Run Your Race Part 2

 Run Your Race 2


Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…

Streaming services have brought drag racing into the mainstream.  I just spent three days watching The Million on MotorManiaTV.  Next week I plan to watch the Fall Fling on “The Fling Race Series” Youtube channel.  And as I write these very words, I am checking out the topic on this week's episode of  “Going Bracket Racing”.  There is more access to bracket racing than ever before, and is probably one of the driving forces for its popularity and growth.  It’s motorvational, excuse me, motivational… couldn’t resist. 


Our verse above suggests a similar motivation for running our race.  We are compassed by a great cloud of witnesses.  What does that mean?  The previous chapter (Hebrews 11) ends with a list of people who had run their faith race and finished it well. The writer is saying that the thought of these should serve as motivation to run our race well also. Let’s consider three things.

These witnesses are memorable.  Great heroes of the faith are mentioned here. Abraham, Moses, David, just to mention a few.  Characters whose lives are described in detail in the Old Testament.  Which leads to the next point.

These witnesses are motivational…but probably not for the reason you think.  What makes them so, is that they finished well. We often think that they lived perfect lives and that we can’t possibly look to them for motivation because they are beyond what we can achieve.  We could not be more wrong.  These heroes of the faith were adulterers, murderers, drunkards, womanizers, and harlots. What makes them heroes?  They kept running their race!  They finished in faith!  

Thirdly these witnesses were martyrs.  The word “witnesses” in the original Bible language is the word from which we get the word “martyr”.  A martyr is someone who has given, suffered, or sacrificed for their faith.  

What is the Hebrews writer telling us?  To use our illustrations loosely, he is saying turn on the livestream of the Bible and watch the runs of those who have gone before.  See their achievements, their failures, and their sacrifices.  They didn’t run perfectly, but they ran.  

More to come

Race On

Dean


Popular posts from this blog

No Perfect Runs - Introduction

Image
  No Perfect Runs (Introduction)  Welcome Race Fans!  Our first series together entitled “No perfect Runs”, introduces us to the truth that no one is perfect.  I think that most people would have no problem agreeing with that assessment.  However, there are ramifications that must be dealt with related to this uncomfortable fact.   This series will deal with those ramifications and the solution to them.  As you read, please stay with me to the end.  In each devotional, I try to be very honest and straightforward about topics such as sin, death, heaven, and hell.  Believe me, I want only to introduce you to good news.  However, to understand the good news we must deal with the bad news first.   Hang in there with me.  The good news will always be just a paragraph away.  If you are interested in further study, I have scattered some additional links throughout the series.   Let’s get our race started! Dean
Read more

No Perfect Runs Part 1

Image
  No Perfect Run (part 1) Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God If bracket racing required perfect runs, I doubt many would stay in it long.  Trip zip, dead zero is impressive, but thankfully you can get to the winner’s circle without it.    Not so with Heaven.  Did you know Heaven requires perfection?  “ And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth” (Revelation 21:27).  That’s a problem because we all sin (Romans 3:23). No one can make perfect runs all time, no one can live sinlessly all the time.  And it’s not just the “big” sins … a single lie, loss of temper, glance of lust disqualifies us from heaven forever.  Whether you miss the tree by a thou or take the stripe dead one, close to perfect is NOT perfect.   It gets worse, and I must be straightforward here.  To miss heaven, means to spend forever in torment.  The wages of sin is...
Read more

Heat those Tires Part 1

Image
  Heat Those Tires 1 Mark 9:24 - And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Do you remember the days of the funny car dry hop?  What a great show!  Eventually, the practice made its way to the sportsman series when the technology was not as it is today.  Before multiple compound tires, computerized clutch assessment, and the variety of surface prep materials, drivers did not always trust the burnout to make the tires stick.  The dry hop gave that extra bit of assurance.  The issue was doubt.  We know now that the dry hop can actually take heat out of the tires and make them less adhesive.  The doubt about the traction was actually leading to loss of traction. And loss of traction makes for a joyless pass and frustrating race.  Doubt  will cause loss of traction in our Christian race as well. It is very common for new believers to have doubts after their salvation ex...
Read more