Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus - Paperback

by R. Dean Smith (Author)

For many years I have observed the Liturgical Season of Lent as a season to reflect on our sin so that we may fully realize the victory of Jesus won on Easter Sunday. However, the problem for me has always been I simply cannot face each day of the year without a celebration of the suffering, death, resurrection of Jesus that glorious Easter morning.

I, therefore, offer this Lenten devotional as a celebration rather than a period of mourning over our sinful lives. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Phillippi (3:13) Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sin has been forgiven with each sin nailed to the cross of Jesus and we are born anew with His resurrection. Paul also wrote to the Church in Corinth (2-5:17), Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Before the death and resurrection of Jesus we lived under the "old covenant" commonly called The Law of Moses, which pointed out our sinful lives and, therefore, drove us to Jesus Christ who fulfilled the Law of Moses by taking the death we deserved. When He was about to give up His spirit and die, He announced from the cross (John 19:30), It is finished. With that finish of the Law of Moses, He began "a new covenant " (Luke 22:20) "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."Therefore, we no longer need to fix our eyes on our sin, but now on Jesus who accomplished the forgiveness of our sin and made us born anew.