8-25-2019

Good Morning All,

Hebrews 12:2; “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

    Some of you may remember when Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992.  I remember James Carville.  He was a campaign strategist who has a very unique character and is interesting to listen to.  Whether you are on his side are against him, he is entertaining to watch and listen to.

    During the 1992 campaign, Clinton was trying to unseat President George H. W. Bush.  The Democratic campaign was stuck and spinning its wheels.  They were having a hard time focusing on an issue.  Then, during one of these meetings, Carville gives them three choices to focus on and it was the last one which resonated then and, to a certain extent, today.  He decided, “It’s the economy, stupid!” 

    Once they found their focus; the Democrats went on to win rather easily.  But they had to find their focus and their main selling point.  What was the main point that the Democrats wanted the people to go home with?  What was the one thing that the Democrats wanted the voter to recall?  Once they decided on that; they went with it full bore.

    You can almost sense the writer of Hebrews doing the same thing here in the beginning of his letter.  He does it for a different reason than trying to get attention; he does it so that we are not distracted by the cares and struggles of the world.  He wants us to always look forward and upward to Jesus; not just as example but as the source (pioneer) and the completion (perfecter) of our faith.  Faith which looks to Jesus for life, hope and peace.  That is the central point of our faith.  We can talk about many issues or concerns but our focus is, should, and always will be Jesus Christ.

    We let too many issues cloud our mind and fog our thinking.  How does this work?  Why is this the way it is?  What does this mean?  We battle them and then a few months, weeks, days or even moments; these issues are gone but Jesus Christ always remain.  The devil loves to play the game where we have a “crisis of the week” it really should be viewed as a “crisis of the weak”.  We can get too involved in stuff that has no real value.  We need to focus on what matters and that is Jesus Christ. 

    Jesus is the rock upon which we are built.  He is the one truth in a world that knows no truth.  We only need to focus on Him and Him alone.  Jesus is the reason for our hope and the completion of that hope.

Dearest Father, keep us safe within your arms today as we go about our life.  Remind us that in this world there are many questions, trials and troubles.  Help us to see that they only bring us closer to you.  Help us to focus on Jesus Christ and him alone.  In His precious name we pray, amen.  

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret