What the Saints Focused On
Good Morning Friends,
I believe in the communion of believers. No not the worship of the dead but the acknowledgement of the heroes of faith that live on in Jesus. Now many look up to sports stars and athletes, and others look up to musicians and movie stars. Heroes do things most of us cannot do. But God’s heroes were rarely men and women of extraordinary ability or talent. They were men and women of extraordinary faith. The two types of heroes do however have something in common with each other and those whose gaze is fixed upon them….It is a matter of how we focus on saints and What the Saints Focused On.
Scripture: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NRSV)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God–whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did–when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NRSV)
Message: Do you know who holds the record as the world’s best free-throw shooter? If you’re thinking Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Larry Bird—you’re way off. It’s probably not a fair question really. You’ve almost certainly never heard of the man—unless, that is, you make a habit of reading the Guinness Book of World Records. The guy I came up with in my search is Ted St. Martin a teacher. As I understand it he holds the world record for consecutive free throws made, 5,221, made on April 28, 1996 while giving a shooting clinic to students. It took 7 hours and 20. What was his secret, you’re wondering? Well it has to be Concentration! The more I read about it and looked into it, the more I realized the only way you do it is—practice. You have to perfect all parts of your technique; then its focus and concentration. You have to put all other thoughts out of your mind. So today, the day after All Saints Day, the day after the coldest high temperature of record for Naples we focus on other Saints, the men and women of faith from the author of the book of Hebrews and how they too help us to concentrate as they instruct our attention in one single direction. Here focus makes all the difference. It allows us to see. But what we focus on also is so important. When we are driving… as I did this weekend up to Disney, focusing on the road ahead is so important. Distractions can kill us. The Bible gives us similar instructions. There are risks and rewards on the journey of life. But it always requires faith and courage to take the next step. Here a focus on Jesus appears risky but a focus on ourselves is actually riskier. If we are to stretch ourselves we need to have perseverance that is fueled by a focus on something greater than ourselves.
Pray we focus on Jesus. Pray we hear the word of God. Pray we are committed to God’s will. Pray that Jesus perfects our faith. Pray we be focused with devotion to God’s work. Pray we shoot with arms of faith and works. Pray we hang on focused on Jesus who knows when we need to take the next shot. Pray we take the next shot in faith not fear. Pray that our heroes have a focus on God.
Pray
for a peace and freedom to serve in new ways, as a communion of Saints as a single body with Christ in this life and the next. Pray we are chosen people belonging to the body of Christ. Pray we are more than disciples. Pray we become living saints extending God’s good to all in the world in Jesus…perfected by the hand of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 