In the Spotlight

"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. 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." Heb. 12:1,2 NLT

This is something that we as Christians must never forget. We are always in the spotlight so to speak. Our lives are under constant surveillance by the non-Christians in our lives. They watch to see how we will handle certain situations, they are curious about our joy. They recognize a difference, but may not be sure exactly what it is. That is why the writer encourages us to "strip off every weight, especially the sin that so easily trips us up."

When I first started going to church as a young man, one of the reasons I walked away was because of things "good Christians," were doing in plain sight. Many of the leaders I looked up to were getting caught in immorality, financial mis-dealings, public acts of hypocrisy that I couldn't understand at the time. I thought wow, if this is the way the leaders of the church act, why am I here? They're no better than the people I ran with in the world. And to be honest, I had a lot more fun in the world than I was having around "Christians" at that time in my life. So even though it was probably just an excuse for me to continue on my own path to destruction, the witness these people were living gave me an out.

All of us have certain struggles in our lives, it may be pride, ego, lust.., I was praying this morning about my particular struggle. Lord please take this from me, change the desire of my heart. All I want is more of you.., Then I got a wake up call. The Lord brought to mind all af the things I have been delivered from, drugs, alcohol, deception. So I thought well, if you can deliver me from those things, why not this? Then a light bulb flashed, because I was ready to let go of those things. I laid them at the foot of the cross and Jesus took them and cast them as far away as the east is from the west. Of those things, not only was I sorry for them, but I repented of them. I turned from them and walked away.

After prayer, I picked up my Bible to read, and Hebrews chapter 12 was awaiting me. The Bible tells us to strip away every weight that holds us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. Do you get that? We have a part to play in this too. Jesus promised us forgiveness, but to live a victorious life, we have to participate!

If you would like to know more about Jesus, please click on one of the church links on this page. If you would like prayer, or just someone to talk with you can contact me directly; rlwhitener@gmail.com Please include "Prayer Request" in the subject line.

Thanks for following along,
God Bless