FOCUS

Hebrews 12:1-2a,MSG: Do you see what this means all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it.

ADORATION

Hebrews 12:2b, MSG: Because he never lost sight of where he was headed that exhilarating finish in and with God he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.

CONFESSION

Hebrews 12:3-4, MSG: When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves.

THANKSGIVING

Hebrews 12:5-6, MSG: Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.

SUPPLICATION

Hebrews 12:7,10b-11, MSG: God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; its training, the normal experience of children. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.