Today’s Devotion
Topic: Christ Our Perfect Example, Hope and Reward.
Text: Hebrews 12: 2 (Amp)
Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Amen
We all love to be appreciated and have people who inspire us, but we must be careful not to make the recognition we receive from other men be the standard for our lives. The only standard for we Christians is Jesus Christ.
Every one of us, (including our mentors, pastors, parents, lecturers and counsellors) have shortcomings that sometimes threaten our position in Christ, granting the undeniable possibility that men disappoint us at any given time. The reason the Bible entreats us in Psalm 118:8 that, it is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
We cannot place demands on men who are frail and limited in their own lives to be our help and give us hope. The results of doing that will be disappointments and offences. That is a danger to us (Jeremiah 17:5). Our focus should be on Jesus Christ. He is our perfect example, our hope and our reward.
There are some of us (believers) today who do not want to fellowship or be committed to church anymore because all their labour in the house of God were not duely acknowledged. Others feel the church never helped when they were in need. Yet a few more felt too disappointed to recover because a mentor or christian leader they looked up to, did something morally wrong.
Beloved, we can’t back down on our faith and covenant due to the above excuses. Our attitude as Christians should not be based on the behavior of others. We are to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. For He (Himself) endured all kinds of humiliations but refused to let them discourage Him. Now He is seated at the right hand of God interceeding for us.
When our incentive is God and we know that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, what other people do to us will not cause us to lose our first love. We may be hurt initially but when we remember that Christ is our reward, we cannot relent, we will only match forward.
If God will bless you, the opinions of men won’t count. The more reason why we should set our minds on imitating Jesus, putting our trust in Him and looking to Him for fulfilled life. He is perfect.
Always remember that the only way to a successful and fulfilled Christian life is when we make Jesus the center of our gaze and not men. Begin to pray now. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and continually remind you that Jesus is and should be the reason for our faith and actions. He never disappoints; He never fails; HE’S PERFECT! Ask those who have tried Him.
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