It Starts With Me Stripping Down

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

As followers of Christ, we will be able to run further faster if we don’t have sin clinging to us and weighing us down. If you want your relationship with Jesus to go to the next level then it starts with you stripping down.

There is a good reason why marathon runners look the way they do instead of looking like power-lifters or NFL players. Because they don’t carry a lot of extra weight, they are able to run further faster. While this is true physically, it is also true spiritually. Sin will cling to us and weigh us down so that we aren’t able to pursue Jesus like we could if we weren’t carrying sinful habits or bad attitudes.

If you want to pick up the pace in your pursuit of Jesus, then start by stripping off the sin that is weighing you down. This could be ending a bad relationship, talking to someone about your addiction, forgiving someone who hurt you in the past, or asking someone for forgiveness for the way you have been treating them. All of these things, whether big or small, add weight to our lives and slow us down in our pursuit of Jesus.

Can you identify one or two things in your life that are slowing you down in your pursuit of Jesus.

Sin slows you down, so strip it off! Jesus has too much in store for your life for you to be weighed down. Start running the race with endurance and keep your eyes on Jesus who is calling you forward.

Dear Lord, help us be honest with our self today and strip off those sins that are dragging us down.  Help us to shed the things that keep us from the calling You have for us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.