Lose the Weight

This year I am trying to simplify and streamline my life and ministry. Oftentimes after a season of doing things you realize that you have picked up a lot of things on the way. Having spent 33 years doing things and working with people that were tryng to help others find Jesus, I have picked up a plethora of ideas and "stuff". If I could see what the Lord sees I know that there would be things attached to me and stuck in corners of my life that are taking up space and haven't been used for years.

Hebrews 12 encourages me in a few ways. It says in the first couple of verses that I am not alone. I am surrounded by others that have run the race I am running and have fought the good fight of faith. So I can take comfort in that. And then it says to "lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us." Weights and sins can bog all of us down and not only make life more difficult; this duo can keep us from fulfilling the purposes and plans of the Lord for our lives. Weights could be people that have terrible attitudes and take so much of your time with so little positive coming out of it. Weights can be letting yourself become involved with activities or ideas that you are not passionate about and have no business in being a part of. And of course we all know what sins are...those things that take us away from God and outside of His protection and provision.

I am losing the weight this month and lightening things up so that I can do a better job of loving people and helping them to have a personal relationship with Jesus. What are you going to lose?

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...