From my reading in Hebrews 12 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

Life is a race.

I hope I win! I hope I win! ~ Mr. Bean in Rat Race

Hebrews 11 tells us about the men and women who carried the baton of faith. Now they have passed it on to us. Here are 4 ways to run your part of the race well.

1. Realize the crowd in the cloud is cheering you on! Tweet This

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith… Heb 11:1a 

Knowing we are not the first to run this race helps motivate us to run hard for Jesus.

2. Get rid of the distractions and sin that hold you back.

“let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up… Heb 11:1b

I ran track in high school and I was forced to wear uncomfortably short shorts. This kept baggy cloths from getting in the way and slowing me down.

There are two things that slow us down in the race of faith.

1. Distractions might not be sin in themselves but if they keep us from running the race Jesus has for us then they become sin.
2. Sin trips us up. Sin stops our forward progress. Confess it to God and keep running!

3. Run hard even when it gets hard.

“And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us… Heb 11:1c Tweet This

The race of life is a marathon. It takes endurance. We must never give up because Jesus never gave up.

4. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and don’t give up!

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” Hebrews 12:1–3

Jesus is our greatest example of endurance. He ran the perfect race and never gave up.

He was able to endure because of the joy that awaited him. He endured so that we could be saved and so he would be glorified!

Compared to what Jesus went through, most of our problems are small. Tweet This

Jesus suffered for you and he can give you strength to get through anything!  So run hard following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Which of these ways of winning the race do you need to focus on today?

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