Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12 NRSV
Recently, Janice and I listened to Bill O'Reilly's book Killing the Legends, in which he covers the life of Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Muhammad Ali. The story of Ali covered his training, the abuse he suffered (and inflicted) in his fights, the slow recovery after each, and how it led to his Parkinson's. Despite having early signs of what was happening to his body, he was driven to continue to fight, desiring to maintain his title of "The Greatest."
We often don't think about it this way but get into the ring against evil daily. The prize for us is not a championship belt and money but something far more important, eternal life. This fight is not done in sport but in the necessity of defending what we know to be true.
To be successful, we must be committed and willing to train. Before we step in the ring, we need to be in peak spiritual conditioning. Our training consists of reading and meditating upon God's word and time spent in conversation with our Trainer. Then, when we enter the squared circle, we need to be fully committed. There are no easy bouts with Satan; he's in it to win it, and so must we. But we have something Satan will never have, Christ in our corner.
There are days it's hard to get back in there; we are tired and bruised, and all we want to do is sit this one out. But in returning to our daily training routine, we are refreshed by the Holy Spirit. So we climb back in the ring with our muscles iced and ointment applied to those sore ligaments. We do this because the fight for our souls is essential. We do it not for personal greatness but because we are fighters for"The Greatest."
God, thank you for the promise of eternal life. Bless us in our spiritual training, refresh our souls, and give us the courage and strength to face whatever meets us this day. May we be strong and committed defenders of the faith. Most of all, may all we do be for your glory. Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Tim
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