Start with Prayer ~ Lord Jesus, You are seated there by God the Father—just waiting for Him to say it is time for You to call Your elect. Help me to be ready…to be worthy. I am so excited to be part of God’s family…Your family. Come quickly, Jesus.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge
crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that
slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run
with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes
on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy
awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in
the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured
from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you
have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. Hebrews
12:1-4Run the race...with endurance.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Meditate. On what are you keeping your eyes focused? Are you racing for a goal?
My eyes are on Jesus. He is amazing. He was willing to give
His very life for all of mankind. God the Father loved the people of the world
so much…but He didn’t want them to perish—to die forever…so He allowed His Son
to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. And Jesus agreed to do it—to lay
down His life for us. The author of this passage in Hebrews tells us that there
was joy awaiting Jesus. Is that joy the elation, the delight, the
sheer gladness that He has because He knows we are going to join Him in heaven
one day…that we will reign with Him someday—for a thousand years?
If we endure
hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. 2
Timothy 2:12
Blessed and holy are
those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no
power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him
a thousand years. Revelation 20:6 (Underlined for emphasis.)
The first resurrection… is the group of which we want
to be a part. Commentators of the Bible have indicated that group is the true
Christians, whereas the later resurrection after the Millennium will be
everyone else. You can read this clearly in the verse below.
This is the first
resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the
thousand years had ended.) Revelation 20:5
This group of people will reign with him…with
Christ! What an honor and a privilege. I feel honored to be part of God’s
family…and now to have this promise of reigning with Christ revealed to me is
totally joyous—almost overwhelming. If I’m feeling a bit down I can just focus—keep
my eyes on Jesus and on that promise—because we know that God keeps His promises.
I will not only see my Savior Jesus Christ—but I will serve Him in heaven and
on earth—possibly as a priest or king. I’ve been assured that gender doesn’t
matter in this aspect—we are children of the King—of the very God we serve. I’ve
thought for years my job in heaven would be planting and caring for pansy flowers
along the streets of golden bricks. Maybe not—that idea was just a dream
anyway. Ha!
Are you ready for Christ’s return? Jesus said—“You also
must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least
expected." Luke 12:40. Spiritually ready? Keep your account short—continually
repent as necessary. We are also admonished several times not to be deceived—so
keep watch and don’t let sin or deception keep your eyes off Jesus. Focus. Don’t
let sin trip you up.
Verses of Salvation ~ But tell me this—since we preach
that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no
resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then
Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all
our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all
be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But
that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no
resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has
not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your
sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our
hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in
the world. 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Memory Verse of the Week ~ “For I know the plans I
have for you,” says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for
disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M. Hunacek
Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character
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