Hebrews 1

Do you ever feel like the days are flying by? Have you ever thought, “I can’t believe it’s already this month”? It is true that there are times when the days seem to fly by as we race from one commitment to another. Have you ever considered that there are those watching you as you race about your day and through your years? It is true.

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 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.”

Gulp. There is a cloud of witnesses watching us? If your eyes are widened at this verse, be assured, mine have been as well.

How is it possible for us to run our race in a way that honors God? We can lay aside encumbrances and entangling sins. We can run with endurance with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith; following His example.

We have a race to run even as Jesus did. We may not like it and in fact, despise it. Yet God has set the joy of heaven before us and it is that on which we are to set our eyes as Jesus did.

About that great cloud of witnesses watching us race…. what are they observing about us? How will we better run today?

Lord Jesus, we praise You, the AUTHOR & PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH. Thank You for taking the lead so we can follow You and Your example. We worship You.

How familiar are you with “the cloud,” the global network of servers around the globe that store and manage data, run applications, or deliver a service?  Maybe you are aware of the cloud, but not certain how it functions. On the other hand, how familiar are you with the cloud referenced in Hebrews 12:1-2?

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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and PERFECTER of 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.

Who composes the cloud in Hebrews 12:1? The cloud is a great throng of men and women who lived out their faith. Through their struggles and even times of sin, they held to their commitment to God. They believed Him and therefore He was able to use them in exceptional ways for His kingdom. Hebrews 12:1-2 is a bugle call for us to rise up and join them. What might we need to do to join this hall of fame/faith?

1.  Lay aside every encumbrance. The Greek definition of encumbrance is a weight or burden. What are we lugging around that is holding us back from sprinting forward?
2. Lay aside every sin which is entangling us. I can think of no better word than entangles to describe what sin does to us. It weaves into our life, mind, heart, and relationships. It trips us up. Sin prevents us from running the race God has set before us; that He has purposed for our lives. We are to call sin what it is, untangle it, and lay it aside.
3. Run with endurance the race set before you with your eyes on Jesus. Anyone who competes in a race will tell you how important it is to not look back over your shoulder. Rather, runners look forward with their eyes fixed on the goal. Believers are to run with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Jesus, the author of our faith. Jesus, the perfecter of faith. Is your faith in need of perfecting? Then follow Jesus. His eyes were on the joy set before Him and although not described, the joy must have included thoughts of being reunited with His Father in heaven. Jesus did what it took to complete the race before Him. He endured the cross even while despising the shame. Now, He is seated at the right hand of God’s throne.  If you answered yes, that your faith is in need of perfecting, go back and read how the saints in Hebrews 11 lived out their faith. Follow their example and Jesus’s example.  Lay aside the encumbrance!  Untangle and lay aside the sin! Run!

Lord Jesus, we praise You for enduring the cross. Impassion us to lay aside encumbrances and sin so we run free of them with our eyes fixed on You. 

Is there something you despise? If so, our sweet Lord Jesus Christ can relate. Have you ever considered how much Jesus despised everything that happened surrounding His crucifixion? The injustice. The lies said about Him? The upside down statements said so that truth was made out to be a lie and lies were made out to be truth. The mob mentality that switched from singing His praises to shouting, “Crucify Him!”  Oh, yes, friends, if you’re going through something and you despise it, you have a friend in Jesus. He can relate. Yet, our sweet Savior suffered through the despising ordeal in order to not only give us a start in our Christian walk but to also make sure that our faith is perfected, complete, and finished. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us now to follow Christ’s example. “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and PERFECTER of 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.” We have a race to run in this life even as Jesus did. We may not like it. We may, in fact, despise it. Yet God has set before us the joy of heaven, of being reunited with loved ones, of living in eternity where there is no sin and no shame. We may feel like we’re all alone. But let’s not be fooled. There is a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” What do they see as they observe us? Are we pouting or worshipping? Is our face fixed on Jesus and so our countenance reflecting Him? Or, are we succumbing to ideas of worst-case scenarios and walking around like we don’t have a Savior? This is our time to shine forth for Jesus, to live for the joy set before us, to pray like never before. What is the great cloud of witnesses observing about us today?

Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FINISHER of OUR FAITH!

Have you ever considered how much Jesus despised the shame of the cross?  Yet, He suffered through it in order to not only give us a start in our Christian walk but to also make sure that our faith is perfected, complete, and finished. Hebrews 12:1-2 calls us now to follow Christ’s example “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and PERFECTER of 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.” We have a race to run even as Jesus did. We may not like it. We may, in fact, despise it. Yet God has set before us the joy of heaven, of being reunited with loved ones, of living in eternity where there is no sin, no shame. We may feel like we’re all alone as we self isolate. But, let’s not be fooled. There is a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” What are they observing? Are we pouting or worshipping? Is our face fixed on Jesus and so our countenance is lifted up? Or, are we succumbing to ideas of worst case scenarios and walking around with a downcast spirit? This is our time to shine forth for Jesus – for the joy set before us. What is the great cloud of witnesses observing about us today?

Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FINISHER of OUR FAITH!

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