My rambling contemplations this September morning. The Spirit inside me speaks at times, and I simply can't keep it to myself:
Hebrew 12: 1-2
"Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"
"Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"
As I read this passage this morning, having read it probably thousands of times over the course of my Christian journey, I felt a pressing need to read it with fresh vision, to read with heightened understanding, to know more fully what the author was trying to convey to his readers.
The previous chapter details this "cloud of witnesses" that surrounds us:
~ Abel, who obeyed God's guidelines for making sacrifice
~ Enoch, who was a friend to God and has yet to taste death (Revelation gives clues as to God's exciting plan for Enoch in the Tribulation)
~ Noah, whose faith in an unseen God saved not only his entire family, but the future of all living creatures
~ Abraham, who packed up everything he owned and obeyed God's command to go, even though he didn't know where he was being led
~ Isaac, who blessed Esau and Jacob and detailed their futures by faith in the One who was able to bring it to pass
~ Sarah, who believed that God was faithful to fulfil His promises, even when he promised her a child in her old age
~ Moses, who walked away from his life in the Pharoah's palace to identify with God's oppressed people and lead them to freedom
~ Rahab, the prostitute who believed it was worth risking her life to help God's people, and from whose genealogical line Jesus came
~ The entire Israelite nation, who passed through the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, because God parted the waters and told them to
~ Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets, and many, many more men and women whose faith shines in the pages of Scripture and the annals of history
~ Enoch, who was a friend to God and has yet to taste death (Revelation gives clues as to God's exciting plan for Enoch in the Tribulation)
~ Noah, whose faith in an unseen God saved not only his entire family, but the future of all living creatures
~ Abraham, who packed up everything he owned and obeyed God's command to go, even though he didn't know where he was being led
~ Isaac, who blessed Esau and Jacob and detailed their futures by faith in the One who was able to bring it to pass
~ Sarah, who believed that God was faithful to fulfil His promises, even when he promised her a child in her old age
~ Moses, who walked away from his life in the Pharoah's palace to identify with God's oppressed people and lead them to freedom
~ Rahab, the prostitute who believed it was worth risking her life to help God's people, and from whose genealogical line Jesus came
~ The entire Israelite nation, who passed through the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, because God parted the waters and told them to
~ Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets, and many, many more men and women whose faith shines in the pages of Scripture and the annals of history
We have these examples, and so many more from more recent times, like George Mueller (one of my personal favourites), who so many times would sit down at the empty table with the children from his orphanage and begin to talk to God and say "Well, Father, here we are, ready to eat. What will You provide for us today?". Invariably there would be a knock on the door and a milkman would have a broken wheel and be unable to make his rounds, so would donate the milk so it wouldn't spoil. Someone would arrive with fresh produce, a dozen fresh loaves of bread, or an envelope of money with a note saying someone had felt a sudden and pressing urgency to send provision to George's ministry. All those hungry mouths, all those years of running the orphanage, and not one day did they go without a meal. And that is the God we serve. That same God provides for us.
These are hard times, and these are dark times. They will get harder and darker before it's all said and done. Our brothers and sisters are suffering and dying all over the world, and there doesn't seem to be any relief or escape in sight. It's so easy for us to sit here in the Western world and say that God has a plan, but what about those living with the reality of ISIS on their doorsteps, families drowning while trying to escape the oppression in their homelands, girls being sold into slavery and treated as disposable sexual trinkets, little boys being taught that the horror of beheading another human being is normal and acceptable.
An American pastor named Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran since 2012 for the crime of speaking about Christ in private homes. His wife Nagmeh and their two children, Jacob and Rebekka, have been praying for his release for three straight years, as they receive reports of his beatings and torture. President Obama has thus far refused to get involved in demanding the release of this American citizen. His wife has recently felt a strong sense that God is preparing her for something very difficult. Her hope and faith are being shaken.
The hope we have is only a tiny glimmer sometimes. We're not even sure if we actually see a flicker of light, or just imagine it on the distant horizon. But make no mistake... HE. IS. COMING. BACK!!!!!! In an instant, in the blink of an eye, this world will be plunged into terror and chaos as we who identify with Christ as our God will disappear. We will not be abandoned. This is just the waiting room to eternity. Which door we step through is the deciding factor to where we spend our eternity.
All the things that trip us up and hold us down in this world are temporary and unimportant in the light of eternity. Why do we spend our time and energy on things that won't last, that won't go into eternity with us? Women, why are we pouring our lives into our external appearances, our weight loss goals, our hair, our clothing, our perfectly decorated homes, our careers? Men, why are you chasing after possessions, homes, cars, toys, sex, power?
'Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus". Everything else will dim and pale by comparison. In these Last Days, these End Times, nothing else should matter to the Christian.
So today, I pledge to run toward Jesus, my future. And tomorrow, I will renew my pledge. And every day thereafter, I will start all over again.
Who's with me?
