During his 100 years of life, renowned photographer Stanley Troutman has witnessed some profound events. In 1945, as a US Navy photographer, Troutman was deployed to Germany and Japan where he captured on film some of the most poignant images of World War II. After the war, as the official sports photographer for a large university, this believer in Jesus saw and documented amazing athletic feats.
Both experiences caused Stanley Troutman to recognize that in this complex world, the only way to steadily “run with endurance the race God has set before us” is by “keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Seeing the world through a camera lens can reveal much about people’s hearts, their ambitions, and the times we live in. When we focus on Jesus and God’s wisdom found in Scripture, however, we can also see a Savior who calls us to “take a new grip” with our tired hands and to find strength for our “weak knees” in Him (Hebrews 12:12).
Jesus meets us in life’s battlefields and arenas—inviting us to look to Him, the only One who “endured the cross, disregarding its shame” and who embraced hostility from sinful people on our behalf so that we “[wouldn’t] become weary and give up” as we live out His calling for our lives (Hebrews 12:2-3).
God graciously invites us to cast our eyes on Jesus and encourages us to “mark out a straight path for [our] feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong” (Hebrews 12:13). Through Christ, “We are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, [so] let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe” (Hebrews 12:28).
Today, may we fix our eyes on Jesus and see all of life through the lens of His love.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 5:31-48
More:
Read 2 Corinthians 5:7 in light of Hebrews 12:2 and consider what it means to keep your eyes on Jesus and not on what you see in this world.
Next:
How can you see challenging people and situations in life the way Jesus does? What in your life needs to change for you to see Christ more clearly?
ericjohnallas on June 30, 2017 at 3:10 am
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Heb 12:2
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2Cor 4:18
For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor 5:7
One word that sets us on Holy and Devouring Fire is FIX. What happens when we fix iur eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, perfecter, Champion of FAITH??
– Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:29
But when Peter did not fix his eye to Jesus he began to sink but Jesus wants to perfet Peter’s faith so He reached out and save Peter. After several years when tha church is persecuted Peter Fixed his eye on Jesus who is in Heaven is willing to follow him to the point of death so he would glorify God
But when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
John 21:18-19
– Acts of the Apostles 7:59-60
[59]As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
[60]He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
Stephen fixed his eye on Jesus even on death he prayed for forgiveness to his persecuter.
Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus could have turned back for that hour but Jesus Himself the perfecter of our faith fixed his eye on God the father by praying, and He submitted to the will of God the father.
When we fix our eye on Jesus we will see and we will Know that He is our Lord our God who will strengthen is to do which is imposible to man but possible for we will see He is with us He will never leave us nor forsake us He will always be with us to the end.
Psalms 25:15
My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
And we can pray as Jehoshaphat did:
For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
2 Ch 20:12
And God Himself will go before us, He will fight for us through Him by fixing our eye on Jesus we are victorious. He will give us victory….
To God be the glory the champion who overcomes the world.
Revelation 12:11
They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Gary Shultz on June 30, 2017 at 5:55 am
Hi Roxanne: Challenging questions. From the garden itself life was meant to be a walk of faith. What did God say, do I, will I, believe it. And that brings us to the peel on the banana, We hear about God and what He has to say and reason it must be true, but we must peel back understanding to get to the fruit of what God said, real faith. Then, I believe what God has said, and I want to follow it. And if I read this correctly, we need but one more step. From obedience, which is right and good, to having the mind of Christ. Being able to see in love what Christ sees, being able to see past the human peel to find seeds for that soul. This is our grandest call to be like Jesus, in action, deed and thought. As you know Roxanne, that requires being “tight” with God. That is the flow of the Spirit though us, being seen as God’s direct representative. It takes a holy walk and unwavering faith and trust in what God said. Thanks Roxanne
don777 on June 30, 2017 at 7:05 am
Keep our eyes & heart focused on Jesus everyday all day, walking toward Him. When my eyes get diverted or detracted i drift off the path into the wilderness. It is much easier to walk on a path than in the wilderness. the terrain can get pretty rough. Even though it can be tough on the path, the JOY of the Lord is my Strength. +>i
Tom Felten on June 30, 2017 at 8:30 am
Roxanne, it’s so helpful for us to view God correctly. As the writer of Hebrews said, to view Him with “holy fear and awe.” Standing in awe of His transcendence makes the reality of His immanence so much for powerful and meaningful.
mike h. on June 30, 2017 at 9:48 am
Roxanne, are you ever afraid in Uganda? Instability and bloodshed seem to be the norm in Africa. I have been afraid all of my life even though I have usually been able to cover it up in the many rough places that I have been in. I admire people like you but for me living the Christian life has been just an unfulfilled longing. It is so easy to be a Christian when among Christians, but facing people in the real world monday morning whose hostility and pain makes them target you…….I just have never been able to beat that. It has made me angry, reclusive, and bitter. I no longer can face the church ritual as it has become just a frustration and reminder of another failure. I know that people there, in their real lives, with rare exceptions, are pretty much just like everybody else. We spent a lot of time looking holy for each other and then joined the herd afterwards. Mike H.