Month: June 2016

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Our Jesus, Our Champion And Example

7th June

“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 honour beside God’s throne.”
Hebrews 12:2


Have you ever been so expectant of something, so excited to do or receive something, that the days waiting for it just seems like seconds? The power of excited expectancy can almost make the pain of waiting fall into nothingness. As we discussed yesterday, it was the joy of Jesus completing His mission and the joy of our restored relationship with God that gave Jesus the strength to persevere through the pain, suffering and the cross’ shame. However, Jesus’ perseverance was also to set us an example too.

We too can be excited and wait in anticipation for the great return of Jesus. We too await eternity in Heaven where there will be no pain, suffering or sorrow. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to do so. He says that we should fix our eyes on Jesus and not on our present sorrows and pains. Just as Jesus disregarded the shame of the cross, exchanging it for the joy ahead, we too should not get caught up in earthly disappointments but persevere in patience and joy, looking ahead to Jesus’ return and eternity with Him.

Yet there is more good news. We too can access Jesus now. We can access Heaven on earth today. Jesus Himself prayed ‘let Your will be done on Heaven and it is on earth’. We can access the joy of the Lord today. We can access His beautiful presence now. We can see a glimpse of Heaven on earth when we invite Jesus into our lives, in our prayer times and when we experience His tangible presence.

Jesus is our Champion, He set the standard. As we patiently wait for Christ’s return, let us fix our eyes on Him, who has gone before us in victory. May He give us the strength and patience to endure life’s hardship but also help us to live in victory here and now.

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Jesus’ Joy

6th June

“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 honour beside God’s throne.”
Hebrews 12:2


What was the joy that awaited Jesus? His joy was so great that it gave Him power to endure the suffering He went through on the cross, disregarding the shame of being punished a criminal on the cursed tree, and strength to endure the ridicule, pain and torture He went through!

Jesus’ joy was that God could finally and eternally have an intimate relationship with us, by Jesus finishing the race, persevering to the end and completing the commission given to Him by the Father. God has always wanted a relationship with mankind. He walked freely with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, talking with them face to face. Yet because Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, the intimacy could no longer remain, as God is perfect and Adam and Eve’s sins made them imperfect. Yet that all changed when a perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb, our Champion, laid down His life for us and made a way that God could once more have a relationship with us, His people. He no longer sees our imperfection, but looks at what Jesus did for us on the cross. There He sees perfection.

Jesus’ joy was knowing that His sacrifice would once more restore the severed relationship between God and man. Jesus’ joy was knowing that He was going to finish His ‘race’ for us, to pay the cost for our sins. His joy was birthed from His love for us. Jesus is our Champion.

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Thirsty Hearts

4th & 5th June

Weekend Edition

“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Ephesians 5:2


We seek solace in physical comforts and people, forgetting that every sip of water and experience is a dim reflection of the eternal life and everlasting love Christ offers us. Our need for love is like our need for water: continuous. A single cup of water will not sustain us for a month, and a single experience of friendship will not sustain us for a lifetime. We long for more, wanting to know we are loved and valued.

When Jesus met the woman at the well, He spoke to her of life-giving water: drink once and be satisfied forever. This water would quench her thirst and become “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14b). Jesus was offering Himself—all she had to do was ask. How often do we go through the day, forgetting to invite Jesus in? Jesus desires to satisfy our deepest needs and transform us to become like Him, bringing life and hope wherever we go.1

As we walk more in who we are Him, as we fill ourselves with His everlasting and eternal ‘water’, we begin to be transformed into His likeness and washed clean from our sinful nature’s. Today reach out to God and asked Him to fill your life with more of Him.

1Today’s message is taken from turning point, May 31st

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Eyes Fixed On Him

3rd June

“But my eyes are fixed on You, Sovereign Lord; in You I take refuge – do not give me over to death.”

Psalm 141:8 (NIV)

Who is your refuge and safety in? Circumstance? Job or life stability? Wealth? Relationships? Of course it is true that all those things are important, yet each one is only temporary and can never fully satisfy. Does wealth come to your help when you are going through emotional pains? Does having a stable job protect you from danger? Do relationships give you eternal life? The truth is, as David writes, that it is only in our Sovereign Lord that our refuge can be found. It is only our hope and trust in Jesus that can truly satisfy, protect and lead us into an everlasting life in God’s presence. David knew that when troubles came, his hope was found in God and nothing else. He fixed his eyes on God, because he knew that is where his help came from. He knew he could cry out to God and God would be his refuge.

Today if you are seeking help for something, then please, fix your eyes on Jesus, the only One who can truly comfort, provide and lead you into all hope. May today’s verse comfort you, and help you to re-align your focus. May the below song lyrics also be a comfort for you too.

God I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from
Give me wisdom; You know just what to do

I will love You Lord my strength
I will love You Lord my shield
I will love You Lord my rock forever
All my days I will love You God

Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Forever all my days Hallelujah1

1Song lyrics taken from Bethel Church, God I Look To You

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Light Switch

2nd June

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6

In the beginning the world was dark and void until God’s words flipped a switch and there was light. While it may be hard to imagine a world without light, we have experienced other types of darkness: discouragement, disappointment, and sorrow to name a few.

Trusting God in the darkness is difficult. We pray for Him to instantly change our circumstances; and while He sometimes does, we often find ourselves waiting for Him in a hard place. Paul was familiar with waiting and challenges. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Paul describes being persecuted and struck down. Instead of requiring God to intervene with a bright light from heaven, which he had experienced before on the road to Damascus, Paul patiently relied on God to sustain him. Although unseen, God’s goodness, presence, and strength were at work. Paul knew that having God in his life was enough. God was all the light he needed.1

Even in the dark times, God is still the light that leads us to safety and hope. May we trust in His guidance, trust that He is the light of the world, and trust that His light live in our lives.

1Taken from David Jeremiah, Daily devotions, 1st June 2016