“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:3-6 NASB1995)

In our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus, in obedience to his commands, we should not get disheartened and discouraged when temptation arises, or when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. We should not allow the opinions and mistreatment of others to set us back, or to get us to give up and to cave to the temptation to sin or to withdraw and to back down. And we should not seek after human approval above the approval of God. But we should look to the example of Jesus, so we do not lose heart.

For Jesus Christ faced all kinds of persecutions and mistreatments and false accusations against his character when he lived on this earth. And he was not well received by the masses among his own people who proclaimed faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who, in truth, is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. But not only did they not receive him, but they fought against him, and they sought to discredit him, and eventually they plotted his death on a cross, carried out by the Romans.

So, instead of “jumping ship” as soon as things get harder and more difficult to endure, or as soon as any temptation overwhelms us, we should look to Jesus Christ, “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,” who “endured such hostility by sinners against Himself,” and who “resisted to the point of shedding blood” in his “striving against sin.” He is our example to follow (see Hebrews 12:1-4).

For, as long as we live in these flesh bodies we are going to face difficult circumstances to test our faith. We are going to face temptation to sin or to withdraw or to back down and to run away when things get harder to endure. Or we are going to be tempted to give up the fight and to yield to the enemy. And we may even be tempted to go back to living in sin rather than to fight off the enemy’s temptations, believing all is hopeless. For Satan is very clever and he knows our weak spots, and he will hit them hard.

So, the encouragement here for us all is to resist the devil, to not give into temptation, to not give up the fight just because it got harder. And if any of you are still holding on to sin, still letting it have control over your life, what is being stressed here is that Jesus Christ endured that cross for us when he took our sins on him, and he put them to death with him so that we can, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, be delivered from slavery to sin so we can now serve the Lord with our lives in obedience to his commands.

Yes, we are going to go through hardships and trying times to test our faith. And God allows us to go through trials and tribulations to strengthen us in our walks of faith in obedience to him and in endurance. We need the discipline of the Lord in our lives to keep us humble, to make us more like Jesus, to make us more compassionate towards others, and to strengthen us in our commitments to serve God with our lives and not the flesh and not the devil. So don’t give up!! Keep on walking in the power of God!

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

Our Eyes on Jesus

Based off Hebrews 12:2-13
An Original Work / April 23, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
Our faith starts and grows in Him,
Who for the joy set before Him
Endured all our sin.
Scorning the shame of the cross,
He sat down beside God above.
He was willing to die for us,
To save us, in love.

Think about the opposition
He endured from sinful men,
So when you go through life’s trials,
You stay strong within.
Knowing all He went through for us
Helps us not grow weak of heart;
Not grow weary; don’t give up;
And not from Him depart.

In your struggle against sin’s ways,
Resist not to shed your blood.
Have you forgotten the words
God spoke to us in love?
“My child, don’t ignore it when
The Lord corrects you; do faint not,
Because the Lord disciplines those
That He loves, of God.”

God rebukes us all for our good;
Share with Him in holiness.
It produces a harvest of
God’s own righteousness.
Therefore, strengthen all within you
That is weak and might give way.
Stand firm in the faith God gives you;
Trust Him and obey.

Do Not Grow Weary and Lose Heart
An Original Work / April 3, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love