Hebrews 12 (2)

Introduction
The Christian life is a struggle against sin – the sin in the world, that seeks to distract, disturb, and disquiet us, and the sin in our own souls, the leads us to draw back and drift from the Lord. We must look to Jesus and the saints who have gone before, if we are to find that strength to endure, resist, and strive against sin, as the Lord exhorts us in His Word.

Read Proverbs 3.1-12.

Read Hebrews 12.3-6.

Think it through.
1.  Jesus’ example of bearing up under suffering must encourage us as much as our vision of Him exalted in glory (v. 1). Meditate on Psalm 88 and Psalm 22.1-21. How would you explain the suffering of Christ? Of what did that suffering consist? How can it help us to “consider Him” in this way?

2.  How can you know when you’re beginning to “become weary and discouraged” in your soul? What should you do then? Define each of the following verbs:

  - endure:

  - resist:

  - strive against sin:

Using these verbs, complete this sentence, “God uses chastening of various kinds to keep us on the path of obedience, so for my part I…”

Meditate.
“Let us look not toward human beings for the perfection of our faith. In fact, among them one is good for something, but the other is not. Rather let us look into ‘Jesus Christ, the pioneer of faith,’ who was made our leader and ‘the perfecter’ of our faith, because he began from the Jordan the fight against the enemy, then continued it in the desert, and finished it in Jerusalem through the cross, which was erected by the persecutors on Golgotha.” Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD)

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4.7, 8

Give me strength for this day, Lord that I might endure hardships, resist the devil, and strive against sin, and in all things…

Pray Psalm 47.
Pay special attention to verses 1-4 as you pray this psalm. What obstacles, challenges, enemies, or trials do you expect to encounter today? Name them before the Lord, and call on Him to give you strength to endure through them all. 

Psalm 47.1-9 (Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
O clap your hands, you peoples all,
With joy to God your songs intone!
Shout out to Him, and on Him call,
He is the mighty, sovereign One!

High is the Lord, O, fear His Name!
He rules, a King o’er all the earth.
Nations and peoples He has tamed,
The heritage of His holy worth.

God has ascended with a shout,
The Lord with sound of trumpet bold!
Sing praise to Him, let praise ring out!
Let praise through all the world be told!

God is the King of all the earth,
Sing praise to Him with glorious psalms!
He rules the nations by His worth,
And on His throne receives their alms.

Princes of peoples gather all
To Abraham and to our God.
Exalt the Lord, and on Him call – 
The earth is His, so praise our God!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006.