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. Hebrews 12:1-3
Since boyhood, I had heard the story of the little boy who put his finger in the hole in the dike surrounding Holland. I had seen pictures showing the many windmills, which I surmised irrigated the fields. When I first went there, I learned something totally different.
All of Holland lies below sea level and the dikes, a long wall or embankment, are built to prevent flooding from the sea. The windmills pump out the water that otherwise would flood the fields.
Water in the right proportions gives growth to the crops, but excessive water is a flood that destroys and kills. Life is like that. We need to build a protection around us to keep out sin and evil. What sneaks its way into our lives, needs to be expelled to where it came from…the devil.
Hebrews 12:1-3 encourages believers to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,” and to “run with endurance the race that is set before us,” focusing on Jesus as the author and perfecter of their faith. This passage emphasizes the importance of overcoming obstacles and distractions in the Christian life, and of looking to Jesus for strength and perseverance during times of difficulty.
This scripture emphasizes the need to overcome obstacles and distractions in the Christian life. The “weights” refer to anything that hinders or burdens the believer’s progress, including worldly possessions, attachments, and the like. “Sin” refers to the specific sins that are most easily ensnared, which could include the sins of the universal human tendency to sin.
What is holding back your spiritual life?
by John Grant
used by permission
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