"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)
Today's thought follows directly in line with Kelly's blog from yesterday about disciplining our bodies to "run the race." We are told in this verse to "throw off everything that hinders." The contrast between this phrase and the 2nd part, "the sin that so easily entangles," suggests that what is being referred to ion this first phrase are things that are not necessarily sinful in and of themselves, but which get in our way of running our spiritual race with excellence. Things that are OK in and of themselves can become hindrances to running the race well if we place our focus on them. Good things like our career, our possessions, our hobbies, our relationships--even our church "activities" --are all good things, but if they become our preoccupation then we are in trouble.
We need to ask ourselves: "What is there in my life that I need to remove to be prepared to run the race for Christ in 2012? What is draining my time and energy that I could be using for Jesus Christ?" Let us ask God to help us remove the things that hinder us in our devotion to Him and our primary task to make Him known.
