2 Timothy 4:7


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

The Christian life is a warfare in the spiritual realm more often than we may realize. We battle against sin, our fleshly desires, and the devil who is alive and well and prowls around seeing who he can devour. Paul says he has run the race and fought well to the finish line. He knew what the prize was as his eyes were fastened on Christ. To be like Christ is our goal – to love as he loved, to pursue what is just and right, to fight the powers of darkness with Truth. These are what the good fight is all about. And the fight is for every day of our life. My daughter swims in Special Olympics and when she races the duration is short and timed. Not so with the race we are in as Christians. It occurs every day until the day when we will meet up with our Lord and pass through the gates into eternal life. Paul kept the faith throughout, not only objectively but subjectively! It was as much an inner keeping as a lived experience of keeping faith. What Paul is saying is that he has guarded and also passed on his faith so that others may live a life aimed at finishing the course! That is the message for us today. Fight the enemy of your soul, finish your course with the characteristics of Christ, and pass on your faith to others.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Numbers 24:17a

Image
I see him, but not now, I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel ~ Numbers 24: 17a In Genesis God brought a man called Abram from the land of Ur and led him on a journey, eventually to stop in what we call the land of Israel. A covenant was made with this man when he was 75 years old, and though he did not yet have any offspring, God told him his following generations would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. A very grand promise it was, but the problem was there were no children and his wife was past child-bearing years. But for God this was not a problem. God is the God of the impossible, and about 25 years later, Abram's very elderly wife conceived and bore a son. They named him Isaac, and Isaac was the father of Jacob. It was Jacob who was renamed "Israel", a name which has carried down to this day. The words of our Scripture, 'I see him' cannot be understood as seeing what is in front of the eyes o
Read more

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more