Bible League: Living His Word . . . looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter 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.Hebrews Chapter 11 gives us a list of heroes of faith that is meant to inspire us to walk in the same faith as they did. In Chapter 12, however, we are given one final example of faith. We are given Jesus, the hero who is the very "founder and perfecter of our faith." As such, Jesus is worthy of being dealt with in a separate treatment apart from the other heroes. Jesus is the founder (or "author") and perfecter (or "finisher") of our faith because He is from first to last the archetypal example of what it means to have faith in God. His faith, to put it another way, supersedes the faith of any of the previously mentioned heroes of faith and serves as the preeminent and perfect example as a result. We should look to Jesus, therefore, before we look to any of the other heroes. The faith of the other heroes, exemplary though it is, is not comparable to the matchless faith of Jesus. The main reason that Jesus holds this exalted position in the hall of the heroes of faith is that He was able by faith to see past the horror of the cross to the joy that was in store for Him. Jesus believed there would be great joy at the right hand of the throne of God and that there would be great joy for having saved the whole creation. Given His faith, Jesus was able to bear the pain, suffering, and shame of the events associated with His trial and crucifixion. Indeed, Jesus did more than bear them. He "despised the shame." Instead of allowing the shame and everything else to inhabit and overwhelm His soul, He despised them by refusing to give them entrance into His sense of himself. By faith Jesus overcame the shame and He now sits in the place of highest honor in heaven and earth. In the world of trouble we live in we may be going through many things that we would rather not be going through. Like our hero Jesus, however, there are great rewards set before us that we will obtain if we overcome by faith just as He did. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 112-115 Psalm 112 -- Blessed is the man who fears the Lord NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 113 -- Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 114 -- When Israel went forth out of Egypt NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 115 -- Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 1 1 Corinthians 1 -- Greetings and Thanksgiving; Exhortation to Unity; We preach Christ crucified NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand.Insight Just as a shepherd protects his sheep, Jesus protects his people from eternal harm. While believers can expect to suffer on earth, Satan cannot harm their souls or take away their eternal life with God. There are many reasons to be afraid here on earth because this is the devil's domain. Challenge But if you choose to follow Jesus, he will give you everlasting safety. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Micah 5:4 He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord.Christ's reign in his Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; he commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness. His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and feed." The great Head of the Church is actively engaged in providing for his people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in government. No, he stands and feeds. The expression "feed," in the original, is like an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed. His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and feed;" not "He shall feed now and then, and leave his position;" not, "He shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave his Church to barrenness." His eyes never slumber, and his hands never rest; his heart never ceases to beat with love, and his shoulders are never weary of carrying his people's burdens. His reign is effectually powerful in its action; "He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that he who stands today representing the interests of his people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before him as the people of his pasture. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Peter 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;1 Thessalonians 2:11,12 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, • so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; Ephesians 5:8-11 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light • (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), • trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. • Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; Philippians 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |