‘Kick It To the Curb’

Daily Devotional – Monday, September 7, 2021

“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 that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” (Hebrews 12:1-3, NLT)

I know that the New Year technically begins on January 1st, but every year when the students return to school, which is today, it feels like a new year. A new year begins with promise…a fresh start…no mistakes. But often we repeat the ‘old’ mistakes, despite our new beginning because we don’t actually start fresh. We drag in baggage from the past and it isn’t long before the promises of a new beginning get looking a lot like the same old thing.

The writer of Hebrews shared a similar thought when it comes to living out our faith in Christ. We need to ‘strip off’ anything that would impede our upward momentum propelling us in our spiritual growth. The stuff that keeps us grounded and from reaching our full spiritual maturity needs to be left at the curb for pick-up, where the garbage belongs. What habits, past hurts and unforgiveness, or confessed sin might be weighing you down? Time to ditch it and start fresh! Think of today as a new start. No need to wait until January 1st to make a New Year’s resolution; God is willing to let us begin again. But the first step is to take up the trash from our lives, remove it and ask God to help us to leave it at the curb.
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Don’t give up…keep going…and consider all that Jesus went through. It will help to keep our lives in perspective!
~ Pastor Jane