Lay Aside Every Weight

Please remember to worship our Almighty God today.  Every gift we ever received is from Him.  Our Lord is full of glory and might and power; and He is gracious and merciful to those who love Him!

 Lay Aside Every Weight

I would have thought I was used to walking the distance from the hospital parking lot to Mom’s room by now.  After all, it’s been about two weeks now.  My body is still not used to that walk. 

It’s an uphill walk.  Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m carrying my purse, a tote bag, and usually a shopping bag with snacks or some other thing Mom or I need.  Yesterday the extra item was my laptop.  Extra items mean extra weight. 

Weight.  I thought about weight yesterday when I climbed the hill.  Hebrews 12:1 talks about weight, doesn’t it?  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

Do we ever try to run our Christian race carrying all the extra weight of life’s burdens?  Things that slow us down - that hinder our running. 

What could some of these things be?  Maybe regret, guilt, or shame.  I don’t know about anyone else, but sometimes old sins still haunt me.  What about hurts that haven’t healed, fear, grief, or low self-esteem?  All of these things can weigh us down. 

 Then there are our responsibilities - the duties of everyday living.  Say the car breaks down, or our child is sick, or we just lost our job – this adds stress to our lives.  These weights could slow us down or tempt us to stop running altogether.  Oh, the devil would love nothing better!! 

We can’t let that old liar win.  Remember Romans 8:1?  Paul wrote “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  There goes guilt, regret and shame!  Lay aside that weight.

If we are grieving a loss or hurting for any reason, we can remember Ps. 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”  Trust Him.  Let it go.  It hinders our race.  I know how difficult it can be, and I know grief is a process.  It takes time.  Please our God is always there to help.

What about those who are fearful or have low self-esteem?  Don’t let these things weigh you down!!  Consider Hebrews 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

As Christians, we belong to Him; He is on our side!  The inspired Paul wrote to Timothy “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7).

As for all those responsibilities and stresses we face Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). 

Lay aside every weight.  Put it all down at His feet.  He will give us the strength to run.

Christ above all things - Robin

Foot Dust

I’ve been so blessed to share special time at Maywood Christian Camp with all my nieces.  Those are some of my sweetest memories of them.

One year my oldest niece, Kelsie had a top bunk. Now all girls may not want to sleep in a top bunk; but they all want to climb on the top and sit with their friends during free time.

Kelsie is very friendly and outgoing. She never minded if the others got on her bunk. The girls would talk and giggle together on her bed.

In the old cabins, there was an opening at the top of the wall that separated our cabin from the one next door.  By standing on the bunk, they could peek over at the girls next door. It must have been fun because they did this every day.

Standing up on a bed means dirty feet end up stepping all over the sheets and covers of said bed. One night, Kelsie looked on her bed and noticed evidence of feet having been there.  Frustrated, she said, “Hey, y’all keep leaving foot dust on my bed.” Kelsie began brushing off her bed.  

My co-counselor and I looked at each other and laughed quietly. “Foot dust” was a new one for us.  

That was years ago, and I am never at camp that I don’t think about foot dust at least once during the week.

Just as Kelsie could clearly see the evidence of her friend’s presence on her bed, so we can easily see the evidence of other people’s influence in our lives. This is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing.

When we involve ourselves with other Christians and participate in church activities – our actions will become more righteous. Our faith will be stronger.  Surrounding ourselves with good people helps us to be better people.

However, if we aren’t careful, our more worldly friends can lead us into temptation. Sin may become more attractive – and more easily accessible. Before we know it, our bed has been trampled and a lot of foot dust is left behind.

This is why we always tell our children to choose their friends wisely.  As adults, we should realize we aren’t immune to peer pressure.  We can’t completely isolate ourselves or our children from the world. But we can carefully guard our hearts and our minds.

Don’t allow others to affect our walk with Christ.  Remember, Jesus always comes first.

We do not have to be rude or judgmental.  There are ways we can kindly and lovingly choose to bow out of worldly activities others participate in.  We have to do this – not just for the sake of our own soul; but for the sake of those who may be looking to us as an example.

Proverbs 25:26 – “Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.”

Our actions are the evidence of who we allow to influence us.  Are we letting others leave foot dust in our beds?

Christ above all things - Robin