Dear Precious Friends,
On this beautiful new day, this gift from God, I pray we remember how much we all need Jesus and everyone we meet has their own battles.
Paul wrote in Hebrews 12:1-3
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
In the heat of a battle, it's so easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. I love this reminder right here and we must remember this.... WE DO THIS BY KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE CHAMPION WHO INITIATES AND PERFECTS OUR FAITH....
Are you like me in the midst of a battle? It is so easy to take our eyes off Jesus. Instead of running the race God has set out for me, I can be shaken and fixated on the problem or the past. Or if I’m challenged, I can allow the challenge to keep my eyes on the challenge and off the perfecter of our faith. Oh how tough the human condition is...
I don’t know if that’s something you can relate to or not, but I know this isn’t a one-time thing for me. It’s not something that just happens in one circumstance. However, this is something that I can work on and be more aware of it.
The Christian life is one of ministry. We have received a call to run a very specific race, a course laid out just for us that takes advantage of our unique spiritual giftedness. This life of discipleship to Jesus Christ – the one who said: “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men," is filled with dangers and difficulties and the potential for discouragement. At some point – in fact numerous points -- there will be the temptation to lay down and quit the race. Genuine faith is characterized by perseverance – by pressing on and continuing to fight the good fight. There is no place for retirement from our journey as Christians. We know the finish line is the doorway of death that ushers us into the presence of the one who has gone before us – the author and perfecter of our faith.
When we are growing weary in serving Jesus, or when we feel discouraged and are tempted to lose heart and back off from our commitment to be everything that God has called us to be and do everything He wants us to do, let us remember we have not been called to sit on the sidelines. We have not been called to take it easy and just meander through life. We have been called to run a marathon race. We won't be passive; we won't be a spectator cheering on some super gifted Christian leaders... We are to keep our eyes on Him, and strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that traps us in and run with endurance the race God has for us.
We must realize satan wants to get our focus off of Jesus
- TO Look at our own weaknesses in the flesh and give up the race... we are inspired by Paul who says I will glory in my weakness.
Satan want us to look at the impossibility and difficulty of our situation. There is nothing too difficult for Jesus.
Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity. It develops our patience and makes our final victory sweet. We must consider attentively; think about carefully, pray without ceasing and remember to keep our eyes on Him, the champion who perfects our faith. So my friends, lets run this race with endurance by keeping our eyes on Jesus and have great joy remembering these things while encouraging others on the way.
AMEN.
