He Takes Away Our Sin...

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

~John 1:29~

Behold the Lamb ~ By Amy Vest

Do you know how some reality captures your heart?

This Christmas my heart has been treasuring the wonder that Jesus came so that we could know Him.

What an inexpressible gift.

We were lost in our sin, separated from God, and headed for eternity apart from Him.

The God of the universe sent His Son to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross so we could know Him - and our lives could overflow with satisfaction in Him and glory to Him.

Isn't this amazing beyond words?

A verse that has been on my mind this season is,
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

This Lamb - Jesus - the perfect Son of God - coming to take away our sins.

This is what our Jesus came to do.

In trusting in and yielding to Him, our sins are washed away, we are given relationship with Him, and will live with Him forever.

From this point, we can go deeper to know Him as the One who "...satisfies the longing soul."  Psalm 107:9

This, my friend, is a reason to rejoice!

This is what we were created for.  This is our soul's deepest need.  This is where our hope lies.  This is where our joy is found.

Jesus.

This Christmas may your heart overflow with joy and worship as you behold the Lamb of God who came so that you could know Him - and find all that you ever need!

Looking to Jesus...

"...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus..." 

                      Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus: The Focus of Your Life ~ By Amy Vest

Where is your focus?

Stop and think about that, friend.

Where is your mind riveted, heart set, and mind directed?

You see where our focus lies is very
important.

Focus = "a center of activity, attraction, or attention, a point of concentration, directed attention."

You were created to have Jesus as your focus.

When we lift the eyes of our heart to Jesus, our perspective changes - because Jesus changes everything.

Putting our focus on Jesus shows that we know that:
~ He is our only hope.
~ He alone can satisfy.
~ He is worthy of our trust and all that we are.

Listen to this amazing promise:

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."  Psalm 34:5

Oh, friend, can you relate with me?

When I lift the eyes of my heart to Jesus - peace washes my soul, fulfillment floods my heart, and security fortifies my spirit.

This is the beautiful thing: 
When our eyes are on Jesus, the rest of our life is colored by the reality of all that He is.

As I walk through my day focused on Jesus and I face an overwhelming situation, I know that He is my help.  If I face weakness, He is my strength.  If I face pain, He is my comfort.  If I experience joy, He is my song.

I want to live a life that is riveted on Jesus, don't you?

I long for our life's cry to be "...our eyes are on You."  2 Chronicles 20:11


If you are like me, you can get distracted.  It is so easy to get our eyes on ourselves, circumstances, people, things... But these things are fleeting, empty, and can never deliver the satisfaction that only Jesus can bring.

I love how Jesus in His love will not allow our focus to drift for long.  He kindly brings reminders - whether in the form of joys or trials - that lift our eyes to Him.  As we regain our focus, His peace washes us once again.


We need to have our eyes fixed on Jesus in all of the seasons of life - because we need Him all of our life.


What are some ways we can fix our eyes on Jesus?
~ Choosing in our heart to direct our mind to Him.
~ Praying and asking for His help.
~ Being in the Word.
~ Memorizing and meditating on Scripture.
~ Worship.
~ Journaling about His faithfulness.
~ Gathering with friends who love Him.
~ Having reminders of His love.
~ and so many more!

The beauty of having our focus on Jesus has been powerfully real for me the past couple of weeks in different areas.  When my focus has been on other things, I found lack of peace.  But, when my eyes have been on Jesus, and considering those things with Him and in light of Him, there is inexpressible peace.

Jesus invites, calls, and equips us to live with Him as our focus, friend.

As He is our focus, our hope is never disappointed, our heart is fulfilled, our perspective is transformed, and our lives are lived differently in light of all that He is.

There is no time like this very second to lift our eyes to Jesus and find the transforming fulfillment of having Him as our focus!

Where is your focus today, friend?

May it be Jesus. 

"...let us run with endurance the race before us, looking to Jesus..."  Hebrews 12:1-2

Look to Jesus, friend.  You will find that He is all that you need.  I am looking with you.

Let's look to Jesus as the focus of our lives.

Beautiful to God Class Update ~ Sessions 5, 6 & 7

We have had such amazing times looking to Jesus together at the Beautiful to God Class the past 3 sessions!

Together we have looked at:

Session 5 - The Power of a Pure Heart: We looked at the motivation for purity being Matthew 5:8, the joy of Jesus purifying us, living from that purity in every area of life, and seeking to honor Him in our relationships with guys.

Session 6 - The Influence of Your Thoughts and Emotions:  We looked at God's Word being our Truth that we base our life upon, how we can get in the Truth and have it in us, and how to fight lies with Truth.

  
Session 7 - You are Perfectly Made by God:  We explored the beauty that all God does is an outflow of His character, the perfection of His plan, and the excitement of His individual plan for each of our lives as a part of the story for His glory!

Jesus is meeting us, working in our hearts, and deepening our vision to live the life He created us for in Him!

We are seeing more and more that Jesus is amazing and worthy of seeking with all that we are!