EYES FIXED ON THE PIONEER AND PERFECTER OF FAITH

Mridula Narayan

Journalism and Mass Communication

SRM University

     

We've often heard some say that we need to call out to God in our bad times and thank God during the good times. In the good times, we tend to forget about God and we are happy and dependent on what he have. In the bad times, we cry out to God saying, “What's happening God”

The truth is God wants us to reach out to Him at all times, to acknowledge him at all times.

God is not interested in only giving us what we need, He is interested in being our everything in every moment of our life.

This is Gods will, His heart – to have us with him, in him and for him forever and ever.

The author of Hebrews portrays this heart of God beautifully in Hebrews 12 : 1 – 2 - “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run wit perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.....”

This faith is the promise God has given us from the beginning before the earth or anything in it was created – for which God sent his one and only Son to pay the price for us – to save us and take us home to eternity.

To reach the finish line the runner has to run the race, in the same way we need to run this race on this earth to reach our goal – eternity. And all we need to do is fix our eyes on Him who will perfect our faith to make us reach that goal, the place we belong.

Want to share two very important steps we need to take while running this race to fix our eyes on the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

1) We need to remember God is sovereign

1 Chronicles 29 : 11, 12  - Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

a) In the good times, it is so important that you remember God. You need to come to an understanding and remember that whatever you have and who you are is from God.

Nothing that you do or you say or you feel can get you to where you are. But it is His grace and his grace in abundance that has given you the strength to do what he wants you to do and be who you are.

He created the way you look and He gives you the ability to do what you have to do because you are his child.

When you know you belong to Him, you will know everything belongs to Him.

b) And in the tough times, it is equally important for us to remember God. To remember that our God is sovereign over all that is in us and around us.

He is not only a God who has control over the good but he also has control over the bad. He holds the whole world in His hands.

You need to remember that the storm doesn't control what God can do in your life, God controls what the storm can do in your life.

No matter what you face, an undecided future, an unstable present or an unpleasant past, you can soar over it by knowing and remembering that the one who holds you is sovereign over all.

2) We need to be thankful in all the circumstances

For this very reason, Paul tells the Thessalonian church in 1 Thessalonians 5 :16-18 to rejoice always, pray continually, and then to give thanks to God in all circumstances.

a) When you know all that you have is His and he is sovereign over all, you will know that he has selflessly given you all that you need for each day. So thankfulness is bound to overflow from your heart.

This realization of the selfless love of God and His sovereignty will put away every pride of your heart and even in the highest peaks of your life thankfulness will abound out of gratitude towards God.

Thanking God will no more be a staple part of your prayer, but it will be an overflow of gratefulness to God.

b) Again, even in the times when the world around is crumbling down, you are facing tough situations and victory seems impossible, knowing that God is sovereign over the everything will turn your sorrow into joy and confusion to peace.

This joy and peace cannot well up to anything but thankfulness, which will overflow from your heart even in the midst of the storm.

GIVE THANKS EVEN WHEN EVERYTHING FALLS APART, BECAUSE HE IS STILL IN CONTROL

So, it's not only in the good times that we thank God or it's not only in the tough times that we acknowledge God – this is not what God has asked us to do. Instead He wants us to be with him in every step of our life – the good times and the bad times.

This is God's will that we thank Him in every moment of our life by realizing that He is in complete control of everything.

TAKING A STAND FOR CHRIST

Bittu M Mathew

Architecture

Batch of 2013

‘Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.’  – 1 Corinthians 7:17

‘You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.’  – 1 Corinthians 7:23

Jesus Christ took up the price of our sins and paid it in full because He loves us so much, the least we can do is trust Him and walk in His will.

In this present age where we cannot avoid isolation from the world, we all will definitely come across situations where we will have to take a firm stand for what we believe in.                                   

We need to take a stand when it comes to                                                                               

TRUTH...

’Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.’ – Hebrews 3:1

‘But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.’ – Galatians 1:8

As a chosen people for Christ, it is our responsibility to hold onto the Gospel that has been entrusted to us. Being careful that we don’t give in to any false teachings or compromise on the truth, for we believe Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life!

TEMPTATIONS…

‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.’  – James 4:7,8

We are not going to be free from temptations but God can help us say no to the temptations. It is when we give in to our temptations that we end up sinning.

 STRUGGLES OF LIFE…

‘The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all’ – Psalms 34:

‘We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.’ – 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Our journey in this world will take us along paths that are painful, that seem hopeless or that make you feel like you’ve been waiting forever but this is where our faith needs to be a strong foundation that doesn’t shatter. God gives us the strength to move through it, trusting Him. When our eyes are on Him, we realise that there is something that God knows which we don’t know yet.

WITH FRIENDS...

 ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ – 1 Corinthians 15:33

‘Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you, Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ – 1 Corinthians 15:58

We may look like fools to our friends when we refuse to be part of some unfruitful, worldly activities but as Christians it is our responsibility to be the light wherever we are. To fit into this world we needn’t compromise on what we believe in but instead when we take a stand even when no one supports us, it will definitely get our friends’ attention and we might sow a seed this way.

AT HOME…

‘No-one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.’ – Luke 18:29, 30

When we are at home, it maybe that mostly there is no one to be accountable to and we might feel like letting go of certain decisions we had taken as a Christian. We need to live as a Christian not only when we are around believers but every moment of our lives. We should be conscious that our lives are supposed to be testimonies, light in the midst of darkness.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO TAKE A STAND:

‘All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.’  – Mark 13:13

CONSISTENT & PERSISTENT WITH PRAYERS AND WORD OF GOD…

‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’  – Hebrews 4:14-16

It is only with God’s help that we can take a stand in any situation, it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the boldness and wisdom at all instances.

Jesus Christ was a man of prayers on earth and also he lived according to the scriptures. We also read that Jesus Christ went through temptations and trials as all humans but yet He was sinless, He overcame the world.

Having set an example for us this is exactly what we need to do, we cannot expect to be strong to take a stand for God is we don’t take time to pray and read His word, this strengthens us with hope and promises of God. The Bible also shows us people of God who took a stand for God in different situations. (Hebrews 11)

DECISIONS & SACRIFICES…

God loves us so much that He doesn’t force us but lets us make our choices, but it is our responsibility to make sure we do what is right in God’s sight.

We have to choose to follow the principles of the Bible in our lives; this may lead us to make certain sacrifices. It may be acceptance from people, letting go of our comfort zone or things that were part of our lives etc.

Let us take a stand for God and move on to be the reflection of Christ in this world!

‘

May our Lord Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.’  – 2Thessalonian 2:16,17

                                                                                                                                                            GOD BLESS YOU!!