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 let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Just two sentences like these have their own hidden meaning which we wouldn't have detected if it wasn't for pastors who do biblical research haha.

Therefore
It continues from the previous sentence, Hebrews 11:40, 'since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.'

since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses
In the Bible, we learned that there are a lot of witnesses who trust in God and had fruitful lives. Jesus is one of them.

let us throw off everything that hinders
This is something very interesting as Pr Eric said that sometimes the good things in live which are not sins actually may not be good for us. For example, internet. Internet is good, it helps us to communicate faster and enables us to find a lot of info. It is not a sin. However, it might turn into a curse if we do not use it in a good way. Sometimes when we ask God for this and that, God gives us. But for some reason, we do not use it in a correct way so it ruins our lives. 

Other examples are not using our time or money for God. A lot of times we rather spend our time doing a lot of things but not to serve God. We even think twice when we donate to people. Therefore, these things are hindering us to get closer to God and we should reprioritise. 

the sin that so easily entangles
This of course talks about sins that are obviously not right in the eyes of God. At this modern age, morality is drifting away, and things that couldn't be accepted in those times are becoming trends now. Different people have different perception of morality, and the only thing that can guide us to walk on the right path is the Bible.

let us run with perseverance
Not a marathon, not a sprint-stop-sprint-stop journey, but a slow run that requires determination and perseverance. We strive forward, and not look backwards. We don't run fast, because speed doesn't matter. We don't sprint, as in being very spiritual for a period then stop, as in don't read the Bible at all after certain period. It's a slow run, it's a jog. But we persevere. 

the race marked out for us
Our journey that God has planned.

Very meaningful right? If I read this sentence in Bible (which I think I did a few times), I will just read through and go to the next sentence or chapter. But after getting an explanation from Pr Eric, I felt that it's a totally different perception. Very, very meaningful.




Last time I kept on wondering something:

We always say, love each other, respect each other, but then we also will say, if I respect him/her, then who will respect me back? If I give him/her face, who will give face to me back?

That kind of things.

Because when we give, we expect to receive as well. When we didn't receive what we give, we stop giving.

I once read that "You don't know love if you have not received love and love in return". It means that if we are not loved, we do not know how to love other people.

Then who, should take the step and love us first?

I found the answer today.

God sent His Son, Jesus to show us what it is to love someone, to receive love from someone, also to show us what is sacrifice when you truly love someone.

By trusting this, we received love, and we know how to love people in return.

Such a great sermon. :))))