geocreationism.com

Has God ever seen you though something you weren’t sure you were supposed to do? How about something you were sure about, but you did it anyway? He saw you through that, too, didn’t He?  Well, that’s the kind of God He is.  But, here’s the thing… God will lead into things you wouldn’t expect Him to, and then seem to go silent as you cope with the most difficult situation you’ve ever faced.  Sometimes, that’s just how it is.  Other times, it brings on transformational change, as you make changes in yourself, your outlook, your attitude… and these are the times that came to mind as I read through Hebrews 12, leading in to our next scripture on righteousness. 

 ¹Therefore, 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.

Remember the race? Paul writes of it.  It’s race that only one man can win… and that man is Jesus.  But, cling to Him and you realize that as hard you run is as obedient as you are, and when Christ crosses the finish line He will share the reward with you.  But, you cannot run the race if you let your trials ensnare you in sin.  With trials come temptation, and with temptation, there comes sin… if you let it.  So, don’t let it.  Don’t get distracted.  Keep your eyes on the road.  Stay the course, and keep Jesus within sight… because He’s running hard, and He’s doing it for you.

²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In other words… keep running.

But, what can this possible have to do with righteousness?  Good question, and verse 2 above partially answers it! Righteousness is credited to us when we believe God; and people see that righteousness in us when we obey God in turn.  As Christians, we’ve tended to blur these two steps into the single word of faith.  You faith in what God says; you proceed in faith.  It’s a Christianeze word that mixes both your belief and obedience into one, and Christ is both its author and perfector.

It’s author? You bet! When you believe, it is accounted to you by God as righteousness… and you can be sure that He knew to have it around to credit you with! And then the fruit that comes from your resulting obedience? That comes from keeping your eye on God, on Jesus.  Just follow Him… all the way to the cross, to the tomb, then up to Heaven where you will meet the Father… and along the way you will be helped by the Holy Spirit.  All God, all distinct aspects of Him.  He knew that would confuse, but He did it all the same, so you would have Him everywhere to focus on… as your source, your guide, and your destination.  So run the race. Don’t splice it, don’t analyze it.  “Just do it”, as the philosopher Nike once put it. 

 ⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Our race is a struggle, huh?  Some times more than others.  It’s easy to say “Just do it”.  Real easy.  It’s another thing when you’re really out there struggling against the sin that gets in your way… how are you supposed to keep your eyes on Christ then?  After all, sin can hurt… but resisting sin can hurt more.  Well, we think it will.  But, it’s just a trick of the enemy.  You think God doesn’t know your path will lead right through that brood of vipers you see?  And that they bite, and they’ll draw blood if you resist them?  Of course He does!  Yet He wants you to proceed, and to do so without sinning… even if He knows you will sin anyway.  Wh-wh-what?  Then why lead us there?

 ⁵And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
   ”My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
      and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
 ⁶because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
      and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

 ⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

Well, think about it.  The main thing is belief and obedience… faith.  When you begin keeping your eye on Jesus, despite the tempatations around you, it will hurt.  But your belief that following His way is better will be accounted to you as righteousness, and as you keep making this choice over and over and over again, it get’s easier on a certain level… you get bolder.  You get braver.  When Jesus says over His shoulder, “Come on! What you got to fear?”  You won’t see it, but you’ll know it, and you’ll go it.

Remember Bruce Willis in Die Hard? Bare feet, with death at his door, and life awaiting him across a sea of broken glass.  Did I say he was barefoot?  Well, he ran across that glass, resisting death to the point of shedding blood.  Your choices won’t always be so harsh, or so clear, but God will be there, and if that’s the path He leads you down, and it’s truly Him, then you can trust Him… in fact, you do best if you do.  Believe it.  Obey it.  Proceed in faith…

 ¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 8:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.