Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
–Hebrews 12:1-3
I’m finishing off this last blog entry from a hotel room in Florida. We travel down almost every year with my folks who bless us with their timeshare. Some years we fly while others, like this year, we drive. Back in the day when our van was younger, we’d pack her up for our annual trek. Since she’s more in the “senior” category now, we rent a van for the drive. Usually that works out just fine.
This year, though, when my Dad went to pick up the Dodge Caravan or “other comparable model” all the dealership had on hand was something that was definitely not comparable. Oh it seats seven people. Problem is it only seats two suitcases and the six of us are on the road for 11 days. All of the sudden our thinking had to change. We had to consider what was important to bring and what was not; what would be helpful versus what would just weigh us down. All of the sudden we were dealing with very real limits. It made me think of Hebrews 12:1-3 yet again.
How often do I “pack the van” of my life with things and commitments and stuff that doesn’t matter? How do these encumbrances hinder me as I seek to follow God’s call and run the race He has set before me? What can I throw off so that I can run better?
I’m so proud of you for finishing the course of Hebrews 11! I hope you’ll join me again this summer for Mindset: Learning and Living the Will of God. This study on Romans 8 is the newest title in Precept’s Sweeter than Chocolate™ series. We’ll dive deep into Romans 8 and journey throughout the pages of God’s Word as we learn to think biblically and live out the truths we’re learning!
In the meantime, let’s keep in contact on Facebook and keep pursuing God with whole hearts through His Word.
And before I close, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you this one last question: What are you packing in your van today?
Hope to see you this summer!
With much love,
pam
Scripture quotation taken from the NASB.
Remember, you can watch the video and post responses anytime day or night! Don’t be shy!
Question: I watched Episode 5 of Epic; the Storyline of the Bible. At one point (on the screen) it says; Babylon conquers Israel (should that be Judah)? Paulette
ReplyDeleteSomething I found so interesting in studying the word endurance or endure: it is a discipline and in the N.T. it stresses over and over again about patient endurance. Patience and endurance go together. The dictionary for endure says to suffer patiently without yielding; to persevere.
ReplyDeleteLet's remember that as we endure hardships or whatever it is, that we need to be patient and fix our eyes on Jesus.
Pam, thanks so much for all of your insight and leading of this study. God Richly bless you!
Hey Paulette . . . Good comments on patience. And thanks for the heads up on the Epic Video. I hadn't seen the text that was added. I'm on it! Jerusalem (in Judah) falls to Babylon in 586 BC
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the teaching you provided for Hebrews 11. I hope that you have plans for another Sweeter Than Chocolate series. Be Blessed.
ReplyDeleteCarol . . . Romans 8 releases this coming weekend. Hope you'll be back for our summer class. :)
ReplyDeletePam,
ReplyDeleteThis lesson was so encouraging. Really enjoyed the word study on encumbrance, your illustration with the $24 and your point about how when we say yes to one thing, we automatically say no to something else.
I am feeling weary, but know that relief is in sight - so I have to fix my eyes on Jesus and the finish line.
Really enjoyed your study, looking forward to the new one on Romans 8.
@Marlene . . . Keep pressing on my friend!! Hope to study with you this summer. Know that when you wait on the Lord He will renew your strength.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, I didn't do the Hewbrew course with you but watched the videos. I enjoyed them. I will be dong the summer Romans with you and look forward to it. Will be keeping an eye out for when to order and start date. Thank you for doing this online study. Blessings to you.
ReplyDeleteHey California! :) Romans releases tomorrow, so online sales should be up and running soon. Looking forward to seeing you in Romans!
ReplyDeletePam –
ReplyDeleteThanks again for another powerful time in the most powerful book of all time! :o) Your illustration with the $24 was great. Had not seen that one before, as a pastors wife on top of being a mom and friend my money is spent before I get the check. I have been seeking what to say no to….and preparing myself for the reaction that it will cause, and this lesson has confirmed what God has been tenderly speaking to me. Thanks again. Looking forward to Romans, glad for the time off before we start again; I have a lot of budgeting and balancing to refigure. :o) Praying for you friend and sister in Christ.
Hey Gretchen . . . learning to say "no" can be hard to do but the benefits and the freedom to walk where God calls you to walk are so worth it. I'm still learning and have to reassess all the time! We're all on this journey together!!
ReplyDeleteAfter such a wonderful time of study, it is hard to find the biggest take-aways because everything was so great! One take-away that was mentioned by the youngest member of our group was how she has been learning not to worry. She said that she sees that worry is a sin and that it shows that we aren’t trusting God. Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 6:27 that worry can’t add a single hour to our lives—so really, it is pointless and worthless to worry but we still do so often. May the Lord give us the strength to walk by faith—knowing that He is sovereign and in control, knowing that we are not to worry because it is a waste of time, and knowing that we need to trust God in every situation.
ReplyDeleteAnother take-away that was mentioned was the importance of legacy. Each of us has been given a legacy from our family—but the really neat thing is that we have been given a legacy in the Word of God as well. We have examples that have run the race before us and we see their lives in the pages of Scripture. It is so important that we pass down a godly legacy—and something else that was mentioned was being serious about handling the Word of God and passing that down to children. May the Lord also give us strength to run with endurance as we pass down a godly legacy that will be followed by generations to come!
Great takeaways! So glad your youngest is dealing with worry early—it is such a robber of joy. Keep running my friends and pass that baton!!
ReplyDeleteJust want to say that my friends and I in Asia have thoroughly enjoyed this study. We are wrapping up our study tonight with lesson 11.
ReplyDeleteI have a "how-to" question:
I tried and tried to figure out how to answer the question on page 126 "What do your resources tell you about how these words were used in the LXX and the Greek world?" but I could never figure out on BLB or StudyLight how to see if hupomene was used in the LXX! Any tips? What am I missing?
Hey JB and Cathy . . . So sorry for the delay in response. Try www.greattreasures.org. It's a fabulous biblical Greek site—NT and LXX.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, A friend and I are considering joining your new study this Thursday. Is this iPad-compatible? Will it be OK if we don't have our books right away? Thank you! Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteHi Jacqueline . . . hope you will join us! At this point you should be able to view on the iPad, but the study itself is not an app -- hopefully that will be something that happens sooner than later! I forwarded your note to Precept. :) You can download Week One of the study from the Precept e-store so you can start before a book arrives. Also, this is a study you can do on your own time, so even if you started a little later, it would be okay. :)
ReplyDeleteOK, finished Hebrews 11 tonight.
ReplyDeleteParticularly enjoyed the illustration with the money. I am constantly reminded by God how much time I spend on trivial stuff (dont we all?) and that lesson keeps showing up in my life, even in secular venues.
I'm also reminded of how Abraham stepped out... something I am pondering a lot of late. And probably the biggest lesson, simply faith.
Thanks Pam and all.
@Laura . . . Wooo hooo! Way to go! So glad to hear that you finished your course! The time issue is big, isn't it? God is still working with me on that one!
ReplyDelete