Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin the so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Strippers can make the best friends. Really…
God calls us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.”
Not what you had in mind? I’ll give you a few seconds to repent before we continue.
There are those of us that are trying to run this race with metaphorical 80-pound sacks of sin-crete on our shoulders. These sacks can be many different things. Things like destructive habits that we refuse to give up… These include things like alcohol, tobacco, Big Macs, pornography, and more… Then there are sacks filled with things like bitterness, prejudice, hatefulness, and unforgiveness. You might even be carrying a sack of old-fashioned religion (even though these sacks are decorated very nicely, they can smell pretty bad and typically weigh up to 120 pounds). In summary, these sacks of sin-crete include anything in your life that you know God is calling you to give up.
When we’re carrying these things on our shoulders, we find that even though we’re trying our best to run quickly and efficiently, we just can’t get ahead. The journey quickly becomes very overwhelming. We eventually stop running.
But guess who never stops running? You guessed it…
A person that has decided to strip off every weight on their shoulders!
Do you know anyone like this? A person that has given up on the things of this world. A person that has given up everything to follow Christ? If you do, make them your friend! Run the race with them! As we are learning as a church, life is better together!
If we can encourage each other and help each other lay these weights down, our church will not only be changing lives and making disciples, we’ll also be changing the definition of the term “stripper.”
Shed the weight and live your life for Jesus Christ!
