Junk Files

0:00Let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles. Hebrews 12.1 Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread. Junk Files was written by Adam R. Holes and read by Stephen Taber. Hebrews 12.1-7-10-14 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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners,

1:02so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood, and have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. Endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as his children, for what children are not disciplined by their father. They disciplined us for a little while, as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness, make every effort to live in peace with everyone, and to be holy. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

2:07Junk files written by Adam Holes. My smartphone occasionally reminds me, I'm not good at digital housekeeping. Junk files are taking up space the message reads, delete 675 megabytes of junk files. Now, I dislike being nagged by my phone, but if I clean out those files, I've got more space for things that really matter. Then, when I'm at my daughter's swim meet, for instance, I'll have enough digital storage to actually shoot a video of her winning a race, instead of unexpectedly realizing that those pesky junk files have sabotaged my ability to capture the moment. Junk files on our phones are easy to delete, but what about the junk files in our souls? Like our phones, our souls can be clogged with stuff that keeps us from flourishing spiritually. The author of Hebrews understood this reality, encouraging us to pay close attention to anything that trips us up in our walk with God.

3:09Let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, he writes in chapter 12. Followed by this challenge, and let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us. What ways you down? What trips you up? Hebrews encourages us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith, who alone can help us identify and delete the junk files that hinder our abundant life in him. Let's pray. Father, search our souls and help us identify the sin that clutters our heart and throws us off course as we run the race you've marked out for us. Help us set our eyes on Jesus, and give us the courage and perseverance to throw off everything that hinders us from the abundant life you desire for us. Thank you, Lord.

4:10It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. What most trips you up in your relationship with God? How does faith help you identify and throw off sinful influences?