Even Better: PerseveranceSample

Have you ever watched sports on TV? No matter the sport, athletes competing at the top of their game are usually really particular about what they wear. I'm not talking about fashion (though I suppose that's sometimes true). I'm talking about the usefulness of what they choose to wear. Typically they'll wear shoes or cleats that fit just right and support their ankles so they don't get hurt. Their jerseys will be cut and tailored so they don't get in the way. Sometimes they'll wear protective equipment to keep them safe from injury. Everything they wear is intentional to help them perform as well as possible. In Hebrews, the writer compares following Jesus to running a race, and the main point he makes is stripping off the weights that slow us down. Can you imagine an athlete wearing weights during a game? There's no way they could play to their potential. The writer isn't talking about weights, though; he's talking about sin. Sin is anything we do that falls short of God's perfect standard. And when patterns of sin take hold in our life, it slows us down from following Jesus. So take the sin in your life seriously and get rid of it! Confess it to God and talk about it with your parents or small group leader. It's not until we strip away the sins in life that we can truly run the race God has set before us with endurance.

Challenge: Take a moment today to evaluate where sin has crept into your life. What weights do you need to take off to run your race? Ask Jesus to forgive you and for his help today.