{"id":23174,"date":"2018-05-23T03:30:19","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T10:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23174"},"modified":"2018-05-18T14:27:04","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T21:27:04","slug":"may-23-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/05\/23\/may-23-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"May 23, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cBeloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul\u2026\u201d <\/em>1 Peter 2:11<\/p>\n

Swimming Upstream<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The beautiful Sacramento River rushes behind my home. With a current flow of 23,490 cubic feet per second, I often see rafters and boaters enjoying the ride downstream. However, I have never seen anyone try to paddle or swim upstream.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>I ended this week in exhaustion, bordering on depression. It takes all I\u2019ve got sometimes to continue to follow Jesus in the things He has called me to do. Often, I want to quit for a little bit, go and hide, or find a distraction. But I can\u2019t afford to do that. Instead, I have to go to Jesus and find new strength.<\/p>\n

As believers, we are swimming upstream, against the current of the world. Doing this is contrary to our sin nature. The current pulls at us, trying to drag us where we don\u2019t want to go. But we want to be Spirit led, not dragged around by the undertows of everything around us\u2014including our own desires and emotions.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Scuba divers attach weights to their belts to help them sink to the bottom, but we need to be buoyant in our swim upstream. Sin is like those weights that pull us down. No matter how insignificant the \u201cweight\u201d\u2014how tiny the sin\u2014it causes us to lose strength faster, get pulled under, or drags us off course.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>So on days like today, when I am tired, I don\u2019t need those fleshly distractions that will pull me down faster. I need to spend time with Jesus. The Creator of the mighty waters, Who controls wind and wave, and even walks on top of the waters, can certainly help me stay afloat.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Hebrews 12:1-2a says: \u201cTherefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cJesus, on days when I am tired, help me to fix my eyes on You, the author and finisher of my faith. Help me to not get pulled off course by distractions. Thank You for putting me in a place in my life where I must look to You to be my strength.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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