Reading: Hebrews 12

“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,”

-Hebrews 12:1

If you didn’t read Hebrews 11 yesterday, please do so now. Because that “great cloud of witnesses” is outlined there. This great cloud is:

Abel- The first martyr in the Bible

Enoch- The Man Who Walked with God

Noah- A Righteous Man

Abraham- Father of many nations

Sarah- Mother of many nations

Issac- Father of Esau and Jacob

Jacob- Father of the 12 Tribes of Israel

Joseph- The Interpreter of Dreams

Moses- The Giver of the Law

Joshua- Faithful Follower

Rahab- Spy for the Israelites

The Greek word translated “witnesses” is the origin of the English word “martyr” and means “testifiers, witnesses”. These people know just how powerful faith in God is and what it can and will accomplish. Because we have this evidence, why do we question? Why do we doubt? Why do we not run with a full sprint into God’s call for us and by faith listen and do purely and only what we hear or feel The Holy Spirit directing us to do. We should so easily flee from wrongdoings, flee from sin that so easily entangles, by faith we know that God has us and by these witnesses, we have testimonies that prove that God has us if we put our faith in him. “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” v.1b This is a crazy thing but it’s exactly what God wants us to do. We have a race marked out for us. We are meant to run it. This Christian life is not meant to be a sprint...but a marathon. We are called to stay on course and live by faith until the very end. A marathon is explained by GQM as “a strenuous test of fitness and endurance.” So what does this mean? This means that we are expected to remain strong and grow as we practice faith, stamina, commitment, discipline, and self control. We can only complete this race if we work on stamina. There is no way that right now I could complete a 10k run, it’s just not possible for me right now because I haven’t developed the stamina to be able to do that. I have not put in the work for that and so I can’t complete a 10k run, let alone a marathon. In our Christian walk, it’s evident that we need to examine ourselves and see if we are putting in the work to be able to run this marathon of faith. Are we in the word of God daily? Are we studying it, doing more than simply reading it? Are we praying as often as we can? Are we truly doing what we can to be as much like Jesus as we possibly can? And if we answer no to any of those questions, then we are not quite where we need to be. Look at yourself in a mirror and look closely at yourself...where do you slack? Admit to yourself that you do slack and then work on that. Make a personal plan that proves that you are committed to this goal of growing closer to Christ and becoming more like him. Make sure that you are disciplined in actually accomplishing your new set goal. Read, Pray, Love Others. I would say it’s a simple 3 step process…

1. Find where you slack

2. Figure out how to fix that

3. Fix it

But, It simply is not. This takes commitment, discipline, stamina, and most importantly faith. Good luck. I’ll let you know that I’m working on praying more, that’s where I’m slacking the most. I’m preaching to us all, not just you, but also myself. The Bible tells us what to do and so I’m going to try to be better, get my stamina built up by practicing as much as I can. I gotta get into prayer more and more. How can I continuously falter from talking to my creator who requests that I talk to him? I gotta grow, we all gotta grow. Prepare for this marathon, it’s gonna be a bumpy one. The best part of this marathon is that no matter our age group, we’re all in the same category and get to run after the same prize of Jesus!

    Dear Jesus, thank you for this race. It’s not an easy race, it’s a race that takes preparation and practice. LORD, I thank you for the opportunity to read your word daily and to speak with you often. Jesus, I thank you for letting us know exactly how we need to live for you. God, I pray that everyone reading this feels convicted and is willing to set a goal to find themselves closer to you. You’ve got this God.

In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.