Life is hard. Sometimes life is so hard that even as a follower of Jesus, we feel like giving up. Hebrews 12:1-3 gives us encouragement to persevere even in the toughest times of life because we're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who are cheering us on and we're following Jesus, who's been through it all before.

In a "me first" world, it's counterintuitive that in order to go higher, you must stoop lower. However, that's exactly what Jesus taught his disciples on the day He washed their feet.

In a culture of entitlement, it's so easy to lose our sense of gratitude for all the blessings God has bestowed on us. In the story of the healing of the ten lepers, one leper returned to give thanks to Jesus for his healing. The question is: Does the tenth leper have any kindred spirits today?

Jesus consistently taught that it was vital for His followers to forgive others when they were hurt or offended. In fact, He said that if we don't forgive those who sin against us, then our Father in heaven won't forgive our sins. When we understand the debt we've been forgiven, then we can turn around and offer that forgiveness to the people around us - no matter what they've done.