God wants you to look to Jesus (3)

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Look to Jesus for life, peace and advancement. 

Recall in Num 21:8 that, only those who looked to the serpent lived. Those that were bitten prior to the serpent being made died and those who for one reason or the other refused to look to the serpent also died. This clearly establishes that, only those who look to Jesus lives! Jesus is the life (John 14:6, 11:25), look to Him for life. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). If you have Him, you have life for "he who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:12). 

Furthermore, the Israelites were stuck where they were and were dying UNTIL Moses made the serpent. Those that looked to the serpent lived and eventually "moved on" (Num 21:10). To "move on" means to make progress, to advance. Invariably, only those who look to Jesus "move on". Moreover, when Peter was looking on Jesus, he could walk on water and make progress towards Jesus, but when he looked at the wind, he couldn't go forward, rather, he went down. Friends, I have no doubt we all want to make headway in life. Hence, I present the recipe: Look to Jesus! Focus on Jesus and He will ensure your advancement. When your eyes are not on Jesus, just like the Israelites and Peter (when he was sinking), you will be stuck in problems, challenges, difficulties, issues. Conversely, when you look unto Jesus, you will inevitably make progress. There is advancement when you look to Jesus because He will relieve you of the shackles holding you bound and wearing you down. You'll be able to make headway because your attention is on who it should be. Remember, He is the way and He knows the end from the beginning, so look to The Way.

Finally, Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.". The phrase "whose mind is stayed on You" is synonymous to "looking unto Jesus". In other words, when we look to Jesus, when our minds are stayed on Him, when we focus on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. This is lovely! Looking unto Jesus guarantees not just peace - which is good by the way - but perfect peace - which is infinitely better. 
In addition, an essential attribute in the culture of "looking unto Jesus" is trusting Him. Psa 84:12 says "...blessed is the man who trusts in You". Inextricable components of that "blessing" are abundant life, perfect peace and inevitable progress. So, look to Jesus for life, peace and advancement. God bless you!


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