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September 28, 2025 28 mins

Have you ever wished you could turn back time and undo your mistakes? This episode begins with a haunting meditation on regret and longing before guiding us into the profound wisdom of Hebrews 12, exploring the transformative journey of rewriting our regrets through God's grace.

Join us as we walk alongside an ancient scribe through dusty village streets at dawn, where Scripture comes alive in vivid sensory detail. Together, we unpack the powerful metaphor of running life's race with perseverance, laying aside the weights that slow us down—including our regrets over the past we cannot change.

The heart of this episode explores how God's discipline shapes us not as punishment but as formation, turning our painful experiences into "the peaceful fruit of righteousness." We contrast the terrifying approach to God at Mount Sinai with the gracious invitation to Mount Zion—the heavenly Jerusalem where Jesus mediates a new covenant through his blood.

As twilight falls and stars appear overhead, the scribe's gentle questions invite personal reflection: What weights do you carry? What regrets press heavy on your soul? Remember that when you stumble, Christ's strength will lift you. Faith isn't a destination but a journey that calls us to keep moving forward, even when the road is unclear or the night feels long.

Whether you're carrying burdens too heavy to name or standing at a crossroads uncertain which way to turn, this meditation offers the comfort of knowing you're not alone on the path. Let these ancient words wash over you, reminding you that while we cannot undo the past, we can receive "a kingdom that cannot be shaken" as we fix our eyes on what truly matters.

Music Credit: "Falling Forward" by Garden Friend

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(06:25):
As the early dawn breaks overthe dusty hills, the scribe
walks slowly along the narrowpath winding down from the olive
groves.
The air is crisp, touched withthe faint scent of wild thyme

(06:45):
and cooling earth around him.
The village begins to stirroosters crow.
A shepherd calls his flock andthe first light spills like
molten gold across the weatheredstone walls.
In his hands, the scroll feelsalive its weight, a reminder of

(07:10):
stories carried throughgenerations.
He pauses at a quiet cornerwhere the marketplace will soon
awaken.
The stones weren't smooth bycountless footsteps.
Here he breathes deeply andunfurls the scroll.
His fingers trace the ink, asif hearing the echo of ancient

(07:34):
voices, voices urging endurance,strength and faith.
The scribe's eyes lift to thehorizon where distant mountains
stand firm against the sky,reminding him of the great cloud
of witnesses who have gonebefore.
The scribe's voice begins torise softly as he reads the

(07:59):
words, flowing like a gentleriver through the valley.
He speaks of running the raceset before us, shedding every
weight that slows, fixing eyeson the unseen prize Around him.
The village moves, unaware, yetconnected, each life carrying

(08:21):
burdens, yet called toperseverance.
He imagines the strugglesetched in each heart, the
discipline that feels harsh butshapes, the trials that refine
like fire.
Yet within these challenges, apromise, peace and righteousness

(08:42):
to those trained by the hand ofthe Lord.
The scribe's breath slows andin the stillness he invites us
to lean in close to feel thestrength that comes from
enduring in faith.
Step now with him through thequiet streets beneath the

(09:03):
spreading fig tree where hope isrenewed.
What does this ancient journeywhisper to your spirit today, in
the fading light and stirringdawn, the scribe's words call
out run with perseverance andrest in the grace that never
fails.

(09:24):
As the sun dips low behind thehills, you walk side by side
with the scribe along a narrow,dusty path winding through the
village.
The evening air is cool andcarries the faint scent of
crushed herbs and smoke fromdistant fires.
Around you, the world issettling into quiet rhythms A

(09:51):
child's laughter fades, a womandraws water at the well and
lamps begin to flicker softly indoorways.
Your footsteps mingle with hison the worn stones, steady and
slow.
Together you pause beneath aspreading fig tree, its heavy

(10:14):
branches brushing the sky, andthe scribe carefully unrolls the
scroll.
Between you, the parchmentwhispers open and you both lean
in, feeling the weight of theseancient words pressing gently
against your hearts.
His eyes meet yours, steady andinviting, as if sharing

(10:39):
something meant not just for himbut for you, for this very
moment.
Run the race with endurance.
The scribe begins His voice lowbut certain, like a steady
heartbeat.
Lay aside every weight thatslows you, every sin that clings

(11:02):
tightly.
His words are not distanthistory.
They ripple outward to touchyour own life, the struggles you
carry, the burdens you've beentrying to bear alone.
You walk with him now, step bystep, as he speaks of the great

(11:23):
cloud of witnesses, faithfulsouls whose lives blaze like
stars just beyond the horizon.
Fix your eyes on Jesus, he sayssoftly, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith, who, for thejoy before him, endures the

(11:43):
cross, scorning its shameTogether.
You imagine the courage it tookto keep moving forward when the
road was hardest.
The village hush deepens andlamps glow like tiny fires in
the twilight.
The scribe's voice lowers,gentle and searching, as he

(12:08):
tells you that discipline,though painful, is a mark of
love.
A refining hand shaping theworn and weary.
He looks at you as if seeingthe weight you carry.
Are you tired?
He asks quietly.
Do you feel the sting ofcorrection or do you see the

(12:35):
hand that holds you steady?
You pause as the evening breezestirs olive branches overhead,
silver leaves shimmering in thefading light.
Do not grow weary or lose heart.
The scribe whispers beside you.
Your labor is not in vain.

(12:56):
The promise settles between you, a quiet hope that shines
brighter than any shadow Walkingslowly now you sense the
invitation in his words.
Slowly now you sense theinvitation in his words For you
who stand at a crossroads, foryou who long to believe again,

(13:18):
for you carrying regrets tooheavy to name.
The scroll is rolled backgently, but the message lingers,
a seed planted deep within yoursoul.
As stars begin to pierce thenight sky, you and the scribe

(13:46):
continue along the path, thescroll secure in his hands.
Will you run with perseverance,he asks softly.
Will you fix your gaze on theone who has already walked this
road before you?
The path stretches ahead,uncertain but alive with promise
.
And as you walk togetherthrough the coming night, the
scribe's words echo quietly inyour heart A call to lay down

(14:08):
every burden, to run the raceset before you and to trust the
steady hand of grace guidingevery step.
Now let's take a moment to quietour hearts and listen to the
word itself.
Let these words sink deep intoyour spirit, bringing comfort,
conviction and encouragement.

(14:30):
Whether you're sitting in aquiet place or out in the world,
allow Scripture to meet youright where you are.
Let's listen now to what thescribe, led by the Spirit, wrote
for those still carrying theweight of guilt, for those
longing to draw near and forthose who need to remember the

(14:51):
way has been made open.
I hope you have your favoritecup of tea or coffee.
Sit back, relax and let's stepinto the sacred text of the
Epistle to the Hebrews 12.

(15:23):
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and the sin
that clings so closely and letus run with perseverance the
race that is set before us,looking to Jesus, the pioneer
and perfecter of our faith, who,for the sake of the joy that

(15:47):
was set before him, endured thecross, disregarding its shame,
and has taken his seat at theright hand of the throne of God.
Consider him, who endured suchhostility against himself from
sinners, so that you may notgrow weary or lose heart In your

(16:08):
struggle against sin.
You have not yet resisted tothe point of shedding your blood
and you have forgotten theexhortation that addresses you
as children.
My child, do not regard lightlythe discipline of the Lord or
lose heart when you are punishedby Him, for the Lord
disciplines those whom he lovesand chastises every child whom

(16:33):
he accepts Endure trials for thesake of discipline.
God is treating you as children, for what child is there whom a
parent does not discipline Ifyou do not have that discipline
in which all children share,then you are illegitimate and
not his children.

(16:54):
Moreover, we had human parentsto discipline us, and we
respected them.
Should we not be even morewilling to be subject to the
Father of spirits and live For?
They disciplined us for a shorttime as seemed best to them,
but he disciplines us for ourgood, in order that we may share

(17:14):
his holiness.
Now, discipline always seemspainful rather than pleasant at
the time, but later it yieldsthe perfect fruit of
righteousness to those who havebeen trained by it.
Therefore, lift your droopinghands and strengthen your weak
knees and make straight pathsfor your feet, so that what is

(17:36):
lame may not be put out of jointbut rather be healed.
Pursue peace with everyone andthe holiness, without which no
one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails toobtain the grace of God, that no
root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble, and through
it many become defiled.

(17:58):
See to it that no one becomeslike Esau, an immoral and
godless person who sold hisbirthright for a single meal.
You know that later, when hewanted to inherit the blessing,
he was rejected, for he found nochance to repent, even though
he sought the blessing withtears.

(18:20):
You have not come to somethingthat can be touched a blazing
fire, and darkness and gloom,and a tempest, and the sound of
a trumpet and a voice whosewords made the hearers beg that
not another word be spoken tothem, for they could not endure
the order that was given.

(18:41):
If even an animal touches themountain, it shall be stoned to
death.
Indeed, so terrifying was thesight that Moses said I tremble
with fear.
So terrifying was the sightthat Moses said I tremble with
fear.
But you have come to Mount Zionand to the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, andto innumerable angels in festal

(19:02):
gathering, and to the assemblyof the firstborn who are
enrolled in heaven, and to God,the judge of all, and to the
spirits of the righteous madeperfect, and to Jesus, the
mediator of a new covenant, andto the sprinkled blood that
speaks a better word than theblood of Abel.

(19:22):
See that you do not refuse theone who is speaking, for if they
did not escape when theyrefused the one who warned them
on earth, how much less will weescape if we reject the one who
warns from heaven?
At that time his voice shookthe earth, but now he has
promised, yet once more, I willshake not only the earth but

(19:44):
also the heaven.
This phrase, yet once more,indicates the removal of what is
shaken, that is created, things, so that what cannot be shaken
may remain.
Therefore, since we arereceiving a kingdom that cannot
be shaken, let us give thanks,by which we offer to God an

(20:07):
acceptable worship withreverence and awe, for indeed
our God is a consuming fire.
The scribe's sandals tap gentlyon the worn stones as you walk

(20:29):
together beyond the villagewalls, where the sounds of life
soften into a distant murmur.
Here the land opens wide,beneath a deepening sky brushed
with strokes of purple and gold.
The air is cool, fragrant, withthe sharp, earthy scent of

(20:49):
crushed thyme and the sweetwhisper of wild olives.
Overhead, the twisted branchesof an ancient olive tree sway
softly, silver leaves shimmeringin the twilight like scattered
stars.
You walk side by side, thescroll snug against the scribe's

(21:13):
chest, heavy with words thatseem to pulse with quiet power.
After a few steps, the scribestops beneath the gnarled tree
and carefully sets the scrollupon a smooth, sun-warmed stone.
His hands, steady and reverent,unfurl the delicate parchment.

(21:35):
The faint rustle seems to echothrough the stillness, a sound
like time itself breathingbetween you sound like time
itself breathing between you.
He looks at you eyes calm andsure, beneath the vast expanse
of darkening sky.
Come closer, he whispers, voicelow and steady.

(22:00):
I want to tell you about a race,a long and winding path filled
with burdens and obstacles, butalso with the promise of glory.
This is no ordinary journey.
It's one of endurance, alifelong calling to set aside
what drags you down, to keeprunning, with a heart fixed not

(22:25):
on the easy things but on aprize that outlasts all seasons.
His fingers trace the words ashe speaks of a great cloud of
witnesses, those who ran beforeyou, their lives marked by faith
that never wavered.
He tells of their struggles,their victories and the

(22:47):
discipline that shaped them.
Life's hardships are not justtrials to bear, he says, but the
hands of a loving Fathershaping us, training us to live
upright and strong.
You breathe in the cool eveningair, feeling the quiet strength

(23:08):
in his words.
The scribe's gaze meets yours,inviting you to look inward.
What weights do you carry, heasks softly.
Are there hurts or regrets thatpress heavy on your soul?
As the wind stirs the olivebranches above their leaves,
whispering secrets in the dark,the scribe leans closer.

(23:31):
Do not lose heart.
He says, voice full of gentle,urgency.
The path is hard, but you arenot alone.
Look to the one who runs besideyou, the pioneer of faith who
endured the cross and nowinvites you to run with him.
When you stumble, his strengthwill lift you.

(23:53):
The village lights begin totwinkle ahead as you rise
together, the scroll carefullyrolled once more.
Your footsteps fall in rhythmwith his as you walk back toward
the quiet streets, thelantern's warm glow casting
steady light in the gatheringdusk.

(24:15):
Remember this.
The scribe murmurs faith is ajourney, not a destination.
It asks us to keep movingforward, even when the road is
unclear, even when the nightfeels long.
It calls us to shed what weighsus down and fix our eyes on

(24:36):
what truly matters, a hope thatwill never fade.
The night air is cool andfilled with possibility, the
stars above shining likewitnesses themselves.
Walking beside the scribe, youfeel the steady beat of that
ancient invitation, a call tolive with endurance, courage and

(25:01):
trust and trust.
So, friend, as the pathstretches before you and the
journey continues, what stepwill you take by faith tonight?
Thank you for joining me todayas we journey through the
Epistle to the Hebrews 12.

(25:28):
I pray that you carry thesereflections with you into your
day, into your week, and thatyou find strength in knowing God
is with you in every trial,every temptation and every step
of obedience.
If this time in God's Word hasencouraged you, take a moment to
share with someone who mightneed it, and be sure to join me
next time, as we continuewalking through the scriptures,
learning, growing, and stayingfaithful in the field of life.

(25:54):
Until next time, may you findpeace in the quiet, trust in
God's call, and rest in Hisunchanging love.
This is In the Field Audio Bible, where we Listen to the Bible
One Chapter at a Time.
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