First Baptist Church of Edinboro, PA

06/18/2026

One of the most difficult lessons in the Christian life is learning where to place our attention.
Most believers understand that Jesus died for their sins. Many know the Scriptures and some attend church faithfully. Yet they still find themselves discouraged because their eyes continually drift back to people.

People will always disappoint you. And it's not because everyone is evil, but because everyone is human.

Even the people who love you most will occasionally misunderstand your intentions. Friends may fail you. Family members may wound you. Church members may frustrate you. Spiritual leaders may let you down. If your peace depends upon people always responding correctly, you will spend much of your life disappointed.

Jesus understands this better than anyone.
He came to His own creation, yet many rejected Him. He healed people who later walked away. He taught crowds who misunderstood His words. One disciple betrayed Him. Another denied Him. The rest scattered when He was arrested.
Yet what stands out in the Gospels is not how Jesus reacted to people. It is where His focus remained.

Again and again, we see Him withdrawing to pray. Again and again, we hear Him speak about doing the Father's will.
Again and again, we find Him looking beyond the temporary pain of the moment toward the eternal purpose of God.

The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before Him." He saw something greater than the suffering directly in front of Him.

Many Christians are exhausted today because they are staring at the wrong thing. From criticism to betrayal. Most people are staring at the unfairness.
Staring at what someone said, what someone did, or what someone failed to do. The more we stare at people, the heavier our hearts become.

But when we lift our eyes to Christ, something changes.

The problem may still be there.
The relationship may still be broken.
The prayer may still be unanswered.
Yet peace begins to return because our confidence was never meant to rest in people in the first place.

The Christian life is not sustained by favorable circumstances. It is sustained by a fixed gaze.

Peter walked on water for as long as he looked at Jesus. The moment he became consumed with the wind and waves around him, he began to sink.
The same principle still applies today.
What captures your attention will eventually shape your faith.

If you spend all day studying your problems, your problems will appear enormous. If you spend your days beholding Christ, He will appear enormous.
The goal of maturity is not reaching a place where people can no longer hurt you.

The goal is reaching a place where Christ matters more than the hurt.

So when you feel misunderstood, look to Him.
When you feel forgotten, look to Him.
When you feel disappointed by people, look to Him.

The Father sustained Jesus through every rejection, every betrayal, and every sorrow. He will sustain you as well. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.

"Let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Hebrews 12:1-2

06/10/2026

06/05/2026

Psalm 23:6

05/25/2026

In Flander’s Fields

The great poem “In Flanders Fields” was written on May 3, 1915 by John McRae, a Canadian serving in the First World War. He watched his close friend die amidst the horrors of trenched warfare and then presided over his funeral. Lieutenant-Colonel McRae noticed how the poppies grew quickly over the fresh new graves. They were a harsh, yet beautiful, reminder of the reality of war.

Unsatisfied with the poem he had written, he tossed it away, but his friends retrieved it and it was published by the end of the year. It became wildly popular with civilians and soldiers alike.

The red poppy has come to be synonymous with the ultimate sacrifice of the soldier. In Flander’s Fields is recognized around the world as one of the greatest poems ever written and it has been put to music many times.

McRae went on to great fame, although he died just a short time later, in January of 1918. He died of pneumonia in a military hospital in France. He never saw the end of the war but his work has helped the world deal with the horrors of it for over a century now. Here is the poem he wrote 106 years ago:

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.