Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
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.
Jules Verne's novel The Mysterious Island, he tells of
five men who escape a Civil War prison camp by hijacking a hot air balloon.
As they rise into the air, they realize the wind is
carrying them over the ocean. Watching their homeland disappear on the horizon,
they wonder how much longer the balloon can stay aloft. As the hours pass and
the surface of the ocean draws closer, the men decide they must cast overboard
some of the weight, for they had no way to heat the air in the balloon. Shoes,
overcoats, and weapons are reluctantly discarded, and the uncomfortable
aviators feel their balloon rise. But only temporarily.
Soon they find themselves dangerously close to the waves
again, so they toss their food. Better to be high and hungry than drown on a
full belly! Unfortunately, this, too, is only a temporary solution, and the
craft again threatens to lower the men into the sea. One man has an idea: they
can tie the ropes that hold the passenger car and sit on those ropes. Then they
can cut away the basket beneath them. As they sever the very thing they had
been standing on, it drops into the ocean, and the balloon rises.
Not a minute too soon, they spot land. Eager to stand on
terra firma again, the five jump into the water and swim to the island. They
live, spared because they were able to discern the difference between what
really was needed and what was not. The "necessities" they once
thought they couldn't live without were the very weights that almost cost them
their lives.
Every day and in every way, keep Jesus Christ first in
your life. He is the Savior of your soul!
Dear Lord, thank the You that You are all that we need throughout
eternity. Give us someone today to share that great news with today. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.
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