July 6, 2022
Contending
So, we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. (Colossians 1:28-29 NLT)
Beloved one, Jesus contended with Satan for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness and defeated him. (Matthew 4:1-11) He contended with Satan in the garden of Gethsemane, and you must too! (Matthew 26:30, 36-46) To contend in the Greek means to war, fight, battle, combat, stand, resist, assert, and declare for a position that Jesus is Lord in your life. We are to contend for the gospel. You must contend for your faith as a believer! Jesus said, in the last days many will be deceived (2 Timothy 3:1-5) because the love of most will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12) We must contend for our position as a believer. All contenders have 4-character traits in common:
1. Contenders are serious.
2. Contenders train and discipline themselves
3. Contenders stay focused
4. Contenders endure to the end
All my life my family has told me I am way too serious. Why? Because I am very serious about my walk with God, my relationship with Him, and reaching the hurting, the broken, and the lost. When it comes to my spiritual walk with God, I don’t play! I am a focused person. Can I have fun? Absolutely! I love to laugh and have a good time and I love to be with people who make me laugh. There is a time to lighten up and a time to be serious. Have you ever noticed the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NSL how serious they are about their game? They are focused, disciplined, and passionate about what they do and that is just a game.
Paul said, ‘Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT) For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. The night is the time when people sleep, and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 NLT)
Be awake! Be sober! Sober in Greek means to be serious, vigilant, watch and pray. To contend means you discipline yourself, they stay fit, tenacious, and passionate. Contenders train and discipline themselves. They don’t just go through the motions! They’re not easily offended. A contender will go to the gym even when they don’t feel like going. Stop letting hardship stop you from contending. Are you a pretender or are you a contender?
