2 TIMOTHY 4:7-8 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

THEME OF THE DAY. ARE YOU? Every Christian yearns for two things when life is ebbing and we are about to see the Lord Jesus. First, is the testimony of the Apostle Paul in today’s scripture. To come to the end of our long and difficult journey of the Christian life, able to look back, praise the Lord, and say, “Thank You for Your empowering grace that enabled me to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith” will be a time of joy inexpressible and full of glory. The other thing we yearn for is the time when our faith gives way to sight and we are face-to-face with Jesus, He smiles and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21). But there are conditions we must meet.

Today’s scriptures are in the past tense because Paul’s life is about over. The time to fight, to run and to keep is over. And he could look back and see what he proclaims now is what he lived – daily. The lesson is clear. If we want to have his testimony and to hear from Jesus, “Well done”, then we must fight today, run today, and keep the faith today which leads to the question of today’s nugget theme – Are we?

Of all the many challenges we face in fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith one that is high on the list is the “respectable” sin called “procrastination.” It might not be a stretch to consider, apart from doubt and unbelief, the chief tactic of the devil to sideline Christians from being vibrant witnesses for Christ in our homes, neighborhoods, churches, and communities in speech, conduct, and service is procrastination. And the subtle danger in allowing the sin of procrastination to settle into our lives is the ease with which we allow good, not sinful things, into our lives that cause us to put off the higher spiritual priorities or commit spiritual procrastination.

If we truly desire to finish well in the Christian life we must live well the Christian life today. We cannot put off teaching our kids about Christ and theological truth to a not promised tomorrow; we cannot neglect being a praying couple in our marriages to a not promised tomorrow; we cannot delay serving in our local churches to a not promised tomorrow; and we cannot ignore the daily calls of self-discipline and self-control to fight the fight, run the race, and keep the faith to a not promised tomorrow. Should we allow the entrenchment of the sin of procrastination into our lives, there will be a time when no tomorrows come causing us to look back with sadness that we did not fight the good fight, finish the race well, and kept the faith till the end. Oh, we won’t lose our salvation but we will lose rewards at the judgment seat of Christ and we will be able to only blame one person – self. So, do you want to be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” at the end of life? Then start now, today, to fight, to run, and to persevere in the faith. In doing so, we will be able to say those glorious words at the end of life with confidence and praise.

PRAYER: “Father, keep me eyeing the prize of seeing Your Son and hearing, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’.”

QUOTE: “To be able to say in the future, ‘I have fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith’ we must do it now.”