It was the vision of this finish line that carried him through the suffering and shame. We see a few clauses later that this reward was his being “seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” This was where he fixed his gaze. The text says of Jesus’s own forerunning: “for the joy set before him.” There is a parallel in this passage between where we look in our running and where Jesus looked in his. Looking to anything else will eventually be exposed as the hollow pursuit it is. Forget the consuming aim to leave a respectable “spiritual legacy.” Of all the good things we could focus on and draw energy from, Jesus demands our exclusive gaze.
Looking to him means we turn our backs on all the other stuff. When we look to Jesus, it means we are not looking at anything else. One Bible scholar notes that the original language here carries the meaning of “looking away from all others toward one.” We lean on him.Īnother aspect embedded in this idea of looking to Jesus is that we look without distractions. We can stand and run this race only because he gave it all - his blood, his love, his Spirit alive in us. He is the one who by his life has given us life (John 5:21), and has sent the Spirit - the Helper - to be with us forever (John 14:16). He has left us an example that we might follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).Īs our help, Jesus is the one from whom we draw power. He has lived faithfully in this world, trusting the Father and yielding to his will. As an example, Jesus is the forerunner who has charted the course.
Jesus is our encouragement in this race, both as our example and as our help. The word translated “looking” in Hebrews 12:2 has the idea of zeroing our gaze on something with confidence.
But what does that mean? What does it mean to look to Jesus and offer our hearts completely to him? We run the race of faith looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith. And in verse 2 he tells us how: looking to Jesus. The writer to the Hebrews has encouraged us to run the race of faith with endurance (Hebrews 12:1). And in a sense, it’s the same way in the Christian life. And it was only this picture - this goal - that fueled me forward. I had to envision crossing the finish line on lap four. It was one, then two, then - when is this going to end? After practicing and failing enough times, I figured out that the best way to get it done was to imagine the destination. At least in baseball there is a home, and once you hit a base you don’t go back. The hard part for me was the four (seemingly meaningless) circles. All winter long hopeful players would train for “the 6:30.”īut I never really liked running, especially not around a track.
#THE STAND HILLSONG CHORDS A HOW TO#
He knew how to win and was well respected, and since he had set the 6:30 rule early in his career, it had become something of an adage in our community. In order to play baseball at my high school you had to run a mile in under six minutes and thirty seconds. You are a true blessing for so many of us that have a passion to serve our Lord through music….Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Now that I can actually play some worship songs, I have literally been moved to tears of joy (and also filled with laughter!) as I play because of finally being able to worship God in the way that I have strongly desired to do for so long… I can only pray that God will use me to touch the lives of others in the same way that you have…. I had been learning all the basics with note reading and chords, but had not been able to pull it all together and actually be able to play worship songs, until through your lessons, I found out how easy it truly can be! Within days I have already learned more than I have in months of practice on my own, and I am truly singing praises to our God for the gifts He has placed within you for bringing us such clear and detailed, but easy, guidance in learning worship guitar. By the grace of God, I have made such great progress in obtaining a dream that He has placed deep within my heart to lead worship within my prison ministry and small group bible study, and having the guidance I received from your worship guitar lessons has played a huge part in that progress as well. I can’t thank you enough for all the amazing guitar lessons and support I’ve received from you and your video lessons.
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