God Speaks
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. 2 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. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,
“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.
28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Hebrews 12 discusses how believers can apply the lessons taught by the examples of faith found in chapter 11. The cloud (or crowd) of witnesses* is either watching and cheering believers on or providing testimonies as to how to run the race of life in Christ. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus who is the one who blazed the trail and continues to show us the way of faith. God the Father disciplines us as any good father should; the Holy Spirit is our coach and cheerleader; Jesus will be there waiting to greet us at the finish line. Jesus is the ultimate judge to determine if we followed the rules since He knows what it’s like to be human. He has already had to pull some out of the race.
*The conclusion of the Kendrick brothers’ movie Overcomer provides a glorious example of the cloud of witnesses and the indwelling Holy Spirit guiding believers as we run the faith race.
Prayer: Great Father God in Heaven, thank You for all these people (in Hebrews 11) who testify of Your faithfulness, provision, direction, and love. They and You also watch over and encourage us to put away the things that would trip us up in this cross-country race of life. Help us keep our eyes on Jesus who has already finished the course and won the prize in spite of all the opposition He faced. So, we should not grow weary, lose heart, and give up. Most of us (believers around the world) have not struggled to the point of shedding our blood as He did. We must remember that You call us Your children. Thank You, LORD God, that You love us enough to discipline us. We, the children You have adopted, are now brothers and sisters with (or in) Christ. When our flawed human parents trained us in various ways, we respected or at least obeyed them. How much more should we trust and obey You, the great and awesome God, who loves us perfectly and knows all about us and our future. Training for the race or game of life is never easy or painless, but the rewards of righteousness and peace will be worth it all. Please help us to continually pursue peace and godliness so that both we and others will ultimately see You. Don’t let us be like Esau who foolishly gave up his birthright and lost his blessing which were irretrievable. Don’t let us be so shaken that we lose hold of Your grace. May Your refining fire only purify us so that our lives reflect You more clearly. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will compile a list of people who would be in my personal “hall of faith” that I can look to as examples of how to run my race of life.
- I will write out the lessons in faith that I have learned so that I can pass them on to others.
- I will ask God the Holy Spirit to show me what is slowing me down or tripping me up so that I can avoid (or He can remove) whatever is hindering me from running my best race of faith.
- I will cooperate with Jesus, my trainer, even when it is difficult to do what He says.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.