Passage of the Day:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, 2 Timothy 4:1-7.
Reflection:
As a former high school coach, I tried to prepare my students for situations that they would likely encounter at some point in the heat of battle. If an athlete is honest about their performance, there is likely at least one area or thing that they could practice, elevating their God given talents. As a teenage pastor, Timothy likely dealt with older believers and Christians that looked down upon him due to his age. Despite the various spiritual barriers and obstacles Timothy endured, fighting the good fight of faith. This requires keeping your head in the game of life, whether you’re getting blown out or don’t have your A game. This is Paul’s call to all people of faith.
Prayerful Action:
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses, 1 Timothy 6:11-12.
Fueling your Faith this Spiritual Season:
My church small group is currently participating in a Navigators Bible Study. The expectations and goal of this course is reaching a point where you’re reading the Bible every day. Just as an athlete needs to practice in the offseason to improve, the Christian faith shouldn’t take a day off. Faith and sports each require self-discipline, making time daily to work out physically and spiritual, 1 Timothy 4:8. As you learn to keep your head in all situations and endure hardship, listen to and keep in step with the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:16, so that in time you’ll fight the good fight of faith.
Song of the Day:
Final Thoughts:
I learned more about coaching baseball during the season when my team only won a handful of games. After each loss, I pointed out the barriers that stood in the way of experiencing victory. As a Christian, may you learn from yesterday’s failure so that you’ll press on in faith to fight another day.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 