A Time of War

 Ecc 3:8
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Today we remember those who fought for our country and our freedom. Soldiers of war who gave their lives so that we may live our lives in freedom. It is sad that there has to be a time of war. A time when we have to stand up and fight for what is right. And in many cases, standing for what is right means giving up life. The fight between good over evil is seen in every society throughout history. Destroying life to save life seems contradictory, but we are surrounded by evil, and evil does not desire compromise. It seeks to destroy and oppress. It desires dominion and instills fear in others and the masses. This, unfortunately, is reality. Solomon recognized as long as evil was present in this world, that war would exist. Jesus some day will return to earth, set up His Kingdom, and all war will cease and peace will reign. But until then, kingdoms will rise above the kingdoms, and those who desire to rule and conquer will continue to force their will and threaten the freedoms of others. 
In our spiritual life, we also fight a war. This war is not against flesh and blood, but we wrestle (fight) “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”(Eph 6:12) We fight for our spiritual freedom in Christ. Satan desires to bring us back into bondage to sin. God has promised to fight our battles for us. In time of war, we can put our trust in the One who will lead us to victory. “Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see His banner go!“ Fight the good fight of faith!

The Good Fight

 2 Tim 4:7
​​I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

I have never been to a boxing match, but I have seen videos of boxers in the ring. It is a brutal sport, and I'm not sure why anyone would enjoy it or want to engage in it. At the end of the fight, the referee will raise the winner's arm in the air, proclaiming them to be the winner, the champ. They fought a good fight and came out on top. As Christians, we fight an unseen enemy. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6:12) We fight to keep the faith, we fight for the salvation of loved ones, we fight for truth and for what is right. Sometimes, the fight comes with a high price, even unto death. Paul’s departure was at hand, his life was coming to an end. Each one of us is on a course, a path to heaven. The "good fight" may not be the same for everyone. The journey we take is personal, and we all fight our own battles and spiritual wickedness in high places. Whatever the obstacle that is put before us, we need to believe in God to give us the strength and power to overcome and fight to keep the faith. The end is near. We don’t know when our course will be finished, or when the Lord will return, but we must keep our eyes on Jesus, fight to keep the faith. At the finish line, we can raise our hand in triumph, and say, “It was a good fight.”

Keep The Faith

 2 Tim 4:7
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 
The year has ended, the last day for 2022. It has been a year of change, but the goal has been the same. The course has been completed for another year, and my resolution to keep the faith has not been deterred. As we enter into 2023, the course is still the same, and has not changed. Heaven is the end goal, and being faithful to Jesus and His word. The enemy will do all he can to alter our course, we must continue the good fight. Stand for what is right, live out our faith, let our light shine for Christ. We may make many resolutions for the new year, but the most important resolve we make is to keep the faith, love Him with all our hearts, and show others the love of Christ.

Triumph In Christ

2 Corith 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ…

We all like to be winners and no one likes to lose. Whether we are the players or spectators, we want to come through victorious. Being on the winning side of a sports or game activity is short lived and the emotion of triumph soon dissipates. There is never a guarantee that we will win again the next time we play. Such is not the case when we fight or battle for the cause of Christ. Christ, our general and chief is leading the battle and He is undefeated and has never lost a battle. As followers of Him, we also can be triumphed in our fight against sin, our battles or temptations, and victorious during troubled times. At the end of life, we can look back and see through every trial and hardship, Christ was there to carry us through, He was there to fight for us. There is victory in Jesus, He will go before us, and we will raise our hands in victory when we cross on the other side.

Keeping The Faith

2 Tim 4:7 “ I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.”-

 A testimony of perseverance, victory, and faithfulness. The battles of life are not easy, Paul faced things in his life that required him to stand up and fight. Fighting the good fight of faith, holding on to truth no matter what the world says or does. Standing up for what is right and doing what we can to share the gospel of Christ. We can know that we are doing and completing the work that God has given us. He puts all of us on a journey, a course, and there is a finish line. None of us know for sure when that time will come, but we can be confident that the purpose of God has been fulfilled. As we approach the coming of Christ for His bride, we can believe that God the father has all things under His control, we believe the Jesus will walk with us even in the most difficult times, and we believe the Holy Spirit can keep us from being led astray and lead us into all truth. Keeping the faith in the One and only true God. We believe! we have kept the faith!

Stand Still

Ex 14: 13,14 “...Fear ye not. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today...The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”- 

The Israelites where very upset about their situation. Their anger toward Moses was caused by the fear that they would be left dead in the wilderness. Fear comes when we fail to put our trust in God. We look at the situation and question if God is able to take care of it. Doubt starts to filter into our thinking and we start to look to our own means and understanding to solve the problem. When a solution is not found, we despair and give up. Our faith is made ship wreck. But, the call from heaven is to fear not. Stand still and see what God can do. Quit trying to figure it all out, and let God take control of the problem. Stand still and watch God calm the storming sea in your life. He desires to give us peace in the time of storm and trouble waters. He does not expect us to fight this battle on our own, He will go before us and make the way. If we could only learn to stand still and have faith in the God of our salvation.