I must confess I am a UFC fan.  I love the sport of mixed martial arts.  I love getting a group of friends together and watching competitive fighting take place in a ring called “the octagon.”  As I watch these men compete, I realize they are way more passionate about the sport than I am.  I’m just a spectator, watching from the comfort of my home.  They are the ones in the Octagon getting bloodied and bruised for a sport they love.  They spend countless hours training and working out to make themselves the best fighter they can be.  They are never satisfied with watching a fight, they want to be “in the fight!”

Have you ever been bored with your walk with Christ? I have! If I am honest with myself the reason I was bored is that I was a spectator. The Christian life is not a spectator sport.  It is not about sitting and listening, it is about “fighting the good fight!”  It is about praying without ceasing, fasting, saying no to sin and yes to God.  It is about being a bondservant, our will swallowed up in the will of Christ.  It is about doing the word of God, not just listening to it.  It is about advancing the gospel.  It is about these & so much more.

I remember a fight I had in high school.  I was minding my own business when a guy sucker punched me in the nose.  When his class ring hit the bridge of my nose, I snapped and let’s just say “I laid hands on him severely!” In the middle of that fight, I was anything but bored. I was energized.  In a spiritual sense, if your Christian life is stagnant or boring, I pray you get sucker punched and it awakens the fighter in you.  Don’t be satisfied with watching, get into the octagon of the Christian life & fight the good fight.

 

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” -2 Timothy 1:7

“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.” -Joel 3:9

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” -Romans 8:37

I pray that He does abundantly more than we have asked of Him or can even imagine, all for His glory!

Go, Fight, Win,
-Jeff McFarland, Interim Pastor