Skip to main content

Hebrews 11-13


 Have you ever seen the NBA Slam Dunk contest?

Can you imagine the thrill of being a participant in it and being surrounded by some of the NBA’s brightest stars, as you perform an array of dazzling dunks?

Not only that, but you are surrounded by NBA legendary players at courtside, in the stands, watching on TV, and even judging the dunks.  What a rush of adrenaline that must produce!  These stars whoop it up, give you high 5’s, and jubilantly celebrate each of your dunks. 

To have the respect of your peers, of those who have gone on before – to have the opportunity to perform well in front of them and the desire to impress, pushes you on to even greater feats. 

The word “therefore” in Hebrews 12:1 introduces us to a scene of positive peer pressure in our Christian experience.  It points to the gallery of stars, the heroes of the faith, the hall of famers in chapter 11.  [Today’s references are from the New International Version, 1984.] 

Since we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses, we are challenged and motivated to run a special kind of race in our Christian experience.  There are three particular pieces of advice our player coach (he uses the word “we”) offers for us in Hebrews 12:1-3.  Like a good salad, they all begin with, “Let us.” 

1.      Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 

An athlete takes off anything and everything that hinders.  At that time the athletes often trained and even competed naked or as close to it as they could possible could.  They didn’t want anything to hold them back – not even good things.  Today athletes wear warm-up pants, but when it is time to compete in a race, they come off.  They hinder.  They are an impediment.

There is nothing wrong with hair on one’s head.  But swimmers shave their heads before a race to cut down on resistance.  They “throw off” the hair because it hinders.  How much resistance does a little hair offer?  How much does hair weigh?  Not much, but even good things may become bad things if they hinder us from running a winning race, in the realm of athletics and in the realm of our Christian race.

Sometimes we may get too much of a good thing.  Sometimes we may be too involved in something that is not wrong in itself – TV, the internet, sports, recreation, sleeping, eating, video games, pleasure seeking, hobbies, or whatever. The dedicated athlete throws off everything that hinders.  So does the dedicated Christian. 

2.      Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us – 12:1.  

The Christian race is not jogging, not sprinting, and it is not a middle distance run.  It is a marathon.  It requires endurance. 

We are to run with perseverance.  This is the Greek word hupomone.  It is defined as cheerful or hopeful endurance, even under pressure.

3.      Let us fix our eyes on Jesus - 12:2-3

The word fix means to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something else.  It means to consider attentively.    

We are to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author (meaning the leader or captain) of faith.   He is the perfecter of that same faith.  He, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we follow Jesus’s example, then we will be able to say as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7 – “I have fought the good fight.  I have finished the race.  I have kept the faith.
Paul Thompson


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luke 2-3

Merry Christmas!  Oops.  It’s a little late to be sharing Christmas greetings.  But here’s some good news.  Only 310 days until next Christmas.  In the meantime let’s look at one way we can get the most out of the 320 days.  Let’s see if we can learn a lesson from the shepherds that will help us move forward the way God wants us to. The shepherds weren’t going anywhere until they dealt with their fear.  Luke 2:8-9 tells us they were afraid on the first Christmas night.  In fact they were filled with fear.  The KJV states it in a memorable way – “They were sore afraid.” It was not just the angel that terrified them but also the visible manifestation of the glory of God. What was the glory of the Lord?  It must have been a superb light show.  The glory shone around them – a dazzling specter of light.  It was infinitely better than a meteor shower. But God’s angel had good news of great joy.  The news would calm th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ephesians 1-2; Psalm 8

Note: Both today and tomorrow's blog are based on the same reading. When listening to the news of our day, the phrase "majestic" is probably the last word that comes to your mind.  And yet, this is the word used by David in Psalm 8 to describe his view of God's reputation.  "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (v.1&9)  David further proclaims that he is not the only one declaring the majesty of God's name, but he hears it in the cries of his children and grandchildren.  Could it be that rather than hearing "Waa! Waah! Waa! Waah!" grandfather David heard "Yah! Weh! Yah! Weh!" (the Hebrew name for God)? David not only heard God's majesty, he saw it.  To do so, David looked up - beyond his circumstances.  "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place...O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name" (v.3&9)  David's ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Luke 1

When I was about 5 years old, I was given the opportunity to play Mary in our church Christmas pageant. No, not because I was a great actress or had any stage presence, but probably because Mary had no speaking part. My brother, a mere 13 months older than myself, was asked to portray Joseph alongside me. Again, probably because Joseph didn’t have to say anything and we were both painfully shy kids. I know the role of Mary is coveted by little girls in Christmas plays round the country, but for some reason I was adamant that I was NOT going to be Mary, instead settling for a bit part on the sidelines. A number of years ago our church held a Christmas pageant in which all of the kids participated in some way. That year “Mary” definitely stole the show as she carried baby Jesus down the aisle. She was an adorable golden-haired 6 or 7 year old, just old enough to carry her several-month old baby brother in front of an audience and calmly sticking a pacifier in his mouth when he sta...
Post a Comment
Read more