Knowing God.

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, 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. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NASB)Spurgeon, who struggled deeply with physical illness and severe depression throughout his life, knew firsthand that fixing his eyes on Christ was the only way to endure suffering."I am persuaded, beloved brothers and sisters, that if we looked more to Christ, our troubles would not become anything like so black. In the darkest night, looking to Christ will clear the ebony sky."We all have races to run as believers, to some it's 100m, to others it's 250m and to others it's 1000m...The focus must not be the race, but fixing our eyes on Christ must be the real deal.

What price did Christ pay? He bore our griefs. He carried our sorrows. He was pierced, chastened and scourged for us. Verse 4 is our wrong attitude and Christ died in order that we have the right attitudes.Verse 5 is our behavior, but Christ paid the price with His life that we have the right behaviors.Verse 6 is our nature; Christ died that we have the right nature.Many times as believers when we are saved and have spent weeks, months; years and decades in salvation we tend to shift the focus from the true message of the gospel which is the reason why Christ died, we tend to shift our focus from the price that Christ paid and put all our focus on what is meaningless. We focus on what God can give us and forget the precious gift He gave us.Christ took the punishment of our sin. We should have suffered for our sin but Christ took it away. He takes our sin and removes having paid for all.The price that Christ paid is something every believer must ponder about and make it his foundation of salvation because it's indeed the foundation for salvation. Christ was reviled and never reviled back. He bore our sins in His body on the cross.

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"(this is the first commandment with a promise), (Ephesians 6:1, ESV)‌Children, does not mean only tinny little children but it means any child under the roof of his or her parents and is not yet married, regardless their age is; they are still children.‌For any child; Academics, athletics, fashion, sport and all sorts of entertainment and looks are not important, but obedience is the most important amongst all.For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him (Leviticus 20:9, ESV)‌The death penalty is to be applied to children who don't obey their parents. Therefore to raise a generation of people who can make a real civilization; children must be obedient to their parents.

Proverbs 4:23 NLT [23] Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.The heart is the place in which the process of self-consciousness is carried out, in which the soul is at home with itself, and is conscious of all its doing and suffering as its own”As the engine in a motor vehicle determines its function, so the heart also determines our function and also our destinies. All we ought to be; is determined by what we are inside. It is our inner being that's demonstrated on the outside.