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Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus coming again

At that electrifying point in time, nobody will have to be told any more; every eye in the universe will be fixed on Jesus. Says Revelation 1:7, Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. What a ... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus when you're dissatisfied

I remember a period in our life when Ray and I felt God had put us on too tight a leash. Have you ever felt that way, or do you now? We felt restricted, confined. We wanted breathing room. We were singing, "Don't fence me in!" It was a very important time for us. God wanted to teach us Psalm 131: My... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on material things

Here's a nineteenth-century person riding along in his carriage on a dark but star-lit night, says Soren Kierkegaard, as paraphrased by Anne Ortlund. He's got all his coach lights on, so as he drives along he can see in front of him just fine. But with those strong lights all around him he can't see... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on others

Let me tell you how this truth recently hit home to me. Sometimes Ray and I -- and so do you -- see generations slip. You see a husband and wife going hard after the Lord; and their children attending church more often than not; and their grandchildren totally uninterested in spiritual things. And t... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on the church

Have you noticed how when you "talk church" to Christians you don't know, you've immediately built a wall between you? But if you "talk Jesus" -- if you fix your eyes on Him -- you're united? The Samaritan woman who talked to Jesus at the well (John 4) fell into the "talk church" trap. Jesus was tal... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on the devil

Spiritual warfare is the latest "game" some Christians are trying to play, for several reasons. Think about it. There are three major influences to blame for all our troubles: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Many Christians really like the world, these days. They're fascinated by it, they're co... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on today's false hopes

When you've got a problem, false advice is on all sides of you. And it may sound so beautiful, so wonderful, so religious -- even so biblical! Just take a Bible verse out of context -- or what's even more subtle, change its punctuation a little -- and you've got false advice. Take this well-known Ps... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on ugliness

I was sitting in the lounge of a Christian radio station, waiting my turn to go into the studio and guest a talk show. Another Christian program, on the air at that moment, was being intercommed into the lounge, so I couldn't help but listen. It was gross. In the name of "exposing" the sins of our d... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on your sins

"Looking at the sin," wrote Theodore Monod, "only gives death; looking at Jesus gives life." Psalm 32:3-4 and Psalm 38:3-10 both say that your personal sins, unrelieved by Jesus, can give you physical weakness, depression, heart palpitations, back pains, a tendency to infections, vision problems, an... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on your spiritual gifts

Narcissus, in Greek mythology, pined away to almost nothing for love of his own reflection in water -- and so do Christians who catch his disease. We live in a narcissistic age -- even within Christianity. Many of us believers have an excessive interest in -- and affection for -- ourselves, our feel... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on your troubles

I look to Thee in every need And never look in vain; I feel Thy strong and tender love And all is well again: The thought of Thee is mightier far Than sin and pain and sorrow are. --Samuel Longfellow "Sin and pain and sorrow" -- all your troubles -- are so limited and weak, they're not worthy of you... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on yourself

You get no forgiveness from just looking at all your sins. You get no healing, just concentrating on your diseases. You get no redemption, just studying the pit you're in. You get no crowning with glory, just fixing your eyes on your failures. You get no fulfillment of desires, just looking at all y... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus and on nothing else clearly

As you're reading this book page right now, your eyes are focused only on the print. You're somewhat aware of your arms, your lap, your chair, your surroundings -- aware enough that you wouldn't suddenly move so that you'd bump against something; aware enough that you'd know if some dog, for instanc... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus as seen in the Bible

I remember ministering with Ray in Brazil and being in utter fatigue. In between meetings I'd lie on the bed and think, "I absolutely cannot get up again." Then in my through-the-Bible daily reading I came to 2 Chronicles 15:7: But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewa... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus crucified

If you've ever been the victim of an action that's blatantly unfair, consider Jesus. Acquitted by the highest court of the land ("I find no basis for a charge against him," John 19:4, 6), He is led away and roughly nailed to a cross to die anyway! Even in this crisis, the habit of His life continues... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus for a daily "quiet time"

Cartoon seen recently: A fellow is listening uncertainly as a recorded voice says out of his telephone receiver, "Your number cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number you are calling and dial again. Or ask yourself if talking to another person is what you really need at this moment!" S... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus for a job well done

You've come to the end of a project, and it's turned out smashing. You put on this year's mother-daughter banquet, and everyone says it was the best ever. Or you headed your church's building project, and there the building stands now, in all its glory. Or you've turned out great kids, or you've mad... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus for consistency

Fixing your eyes on Jesus doesn't mean concentrating on Him so diligently that you eventually collapse from exhaustion. Even when a person's job demands momentary total absorption, he can still love his marriage partner with great steadiness and consistence. And your relationship with the Lord is th... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus for continual fellowship with Him

The first night I was a pastor's wife I practically didn't go to bed. Ray and the three babies and I had moved from Princeton Seminary in New Jersey to our first pastorate in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a town with eleven hundred souls counting absolutely everybody. You know how moving is. The childre... Read More
Anne Ortlund

Fix your eyes on Jesus for pure pleasure

Have you thought about what awesome and exquisite fun is possible, the more you fix your eyes on Jesus? You understand more and more His love His compassion His grace and His graciousness to you. And you begin to realize just how forgiven and how eagerly received by Him you really are! So many Chris... Read More

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