Saturday April 10th, 2021
Memorize: Philippians 2:5 NIV
« In your relationship with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus »
Read: Hebrews 2:9-18 GNT; Hebrews 3:1
9 But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels,
so that through God’s grace He should die for everyone.
We see him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death He suffered.
10 It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering,
in order to bring many children to share his glory. For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation.
11 He purifies people from their sins,
and both He and those who are made pure all have the same Father.
That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his family.
12 He says to God,
“I will tell my people what you have done;
I will praise You in their meeting.”
13 He also says,
“I will put my trust in God.”
And He also says,
“Here I am with the children that God has given me.”
14 Since the children, as He calls them, are people of flesh and blood,
Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature.
He did this so that through His death He might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death,
15 and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.
16 For it is clear that it is not the angels that He helps.
Instead, he helps the descendants of Abraham.
17 This means that he had to become like his people in every way,
in order to be their faithful and merciful High Priest in His service to God,
so that the people’s sins would be forgiven.
18 And now he can help those who are tempted, because He himself was tempted and suffered.
Hebrews 3:1NLT
And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.
Message:
Today, let us reflect on some of the benefits of looking unto Jesus.
Hebrews 4:15 CEV
« Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because He was tempted in every way that we are. But He did not sin! »
And He delivered everyone who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
One of the reasons why our Lord took on the form of man was to lay down a pattern of life that would always serve as a perfect example for us to look up to.
Although He experienced everything we go through as humans, He triumphed over all.
Following His example will therefore cause us to triumph over every trial and temptation we will face in this world.
He is the only human figure we can completely pattern our lives after and still live acceptable before the Almighty Father.
One virtue of His that we must definitely follow is the virtue of endurance in the face of trials and temptations.
The Holy Spirit counsels us to practice this virtue in order to avoid experiencing weariness in our soul and spirit.
Speaking in Hebrews 12:3 CEV He said:
« So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up. »
When we are focused on living as Christ lived, we would not be deterred by what the ungodly do to us.
Our Lord says in to us in John 15:18-19 NLT
18 “If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me (Jesus) first.
19 If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own.
But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.
Don’t be discouraged when your boss maltreats you because you refuse to sleep with him based on your Christian conviction, or when your colleagues hate you because you refuse to go along with their plan to steal from the company. You have already been forewarned of their hostility by the Master, who Himself also endured the “contradiction of sinner”.
Lastly, we must focus on Jesus because He is our role model in leadership, giving and love.
He established His leadership by serving us, and He gave us His very best by laying down His life as a ransom for our salvation (John 13:1-17, John 10:10-18).
As you begin to focus your gaze upon Jesus from today, I pray that God will help you in Jesus’ Name.
Action point: We are commanded to look up to Jesus and not to any other person or instructions.
Author: Pst E. A Adeboye
Text edited by Naomie
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