Skip to main content

“Fix your eyes on Jesus, because Jesus is better.”


A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 109). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

The whole thought by Kyle is, “Fix your eyes on Jesus, because Jesus is better; he is superior to everything and everyone else.”

Yes, yes, I do believe that.  He really is!

Kyle goes on, “The words translated as ‘better’ and ‘superior’ show up fifteen times in the book of Hebrews (that is a book in the NT of the Bible). The original readers would have mostly been first-generation Jewish Christians. They were facing persecution for their faith, and culturally they were being ridiculed and opposed. So, the message that ‘Jesus is better’ was a message given to encourage them not to go back, not to give up.

“If you read through Hebrews, you can make a list of everything that Jesus is better than. Jesus is better than the law. Jesus is better than traditions. Jesus is better than the prophets of old.

“The first verses of Hebrews point out that in the past, God spoke through the prophets, but now he has spoken to us through his Son. Then chapter 3 makes the case that ‘Jesus is better than Moses.’ This would have been offensive to many of its original readers.”  In a footnote, Kyle says, “Like some middle schoolers trying to tell me that Lonzo Ball is better than Michael Jordan.”

Kyle continues, “You didn’t mess with the name of Moses. He was the ultimate prophet. But Hebrews makes it clear that it’s not even a close contest. Moses was a servant and Jesus is the master. The list keeps going: Jesus is better than the angels. Jesus is better than the high priests. Jesus is better than the old covenant. Jesus is better than the sacrificial system. Don’t trade freedom in Christ for the weight of religion. Jesus is better than religion.

“Jesus is just better. Always has been, always will be.”

So, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus instead of religion. Let’s be a Christ follower, not a religion demanding follower. Let's not give up, Ok?

Yes, yes!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...
Post a Comment
Read more