FROM THE TOP
LELAND ACKER chreporter@mediactr.com
I love my Texas heritage. We Texans are blessed with a rich heritage featuring men of the pioneer spirit, those who stood and died for their beliefs, and those who succeeded in building the great state we live in today.

I highly recommend visiting some of our state historic sites. From the Old Stone Fort on the campus of Stephen F. Austin (which is actually a replica of the real one which was located downtown), to the Presidio La Bahia and Espiritu Santo mission near Goliad, to the Alamo, state capitol, Galveston, San Jacinto monument and the Battleship Texas. I would be remiss not to mention Caddoan Mounds and Mission Tejas near Alto. Most of these sites can be visited in a day trip from Rusk, but why be in a hurry?

Visiting these sites fills one with a sense of pride in our Texas heritage. This heritage and the pride that goes with it are unique to Texas. Few, if any, other states celebrate their heritage like Texas does.

All of that heritage comes in second, though, behind the heritage I have with my faith in Christ.

Hebrews 12:1 says "Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

Who are these witnesses to whom the writer refers? They are the witnesses mentioned in the "Faith Hall of Fame" in Hebrews 11: Abel, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab and many others.

The Bible says each of these, our Old Testament heroes, lived by faith and did great things. So, in Hebrews 12:1, the writer basically says, "Look at our heritage. Let's live a life that honors that."

Looking back on those heroes of the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 should motivate us to "lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us." It should motivate us to want to live like they lived, fully trusting God and following His direction. If we do that, we are placed in the same league as those Bible heroes.

The scripture also says that we should "run with patience the race that is set before us." Living by faith is not a sprint. It is an ultramarathon. It can not be like a diet, which we go on for a few months and toss aside.

It can not be like a fad, that we wear for a few weeks, then sell in a garage sale. Living by faith is a lifestyle that is adopted for the long haul. Honor your heritage, live by faith.