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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses cheering us on


12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1

I have several friends who like to run. Not being satisfied with a simple 5K these guys train to run longer, more grueling athletic events. I admire their dedication to the sport because I know it takes a lot of intense training to run the race.

There is another kind of race that we all compete in as followers of Christ. It takes perseverance and a knowledge of their Savior to finish this race. It takes perseverance because as we travel through life tough times will come, people we love will die, and trying times emotionally will result from those losses.

In this video clip the speaker references to a great cloud of witnesses as revealed in Hebrew 11. Imagine, if you will, you are running on a track and in the stands cheering for you are Enoch, Abraham, Samuel, David, and a host of other godly men we read about in the scriptures.

Then imagine if you will seeing your grandparents in the stands cheering you on. Then you glance in the corner of the stands and you see your niece who died way too young and she is cheering you on to finish the race. Then you glance higher and you see some of your ancestors you never met waving palm branches in hopes of encouraging you. As you run your race you realize that there are a great cloud of witnesses cheering you to finish your race. Then you see Jesus. He is waiting for you at the finish line where he will say to you ' you have fought the good fight. You have finished the race and you have kept the faith. Well done my good and faithful servant.

Do not be discouraged. Knowing you have a great cloud of witnesses cheering you on should give you the desire to persevere through whatever trials you are facing.



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