Welcome!
Passage: Heb 12 (NIV 84)
Today: Dealing with our weight(s)!
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12, NKJV)-emphasis added
Two things that affect our race are the burdens of life and the entangling sins
No one can run a race with a heavy weight on their back or with their feet entangled in something; also, no one can go up with a heavy weight on them or if their feet gets caught up in something
Lets’ deal with the burdens first. It is satan’s trick to load us with all kinds of discouragement, worries and fears. See Elijah’s story:
3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19, NIV 84)
Elijah ministered for the Lord, but he got to a point where he wanted to die!
The devil is still looking for a “gap” to get into the lives and families of God’s people; by the time many come to know it was the devil, it may be too late!
3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Cor 11, NIV 84) –emphasis added
A “different Jesus”, a “different spirit”, a “different gospel”!
Satan is a deceiver; he is cunning and crafty; everyday, we see so many “simple” christians falling into this trap, going after the new gen. style preachers and getting “lost”. After few years, they will realize they were wrong, but by then, they will loose a lot!
Another area we all may get trapped, is in the worries and concerns of our daily life, about food and clothing/children/education/job/house/etc
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. (Luke 21, NIV 84)-emphasis added
When we have issues that burden us, life becomes “heavy” and living becomes painful; in order to make things better, we need to take our eyes off the problem and focus on God
For people who focus on “weight loss”, they put a big “STOP” on their cravings for food; they get rid of a lot of sugar/creams/rice/bread etc, eating vegetables…
If our focus is on Jesus and on getting up there, then we will take our eyes away from our problems and look unto Jesus. Whenever people came to Jesus with an issue, they took their eyes off their problem and looked upon Jesus; as long as they kept staring at their problem, solution was difficult.
May God help us to make our race light and swift!
Have a blessed day!
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for all your help! Even as I was “too busy” for you, you had time for me! Help me to handle my life right, to discipline my mind, body and spirit, and thus, to avoid troubles and burdens “invited” by a life of no discipline; Amen
God starts dealing with our issues when we stop doing His part!