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 trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (NLT)
Witnesses surround us. They are a large crowd. Who are they? To what do they witness? Hebrews 12 begins with the word, "therefore" which refers to what was written before. Chapter 11 is about the great people of faith that were witnesses to a life of faith.
The verse obviously does not refer to people looking over the edge of heaven and watching all who are currently living. If that were the case then heaven would cease to be heaven. For in heaven there is no tears or sorrow. If people in heaven could see what was happening on earth it would no longer be heaven. The witness is the life of faith that they lived.
Two qualities are observed in their lives. The first is faith itself. The examples in chapter 11 tell of the heroic deeds of faith lived by these witnesses. The second quality is endurance. They were not only people with great faith but they endured hardship and ridicule, but never received the promises of God and yet they continued to believe.
The writer of Hebrews encourages you to a life of faith, by admonishing you to remove any encumbrance that would hinder your walk of faith. The writer uses the analogy of a runner who wears only the bare necessities of clothing in order to not slow down their speed and endurance. The author reminds you to lay aside anything that hinders you and especially the sin that so easily entangles you. You likely have something that continually bogs you down and becomes a stumbling block to your faith. It interrupts your endurance. Set it aside. Remove it from your life. The fight of faith is not easy. It takes continual dependence upon the Holy Spirit to give you the power and discipline to live by faith and to endure life and its difficulties.
You have a great crowd of witnesses whose lives were an example of faith and endurance. Run your race realizing there are those who have gone before you.
__________________Today's personal note from Dennis
Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ.,
Happy and Blessed New Year to all of you. I do pray 2012 is a great year. Remember that "if God is for you no one can be against you" Romans 8:31. I do believe God is for His children and will guide us and direct us into this New Year.
I am a bit glad the whole holiday season is over. I find I was a bit tired after all the birthdays and Christmas. We celebrated the last birthday of the year this past week as Collin turned 11 years old. We are very proud of his accomplishments. He is a great and wonderful Grandson. Of course I have four of those.
Sandy and I have many ministry opportunities this year already. We need your prayers for strength, preparation, God's total leadership, and the filling of God's Holy Spirit.
Please pray for these things specifically.
1. Sandy's weekly Bible Study at First Baptist Church on Tuesday mornings at 9AM. She enjoys teaching and enjoys the ladies at our church.
2. I will be having several areas of needed prayer for opportunities to preach.
a. Preaching at First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix on January 15th at 10:30 AM.
b. Preaching at First Baptist Church ofTempe on January 15th at 6 PM.
c. Sandy and I both will be teaching at Quartzsite during the Rock and Gem show at the Quartzsite Southern Baptist Church. January 18-28th.
d. Preaching at First Baptist Church of Tempe on March 4th at 9:30 AM Intersect Service.
e. Please pray for an opportunity I have to teach at a Pastor's school in Uganda, Africa in March. This will include two weeks in Uganda and one week in Southern Sudan. This will require a lot of preparation, finances and physical and spiritual strength. One of the items on my 'bucket list' is to go on another mission trip overseas.
f. Preaching a revival at Second Baptist Church of Lebanon, MO April 29-May 2.
3. Pray for continued good health. Although I still have a malignant tumor in my liver I feel quite good. I will have CT scans and lab work done at the end of January. Pray for
a good report.
It has been so good to have heard from so many of you at Christmas time. You mean a lot to us and we praise God for you. May God continue to bless your life and ministries. May he guide you with his love, mercy and grace. HE IS GOOD!!
Thanks again for your prayers, love, concern and support. ~ DGW
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