Beloved Brothers and Sisters
Hebrews 12:1-3
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Do we have a “for the joy set before” us kind of faith in the midst of life’s trials and suffering? Should we? If we should, why don’t we?
Jesus was able to endure the unimaginable suffering, the inconceivable shame, of lowering Himself and bearing the sin of the world because He had faith in the promise of His eternal Father that on the other side of the trial there was such glory and honor to be found that even this hard path would be a joy. There was not pleasure in the suffering, yet there was joy; His faith in the promise of the Father gave Him joy through any and every trial this world could throw at Him.
Paul understood this kind of faith-wrought joy well.
Romans 8:16–18
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to compare with the glory ahead. That is precisely what I mean by having a “for the joy set before” kind of faith. Apart from faith you would have to be completely mad to have joy in the midst of suffering and pain; in Christ, however, joy in all things is a mark of true spiritual sanity.
If we suffer with Him we will be glorified with Him. We will get a lot more about this on Sunday. As we prepare our hearts for what God will teach us when we gather together in worship, consider the attitude of Christ, the attitude mirrored by Paul, and pray that God would teach us to live “for the joy set before” us.
In Case You Missed It
This past Sunday we heard the second part (of three) of Maximizing the Glory of the Triune God and His People Through Suffering: God the Son, from our series walking through the book of Hebrews. This Sunday we will look at how our path to glory is the same path that the pioneer of our faith Himself took on His way to His glory.
After the sermon, we took some time to teach on an important issue in the worship of our fellowship. We talked about Christian Order in Worship. There are many issues that will seek to disrupt the unity in our body. It is our intention that we would address any of these that may come up and actively fight for unity and peace. We cannot afford to wait until something has already robbed us of our unity; we must be actively seeking out those potential hazards and defending against them.
Scripture Reading and Prayer
In order to promote unity of heart and mind among us, we are encouraging as many as are willing to join with us in reading through the entire Bible this year together, as well as devoting specific Scriptures to prayer each day. It is our prayer that as we meditate and pray over the same Scriptures each day, that God will work in our midst to bind us to one another, and to give us a common vision for the ministry here in Maynardville. Prayerfully consider joining with us in this endeavor, and we will see how God will work in our midst.
Our Scriptures to pray over this week are:
- Thur (3/13): Ps 37:4; Ps 1:2; 16:11
- Fri (3/14): Ps 27:4; Ps 27:8
- Sat (3/15): Ps 42:1
- Sun (3/16): Ps 63:1-3
- Mon (3/17): Ps 51:17; Heb 13:15; Ps 51:51
- Tue (3/18): Heb 12:1-2
- Wed (3/19): Heb 13:20-21
- Thur (3/20): Luk 17:5; Mk 9:24b
Our Scripture reading schedule for the week is:
- Thur (3/13): Num 19:1-20:29; Lk 1:1-25; Ps 56:1-13; Pr 11:8
- Fri (3/14):Num 21:1-22:20; Lk 1:26-56; Ps 57:1-11; Pr 11:9-11
- Sat (3/15): Num 22:21-23:30; Lk 1:57-80; Ps 58:1-11; Pr 11:12-13
- Sun (3/16): Num 24:1-25:18; Lk 2:1-35; Ps 59:1-17; Pr 11:14
- Mon (3/17): Num 26:1-51; Lk 2:36-52; Ps 60:1-12; Pr 11:15
- Tue (3/18): Num 26:52-28:16; Lk 3:1-22; Ps 61:1-8; Pr 11:16-17
- Wed (3/19): Num 28:16-29:40; Lk 3:23-38; Ps 62:1-12; Pr 11:16-19
- Thur (3/20): Num 30:1-31:54; Lk 4:1-30; Ps 63:1-11; Pr 11:20-21
With Love and Affection in Christ,
Caleb
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