This verse doesn’t make much sense unless you read the whole passage. The passage concerned is very significant to me. When I was a new believer I struggled with certain temptations that would lead me back to my old life before I knew Christ. So, I looked for a passage in the Bible that would help me resist temptation. I wrote it in bold letters on a computer paper chain. Lol! Only my generation would understand what “computer paper” means – it was those humongous rectangular printouts from the “computer center” of our schools / offices joined up together in a chain – millennials, go figure that out. Then I taped the computer paper chain on the central wall of my dorm room so I could read it everyday and memorize it. To this day I can still recite the passage from memory:
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (NIV 1984)
Resist sin until you bleed! That’s what the passage is saying. Jesus is the believer’s example – He suffered, shed His blood and died, yet was without sin. That can only be done if the believer is disciplined, just like a marathon runner, and if he is focused on Jesus, the originator/creator and refiner of his faith (everything about the believer’s salvation comes from Jesus, even the believer’s faith and the growth of it). Jesus focused on the goal that would bring Him joy – the salvation of human souls and being able to bring them home to Heaven with Him and present them to His Father. That is what kept Him going.
Thank God I kept this passage in my heart. My life would have taken a totally different direction from what it is now if I didn’t.
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Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible, Bible App by YouVersion.com
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Art courtesy of YouVersion Bible app. I am using the Bible App by YouVersion.com for my daily devotion. Download it now for your mobile device. https://j794q.app.goo.gl/nd4yPrGj7Hbhy9Kk8
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