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.”

He Is All I Need

 2 Sam 22:3

​​The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior…

 

He is all we need in times of trouble and distress. We are more than conquerors through the help of the Holy Spirit. We not only are protected by all that is evil through the blood of Christ, but we have not only overcome the enemy, but we are victors over sin and the devil. He is the horn of our salvation. “The horn of salvation symbolizes not only strength to help, but victory over sin.   Forgiveness of sin, the strength of God through all Jesus accomplished on the cross and resurrection, gives overcoming power and triumph to the child of God.  Not only over sin but strength to achieve daily tasks and energy to do more than we think we can.”-(wordimpartation.com) 

Confidence in God

 1Sam 17:46

This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand…

 

Confidence in our ability to fight the giants in our lives at some points becomes unattainable. There is only so much we can accomplish in our own strength and self determination. Yes, we must be strong, and we must decide to take a stand against the enemy that oppresses us. But our human abilities come short when facing giants that are bigger than us. The confidence that David had was not in his ability to swing the rock, but his trust in God that the Lord would deliver the victory. If it did not happen on the first swing, he believed that God would find a way to deliver this giant into his hands. He had five stones. He only needed one as God guided the stone to hit the forehead of the giant. The metaphor here is that we face giants (problems and difficulties) that take divine intervention. Through prayer and faith we can overcome those giants. Today, the Lord will give the victory.

Trust in the Lord

 Isaiah 26:3-4
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.

If we keep our focus on Jesus and His love and care for us, we can have peace in every situation. Peter during the storm was able to have peace and confidence to walk on water when he kept his focus on Jesus. It was only when he allowed the turbulent water around him to distract him, he began to sink, and lose control. Life is full of things that disrupt our peace. The things of life hit us like a storm, and our focus is on our problems and not on the One who can solve our problems or the One who is in control. We stress over little and sometimes not so little things in life. Human nature will cause us to fret and worry. It is only by resisting our human inclination and focusing our trust on the Lord will we be able to overcome and conquer life’s stressful situations.

Overcoming the Flesh

 Gal.5:19-21, 24
 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:
Overcoming the flesh (that which causes us to sin) is done when we have put to death those things that cause us to fall away from God. The flesh is put to death when we allow the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and dethrone self and self-living. We are now led by the Spirit of God to do what is right. His fruit is now manifested in our lives, not by following a set of rules, but by submitting to his will , and allowing the Spirit to direct our path. This is holiness at work in the life of the believer.

World of Trouble

 John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Trouble-free days don’t come very often. A day when everything goes as planned and turns out the way you envision. Surrounded by those you love, no conflicts at home, work, or church. All the bills are paid and no one close to you is suffering from an illness. A little heaven here on earth. But we all know that’s a world of fantasy. Because in this world, we will have trouble. It is the nature of living. There is a time for all things to happen, a time to celebrate the birth of a newborn, a time to mourn the death of a loved one, a time to start something new, and a time for it to end, a time of healing and a time to suffer. Trouble is unavoidable on this side of heaven. Rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous. We cry out, “Why Lord?” For what purpose? The wisest man who ever lived wrote, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:” And Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” The trouble we face from day to day are taken noticed by the one who cares and understands the problems and difficulties we go through. He who commanded the sea to be still, is able to still our hearts during the storms of life. Trust Him, believe Him, hold on. He who lives in you is greater than he who lives in this world.

The Abundant Life

John 10:10

 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Living the Abundant Life. “In this life, you will have tribulation, but fear not, I have overcome the world.” The word of Jesus speaks to us about living life not just to survive, but living life to its fullness. Days of sorrow are inevitable and hardships will come to all who live, so how is it possible to live an abundant life. A life the rises above the mundane of things of earthly duty and responsibilities. A life that, in spite of the circumstances can flow with joy unspeakable and full of rejoicing. The abundant life is to live in the Vine. The source of vitality come from a deeper source. Christ, who is the Vine, lives through us, and in us. The light of Jesus shines bright in the darkness of the day. The abundant life is more than just being happy, but it is a life knowing the Jesus is with you wherever you go and whatever you are going through.

Tribulation in Life

John 16:33…In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Tribulations are inevitable. Life without problems is to be expected on this earthly journey. Being a Christian does not exempt one from facing difficult times. God’s love does not mean that we will not face sickness, hard times, or even an early death. We live in a broken down world caused by sin and bad things will happen. People will be mistreated, things will be stolen, murder is in the hearts of wicked people. Blaming these things on God is often the first reaction of most people. Jesus warned us that life will happen and it will not always be good, but He promised us that He would not leave us or forsake us. In the mist of tribulation we can be of cheer. The world and all of it problems are overcome when we put our trust in Jesus. For He is the one who can take us through and bring us safely on the other side. We can be more than conquerers and overcome life’s trial and tribulations when we allow Christ to carry us through.

The Might of God

Judges 6:14, 16 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might… And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

It does seem at time that the task before us is greater than us. We go forward in our might trying figure out how to solve the problem. The issues in our life seem to overwhelm us and obtaining victory over them looks to be impossible. The reality is, it is impossible. In our own might, we are not able to overcome the obstacles that are before us. The promise of Jesus, that He will be with us, He sent the Holy Spirit that we might overcome the situations in our life that are difficult and hard. He saids, “surely I will be with you.. even to the ends of the world” 

Walking in Truth

Psalm 86:11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

Walking in truth assumes we know what truth is. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and  the life, no man can come the Father except by me” Walking in truth is to walk in Christ, to live in the Vine and to live a life that reflects the teaching of the Savior. The world says that what is truth to one person, may not be truth to another person. That there are different ways to find God. God does lead people in different ways, but ultimately, we all must enter through the cross. Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few be that find it. Walking in truth is finding that God, through Christ, desires us to live a life of praise and do all things to glorify His Name. Someone who walks in truth will not live carelessly without regard to His commandments. Temptation may come, and in a time of weakness, Satan may cause us to fall. If we walk in truth as God desires us to, we can overcome the wicked one and stay in perfect fellowship with the Father. We all have a choice to walk or not walk in truth. The Psalmist said, “I will”, he made a choice to do the will of God. may we always call out to God for help to say “I will”. He will never leave us or forsake us.

The Joy of the Lord

John 16:22  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

“The world did not give it to me, and the world cannot take it away” The joy of the Lord is not the making of anything this world has to offer. There will be days of sorrow and sadness as we live in this world, but we do not live for this world, we live for another world. Joy comes knowing the every sin is under blood of Jesus, joy comes knowing the Holy Spirit lives within our heart leading and guiding our lives. Joy is knowing that are names are written the lambs book of life. It time for us to just more than survive, it time for us to thrive in the joy of the Lord. We overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. We testify that our happiness and contentment comes by doing the will of God and living in the presence of God. It is joy unspeakable, and full of God’s glory. 

The Giants in Our Lives

Numbers 13:20 “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.”-

The giants in our lives are symbolize by the problems and trails we face daily as we walk with God. As the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, they came up against an insurmountable challenge. The promise land they sought was inhabited by people that were strong and fierce. They appeared as giants and the people wept with discouragement. But, Caleb did not see giants, he saw God. His faith in God’s ability to overcome any obstacle caused him to shout out, “We are well able!” We look at life’s struggles and wonder how we are going to overcome the giants in our lives. Some giants are bigger than others, but we all face them. The giant of losing a loved one, giants of financial reversals, giants of relationships that are strained, or even the giant of discouragement. In the face of all these, we can be more than conquers if we put our trust in Christ. We can defeat the giants in our live and be over-comers through Christ that give us the strength we need. 

A Good Soldier

2 Tim 2:3 “ Endure thou therefore hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”-

Most of us have never served in the military, I greatly appreciate those who have chosen to serve our country in this manner. They have fought and preserved our freedoms. I understand that to be a good soldier, it requires endurance and perseverance to overcome the hardship of the battle. Soldiers are trained to withstand difficult times when things are against you and life is in the balance. They are trained not to give up, but to press on forward in spite of the situation or circumstance. The character found in a good soldier is one that God desires His followers also to have. As a Christian, we may encounter difficult circumstances, conflicts in relationship, financial burdens, or lose of a loved one. These are not easy to bare and like a soldier, we put on the armor of God, place our trust in Him to help us persevere. We have a choice to just throw up our hands and surrender, or to fight on even when it seems that all is lost. It is inevitable that we will face hardships in life. As much as we would like to think that everything will always be good, there will be days that the enemy will fight hard and bring discouragement. But, we serve a might God, who is our shield and defender, and He will give us the strength to stand and endure all things for the sake of Christ

Failing God

John 18:25 “And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, “Art not thou also one of his disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”-

Failure is tough to deal with. The pressure to meet expectations are sometimes too demanding. We are so human oriented in our efforts to accomplish our goals and aspirations. Peter had every intention when he started out to follow Jesus, and stand with Him all the way. But, Peter could not deal with the fear of man and dropped the ball. Jesus knew that Peter had a heart that desired to serve, but also knew that Peter had a weakness that needed to be dealt with. Failure is not a necessary competent of the Christian life, but without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the experience of full surrender to the will of God, failure is inevitable. But, failure does not have to be fatal. God is a God of second, and third chances. To the heart that is sincere, God will not fail. He loves us too much to let us stay down. He reaches down to where we are, forgiving us, and bringing us out of our despair. It is not God’s plan that we fail Him, He wants to help us to be overcomers and have victory in our life everyday. After Peter experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Peter was never the same. He put his full trust in God and was able to cast all his cares on Him. God is able to use the fallibility of  man like Peter, and give him the power of God to live holy and righteous all the days of his life.