“No Baggage Allowed”

Hebrews 12: 1b, 2a: “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance … fixing our eyes on Jesus.” In the Old Testament you couldn’t bring goods into Jerusalem on the Sabbath, you couldn’t bring anything into the temple except your sacrifice, and you couldn’t bring any baggage into the presence of the king. All these types remind us that when you come to worship the Lord, all excess baggage and burdens get checked at the door. Jesus is our only focus. And the wonderful thing is, when you go back out the door and look for the baggage that was left there, you just might find that someone has taken it away for you (Isaiah 53: 4) ...