SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 06-25-03
My
Worship Time Focus: Running the race
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Hebrews 12:1
1. Meaning of the verse: “1 ¶ Therefore, since we have so great a
cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and
the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us,” (NASB) “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 hinders our
progress. And let us run with endurance
the race that God has set before us.”
(NLT)
There is a
lot of meat in this wonderful verse. It
is a turning point in the book of Hebrews and since it starts wit the word
“therefore” it refers back to the section that was just written, Hebrews
10:19-11:40. The cloud of witnesses
refers to those great men and women of faith in chapter eleven, but it does not
indicate that they are watching us, but rather that we are the ones who have
been the witness to what they have done and have learned from their
example. Romans 15:4 is a verse that
helps to understand this: “ For whatever
was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through
perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
The writer
knew something about being an athletic, for in this section he uses athletic
terms to make his points. A runner when
would run a race would take off any excess weight that would slow him down so
that he could run his best. We as
believers in Jesus Christ are in a race and we need to take off any excess
baggage that would slow us down in our race.
He then gives an example of this weight, which is the sin that so easily
entangles us. Now to understand this sin
that he is speaking about we need to look back again at chapter eleven and
identify from there what he is talking about now. The chapter was about faith, and the opposite
of faith is unbelief. What was the
reason that kept the children of Israel out of the promise land, it was the sin
of unbelief, and what would they have needed to do to enter into the promise
land, they would have needed to believe the Word of God and stand on that, and
seen with their eyes of faith instead of their natural eyes.
The writer
then tells us how to run this race that we are in and that is with
endurance. The KJV uses the word
patience and Strong’s says of this word:
“1a) in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his
deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest
trials and sufferings.” The word swerved
means to “change directions,” so a believer is not to change directions, but we
are to continually keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is written
about in the next verse.
2. Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I look at this sin of unbelief in light of
just studying chapter eleven I can now get an idea of why the Lord would
consider this a sin that would be very upsetting to Him, and that is because of
all of the things that He has done for me, and first on the list is to have
taken me from death to life, and then I would not trust Him for the help and
strength to keep me going on in the race of life that He has set before me.
The Word of God has challenged my heart; it has also
convicted my heart concerning unbelief in my life.
My Steps of
Faith Today: To
believe what the Lord has told me in His Word and to live by that even if it
does not seem like it is the best thing for me at the time, to have faith and
not be unbelieving.
Memory verses for the week:
Psalm 121:1
1. I will lift up my
eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come from?
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