“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB1995)
When the Scriptures were originally written, they did not have chapters and verses. Those were added much later to help us readers navigate through the Scriptures and to be able to locate particular passages of Scripture. So, when you see a sentence begin with “therefore,” you should look back to see what it is there for, I have always been taught. So this is in reference to the saints of old who were commended for their faith in chapter 11. They did not all live perfect lives, but they all were honored for their faith at some time.
But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin. We who believe in Jesus Christ were crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. So we are to lay aside the deeds of the flesh and all hindrances to our walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, and we are to die to sin daily, for sin must no longer be our practice.
And then we can “run with endurance the race that is set before us,” i.e. we can live according to God’s calling upon each of our lives to die to sin, to obey his commands, and to follow our Lord wherever he leads us in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives, all in his power and wisdom. We can live for our Lord in doing his will when, by faith in him, we put aside our former lives of living in sin so that we can now serve our Lord in obedience to his commands in being who he desires us to become.
But this is not something we can do in our own flesh of our own willpower. We can only live for our Lord as we surrender our lives to him and we depend upon his strength and wisdom to get us through every day. And if our eyes are fixed on Jesus, that means that our minds, hearts, and attitudes are centered in our Lord and in his will for our lives, and we are now following his leading in our lives, and we are no longer going our own way, doing our own thing, living for the pleasures of this sinful world.
For Jesus Christ is the author and the perfecter of our faith. Our faith is not of our human flesh, of our own willpower, and of our own thinking and reasoning. The faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, in surrender to his will. So our faith will then align with God’s will and purpose for our lives, not in accord with our human flesh.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18]
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Login to view embedded media
Caution: This link may contain ads
Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
An Original Work / November 26, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love