Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and ^wsin which clings so closely, and ^xlet us run ^ywith endurance the race that is ^zset before us,

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, ^awho for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising ^bthe shame, and ^cis seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^tdeny himself and ^utake up his cross ^vdaily and follow me.

33 ^uSo therefore, any one of you who ^vdoes not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

12 ^dThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^ecast off ^fthe works of darkness and ^gput on the armor of light.

25 Every ^uathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we ^van imperishable.

27 But I discipline my body and ^ykeep it under control,¹ lest after preaching to others ^zI myself should be ^adisqualified.

13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: ⁿforgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal for ^othe prize of the upward ^pcall of God in Christ Jesus.