Lovely, featured image provided by Melba Bonds
So, lift up your hands that are hanging down. Make your weak knees strong.
Hebrews 12:12 (WE)
Our key verse today is a reminder to Christians to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Be courageous. Stay on the narrow path that Christ has laid before us. Don’t be lazy or discouraged. Encourage other believers and share the Gospel of Jesus.
Walk straight ahead. Then weak feet will not get worse but will be made well. Hebrews 12:13 (WE)
The photo above shows Eric Liddell, a Scottish Olympian who dedicated his life to Jesus. In 1925, he chose to leave his successful sports career to work as a missionary in China. He died in a Chinese concentration camp in 1943 from a brain tumor. His story is everywhere. You should read about him or watch any of the movies made about this stellar life.
As Eric Liddell departed the United Kingdom for China, he reportedly shouted to the large crowd of fans, “Christ for the world! The world needs Christ!”
Try to be at peace with all people. And try to be holy. If a person is not holy, they will not see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (WE)
This verse encourages us to live peacefully and embrace holiness. Although we won’t be perfect until we see Jesus, we should strive to honor Him and turn away from sin.
The last part of the verse reminds us that we can’t achieve full holiness by ourselves or just through good deeds. However, if we love Him, we will feel sorrow when we sin.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 CSB
We should quickly confess our sins, and by God’s grace, we can continue our journey knowing that He has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 CSB
Eric Liddell had almost twenty years to spend serving the Savior in China. He had no idea that his time may be long or short. That didn’t matter. What mattered to Eric was treasuring every single day.
Eric was born in 1902. He participated in the Olympics in Paris, winning the 400 m gold medal. He began teaching in China in 1925, was ordained as a pastor, and in 1934 he married another missionary. They had three daughters, one of whom he never met. Interned in a Japanese prison camp in China in 1943, he died of a brain tumor in 1945.
The point of that timeline is not to make you think of Eric Liddell. It is to illustrate how quickly life passes. Every step for a believer should be lived to honor God. The story of Eric is really the story of Jesus.
Will others be able to say that about you and me when we join the Savior in Heaven?
We have a place in heaven that cannot be shaken. So let us be glad and worship God and please him. Let us respect and fear him. Hebrews 12:28
Share the Gospel in your world, today!
Isaiah 52:7
Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)
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Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 