I was hiking along and met John and Mary from Frederick, MD. They asked me about my shirt which says: Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, from Hebrews 12:1-3
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 runA)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30214A" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> with perseveranceB)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30214B" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus,C)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30215C" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> the pioneerD)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30215D" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,E)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30215E" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> scorning its shame,F)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30215F" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.G)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30215G" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
It is a World Race shirt. John and Mary are also believers and John goes on annual mission trips to Africa and El Salvador. When they walked up, Mary said "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" We shared stories a bit and encouraged one another.
After hiking for a few hours, I felt the Lord ask me to sit a while with him. He provided a great stone bench. I've been reading through Nehemiah, about rebuilding the temple and worship.
About an hour into hiking again, I met Bruno. Bruno is from Belgium. He started El Camino from his doorstep in Belgium, 2 months ago. Bruno and I hiked the rest of the day together. Bruno was so patient to walk with me because he is probably 2 feet taller than me and has a much longer stride. We shared our testimonies with one another.
Bruno left home when he was 16 and started working in bars and living a life surrounded by women, drugs and alcohol. When he was 23, he met the Lord and accepted Jesus as his Savior. He immediately left his vises except for smoking cigarettes. Since coming to Christ, he has been passionate about sharing Jesus with everyone he meets.
Bruno was feeling a bit discouraged because he had not met many people along El Camino who he felt were open to Jesus. We talked about each having different roles: some till the soil, some plant seeds, some water, some weed, some harvest, etc. Bruno was very encouraged by this! He understood that it's his responsibility to share but it's not results or performance based - we share and let Holy Spirit do His work.
We talked about Jesus and the Word the entire day. It was so encouraging!
Bruno said some people have asked him to pray for healing over them and he has but has not seen "instant results" every time. I told him of the night before when I was soaking and I asked Holy Spirit to remove the tight pain from the back of my right knee and it was gone, Praise the Lord! I also told Bruno stories of praying healing over myself or others and not receiving the healing in that time and that we and those we're praying for need to be ok with receiving healing or not. Healing has a lot to do with the faith we have, like the women with the issue of blood. She had
faith and
knew that by touching Jesus, she
would be healed. By her faith she was healed! We as believers need to have faith and pray for others and let the Lord do his work.
