Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Those who have run the race before us, those great heroes of the faith we love and celebrate, look onward towards us at the finish line cheering us on. The call to run and endure is a call to discipline ourselves so that we may last the entire race. Just as those who train for marathons train for months to condition their bodies, so to do we condition our spirits so that temptation and sin may not drag us down.
And Jesus is our coach who pushes us past what we thought were our limits and encourages us to grow at every step. We may not always like his discipline, but it is for our good in order that we may share his holiness and produce the fruit of righteousness upon which our salvation depends. Just as it is useless to have a personal trainer and listen to none of their advice or do anything they suggest, so too is a disobedient Christian stagnant in their own growth.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
This particular man had everything: money, power, fame, youth, and a morally upright lifestyle. And yet we still see him running to Jesus and falling on his knees with a question burning in his heart. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It was an obvious question with an obvious answer: obey the commandments, but all these things this man has done and still he feels empty. "There must be more to life than this?"
And then, Jesus tells him what he wanted to hear, that indeed he has overlooked something, and that there was but one thing he lacked: A personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The command he gives here is to be taken together. Charity and altruism is not enough: he must follow Jesus, yet still he must give all that he has to truly follow.
All his life he kept the law and was left unfulfilled, and yet when the time came and the personal invite from Jesus Christ into a real relationship with the Divine Trinity was offered, the one and only thing which can fill that spiritual void, the man walked away back to his wealth which has left him so empty before, back to his life of longing for more. In the end, even the man who has everything but has not Christ is left wanting more.
This particular man had everything: money, power, fame, youth, and a morally upright lifestyle. And yet we still see him running to Jesus and falling on his knees with a question burning in his heart. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It was an obvious question with an obvious answer: obey the commandments, but all these things this man has done and still he feels empty. "There must be more to life than this?"
And then, Jesus tells him what he wanted to hear, that indeed he has overlooked something, and that there was but one thing he lacked: A personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The command he gives here is to be taken together. Charity and altruism is not enough: he must follow Jesus, yet still he must give all that he has to truly follow.
All his life he kept the law and was left unfulfilled, and yet when the time came and the personal invite from Jesus Christ into a real relationship with the Divine Trinity was offered, the one and only thing which can fill that spiritual void, the man walked away back to his wealth which has left him so empty before, back to his life of longing for more. In the end, even the man who has everything but has not Christ is left wanting more.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
There is a reason these three are kept close together. Although the greatest of these three is love, love is nothing without faith and hope. God is love, of that there is no doubt, and like love there will be times when he is readily apparent and times when he is not so easily perceived yet nonetheless there. So what is it during these dry times that perseveres love and sustains it through trials? It is the work of faith and hope together.
So many people believe that love will last, love is all they need, and love will keep us together. Love is an emotional, spiritual, and physical bondedness to someone and like most bonds it can be broken.
Faith (i.e. trust) in God and in another is what allows love to take place. Faith comes first and then love follows. You cannot love someone you do not trust. Hope, which stems from faith, is what keeps love alive even in the darkest times. Without faith and hope, love cannot grow and God cannot be. So the question to ask someone you want to marry isn't "Do I love you?" but rather "Will it last?" It is God who joins two people together (God is love) and if your faith and hope are in Him, then let no man separate.
There is a reason these three are kept close together. Although the greatest of these three is love, love is nothing without faith and hope. God is love, of that there is no doubt, and like love there will be times when he is readily apparent and times when he is not so easily perceived yet nonetheless there. So what is it during these dry times that perseveres love and sustains it through trials? It is the work of faith and hope together.
So many people believe that love will last, love is all they need, and love will keep us together. Love is an emotional, spiritual, and physical bondedness to someone and like most bonds it can be broken.
Faith (i.e. trust) in God and in another is what allows love to take place. Faith comes first and then love follows. You cannot love someone you do not trust. Hope, which stems from faith, is what keeps love alive even in the darkest times. Without faith and hope, love cannot grow and God cannot be. So the question to ask someone you want to marry isn't "Do I love you?" but rather "Will it last?" It is God who joins two people together (God is love) and if your faith and hope are in Him, then let no man separate.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Jeremiah 18:6
"He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel."
Acknowledging that not all Israel is Israel (Rom 9:6) and that true Jews are not circumcised outwardly but inwardly of the heart (Deut 30:6; Rom 2:29). A true Jew obeys the laws of his Lord so that both Jew and Gentile are united in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.
And so we are clay in the Potter's hands. If the pot shows imperfections in shape, it is undone and redone again and again until at last it holds the perfect shape to be able to perform the task for which the potter designates. However, we are not pots. When we are torn down because of sin it is painful. If we continue in sin and are unrepentant, the clay is just throw out to be trampled because it has already hardened and can no longer be molded. But if we repent and again seek the Lord, he will relent from destroying us and continue to mold and shape us until we are perfect, conformed to the likeness of God's Son. (Rom 8:29)
God has endeavors to create from the beginning of time men and women who would reflect his glory and seek his face. Even to this day he is still creating them, male and female he is creating them. Will you resist the potter's hand or be molded into glory?
Acknowledging that not all Israel is Israel (Rom 9:6) and that true Jews are not circumcised outwardly but inwardly of the heart (Deut 30:6; Rom 2:29). A true Jew obeys the laws of his Lord so that both Jew and Gentile are united in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.
And so we are clay in the Potter's hands. If the pot shows imperfections in shape, it is undone and redone again and again until at last it holds the perfect shape to be able to perform the task for which the potter designates. However, we are not pots. When we are torn down because of sin it is painful. If we continue in sin and are unrepentant, the clay is just throw out to be trampled because it has already hardened and can no longer be molded. But if we repent and again seek the Lord, he will relent from destroying us and continue to mold and shape us until we are perfect, conformed to the likeness of God's Son. (Rom 8:29)
God has endeavors to create from the beginning of time men and women who would reflect his glory and seek his face. Even to this day he is still creating them, male and female he is creating them. Will you resist the potter's hand or be molded into glory?
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