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In This Corner....


Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. (I Timothy 1:18-20)

          In this corner… young pastor, Timothy. In the other corner, the world, the flesh and the devil. Paul massages Timothy’s shoulders and reminds him of proper stances and attacks and counsels him on the rules of the fight. Timothy meets his opponents in the center of the ring, and even before the bell clangs, the world sucker punches him. Timothy staggers back, dazed and confused. He shakes his head and throws a perfect punch that glances off the devil’s chin as the flesh swings a truncheon that hits Timothy’s solar plexus. Timothy collapses to the mat, and manages to crawl back to his corner. 
         Paul helps him onto his stool, washes the blood from his face and tells Timothy. “Yes! Great job. You’re fighting a good fight!” Timothy’s strike, though not as effective as he’d like was legal and his form proper. He didn’t lose faith and he acted in good conscience.
           “But, they cheated!” Timothy gasps.
           Paul waves dismissively. “They always do. Keep fighting the good fight. That’s all that matters.”  That old adage about “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game” is true. 
          There are times when it seems as if the world, the flesh and the devil are winning. We wonder where the referee went. Our opponent seems to have bought a bazooka to a boxing match and nobody seems to notice. God is the referee, and He notices, but that doesn’t mean He stops the match. The key is not our defeating our enemy. The key is not even staying alive. The keys, the prizes, are your faith and your conscience. With them, you cannot ultimately lose. Without them, you cannot ultimately win.

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