Long Expected Devotional – Week 5
Sunday, December 31st
CONSIDER JESUS | HEBREWS 12
We have already been reminded in this Advent guide of the command in Hebrews to “consider Jesus” (Heb 12:3). And let’s face it, during a season like Christmas, when we’re surrounded by things that remind us of Him, it can be a little easier to consider Him.
As we pack up the nativity scenes, turn off the songs that filled our homes with joy-filled declarations of His arrival, and now shift our focus to a new year, It is easy to begin losing sight of Him. But the author of Hebrews makes it clear: to lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and to run the race before us with endurance, we must consider Jesus. We must direct the attention of our minds to Christ. Considering anyone or anything else will result in us growing weary and fainthearted.
This is not the only time in Scripture we are told to direct the attention of our minds towards the things of God. The Old Testament is filled with these commands: Deut 11:2, 32:7, 1 Sam 12:24, Job 37:14, Ps 90:11, 106:7, 107:43, 119:95 & 128, Eccl 7:13. Jesus Himself instructed us to consider the ravens and the lilies in order to remember God as provider (Lk 12:24 & 27). Recall Paul’s words to the Corinthians to “Take every thought captive to obey Christ’ (2 Cor 10:5) andhis words to the Colossians to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col 3:2).
John Piper once said: “The mind is the window of the heart. If we let our minds constantly dwell on the dark, the heart will feel dark. But if we open the window of our mind to the light, the heart will feel the light.”
To set our minds on things of the flesh is to set our hearts on death. But to set our minds on the things of God is to set our hearts on life.
Jesus came and did what the first Adam couldn’t do (nor you and I), and that is to perfectly fulfill the Father’s will. Jesus is the long-expected Prophet, Priest, and King our souls have longed for and desperately needed. It is through Him we have hope, joy, peace, and love. That is why the author of Hebrews urges us to “consider Jesus.” He is the Light that will illuminate our darkened minds. He is the Life that awakens our dead hearts.
If you have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you; and the life you now live in the flesh you live by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20). If you are in Christ, you are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) and therefore you have a new mindset. That new mindset is this: utter reliance on Christ. Therefore, as we countdown the final hours of this year and prepare to ring in the new, consider Jesus. Approach this new year not in your own strength, but with a mind and heart entirely surrendered and dependent on Jesus so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- As we conclude this Advent series, what are ways you can keep the profound significance of Advent in your heart throughout the remainder of the year?
- How should the Advent (the 1st and 2nd comings) impact and shape your daily living throughout the year?
- Traditionally, New Year’s is a time when we make resolutions, and there is a temptation to approach them in our own strength. How can you set and approach resolutions this year that first and foremost bring God glory?
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