Our Daily Bread 20th August 2025 | ODB TODAY
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Read Our Daily Bread For 20 August 2025 ODB: Eyes Fixed on Christ!
TOPIC: Eyes Fixed on Christ!
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Psalms 105-106; 1 Corinthians 3
KEY VERSE: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 12:1-3
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
INSIGHT FOE TODAY: The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages his readers by pointing to a gallery of “faith-filled” believers in the Old Testament (see Hebrews 11) and refers to them collectively as “a great cloud of witnesses” (12:1). Verse 2, however, urges the readers to fix their gaze on the premier example of faith—Jesus. He’s described as “the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Our Daily Bread For 20 August 2025
The term is pioneer (archēgos)—or author in some versions. One commentator defines it as a “chief leader—one that takes the lead in anything and thus affords an example.” Archēgos is used only four times in the New Testament: (Acts 3:15; 5:31 [Prince]; Hebrews 2:10; 12:2). The word translated “perfecter” (teleiōtēs) is used only in Hebrews 12:2. According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Christ is the “one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith.” By staying focused on Him, we have the perfect example to imitate.
Our Daily Bread 20 August 2025
MESSAGE
Teaching his son to ride a bicycle, Andrew discovered, was frustrating. The five-year-old kept swerving to one side and falling. Realizing that this happened because his son kept looking to one side, Andrew had an idea. “See that pole?” he asked his son. “Just keep your eyes on it and pedal.” His son did just that, and this time he kept going and going!
The incident was a lesson for Andrew himself. Recounting what happened to his small group later, he concluded, “Whatever we fix our eyes on is where we’re headed.” No wonder Hebrews 12:2 calls on us to keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Life’s responsibilities and routines can draw our attention away from our spiritual walk, as can sinful habits and obsessions that entangle us (v. 1).
But if we keep our eyes on Jesus and ask Him to help us put Him first in our thoughts, decisions, and actions, He’ll guide us in everything we do and say, enabling us to stay close to Him in the race on earth. This can be challenging, but God desires to help us fulfill the roles He’s given us. He will give us strength to endure and overcome anything that opposes our walk so we won’t “grow weary and lose heart” (v. 3).
Our Daily Bread For 20 August 2025
REFLECT: What’s the first thing you think or do when you have to make a decision or respond to a situation? How can you let your words, actions, and thoughts be guided by Jesus?
PRAY: Dear Jesus, please help me to keep my eyes fixed on You as I go about life. Please also teach me to turn to You first, for You’re all I need.
Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.
