reminds us, too, that if we want to see the face of the hidden God, we do not do so by looking up for a heavenly sound or light spectacular. Rather, we find it by looking into the dark recesses of a stable and into the eyes of a humble, helpless child.

-- Robert Kaylor in Come to the Manger

#3994

THE MARKS OF THE CROSS

I have seen the marks of the cross upon Him, and by His grace the marks of the cross have been put upon me and I am no longer my own; I am bought with a price, redeemed by His precious blood. Yes, I have seen Him - not in the outward physical sense only, but in the inward sense of a deep spiritual reality. I have had a clear view of Jesus and my life will never be the same again.

-- Alan Redpath

#3756

FOCUS IS THE KEY TO RENEWAL

Renewal happens as the church moves from a vague theism to a clear faith in Jesus Christ. The focus of the church is not the church, but Jesus Christ! God is made known to us in Christ. Faith comes alive in Christ...

Renewal is much more than adding a little more Jesus to the mix. A little more Jesus won't work. Jesus has to be the absolute focus. It must be an all-or-nothing proposition. A clear focus on Jesus Christ as the object of faith and the cause of truth is the key to renewal.

-- Michael Slaughter in Beyond Playing Church

#3717

INCREASING FAITH

How then [are we] to have our faith increased? Only by thinking of all that Jesus is and all He is for us… He Himself as revealed in the Word to be subject of our thoughts. Not a striving to have faith, but a looking off to the Faithful One seems all we need; resting in the Loved One entirely, for time and for eternity.


-- John McCarthy, as quoted in Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor




#3703

THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS

NOTE: Yesterday was the 16^th anniversary of our SOUND BITES Ministry™.  It was begun on March 29, 1999, in memory of our son, Dustin, who had died on March 29, 1998. While today's quote is a repeat from over a year ago, it speaks to what I believe SOUND BITES is all about.

On this 16^th anniversary, as I have done each year, I invite you to share how SOUND BITES has ministered to you and how you have used SOUND BITES to minister to others. Since SOUND BITES is now available via e-mail, blog, Facebook, and Twitter, you are welcome to respond through any of those means.

Blessings…

Rev. Dave Wilkinson
SOUND BITES Ministry™

 

THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS

 

To make my mind a home for Jesus, I deliberately fill my mind with the kinds of things God says are important.  Paul puts it like this: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

 

We often want to be able to hear guidance from God about important decisions such as whom to marry or what job to take.  But we also want to reserve the right to feed our minds on whatever junk comes along.  Whatever repeatedly enters the mind occupies the mind, eventually shapes the mind, and will ultimately express itself in what you do and who you become.  The events we attend, the material we read (or don't), the music we listen to, the images we watch, the conversations we hold, the daydreams we entertain -- these are shaping our minds.  And ultimately they make our minds receptive or deaf toward the still small voice of God.

 

-- John Ortberg in God Is Closer Than You Think

 

 

#3625

LOOKING TO THE LORD

To You I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,...
so our eyes look to the Lord our God. (Psalm 123:1,2 NRSV)

The way each day will look to you all starts with Who you're looking to.

 

-- Unknown

 

 

#3216