Notes to the Lord: More of Eternity On My Mind

Scripture Reflections:Hebrews 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

Lord Jesus--This morning I am thinking of that crowd that is gathered just beyond the sight of these eyes. Just beyond the horizon that shade me from the things eternal. There are people in that crowd who I can almost hear…their encouraging words from their vantage point. They know in full what I know only in part….Jesus, they see face to face what I see only through a mirror dimly.

The crowd grows as time goes on and as my race continues…former mentors have taken their place in cloud of people who are cheering on my laboring feet and legs on this journey.

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,

Lord Jesus--There comes the time to put side the things that have engaged my attention in the past and focus with clarity on the race before me…on the things that really matter. So much else can get in the way of who you are calling me to be, they're not necessarily sin…just things that are not worth the time or the effort. If eternity is the focus it does seem to make that car in the drive way seem less important…or whatever the next thing happens to be.

Then there is sin…funny thing is that it just keeps changing as I continue on in this journey. Just when I get the steps of the dance down they change the music on me. That’s it…the evil one wants me to dance to sin’s tune and waist the precious energy that I have on things that will never satisfy in the first place.

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

There are times when I wish that my race could have taken a different course…I don’t know how….maybe closer to the beach, or with less winter or maybe...with more hours in the day. But those things are not the point. The race that I am called to is the one that is beneath my feet right now. The steps that are right in front of me are the ones that You have called me to.

Perseverance never comes cheap. It is never found on sale at the dollar store down the street. It comes at the cost of lesser things…like: present comfort, expedience, and quick fixes. Have I forgotten the needed lessons that can only be taught by perseverance?

2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

Lord Jesus give me the eyes of a runner that only has one focus...in the middle of this race help me to keep my eyes on the finish line. You are the one who sets the course and knows what the turns and twists of the course are before I get there. Help me to keep focused on you…on what you would have accomplished with these fleeting moments of my life. Let the agenda be set not by me and what seems to be the important thing of the moment, but the agenda that is yours.

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.

A part of the joy that was set before you Lord Jesus was the redemption of humanity that was desperate for salvation even through they did not know it. A part of that joy was the knowledge that you were living up to the call of the Father and of the reason that you left heaven in the first place.

3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Lord Jesus--Here I am again...It always comes down to the personal. What is my response going to be Lord Jesus in this day that is right before me. Help me to see beyond the present potholes to the road to Kingdom Come which is where this race is leading.