I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 3rd of September, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the First Book of Timothy 6:12: 

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."  

We have to follow through. Paul said to Timothy, "You have made a confession of your faith and now you have to complete it." There is nowhere in the Bible where it says, "Come to Jesus and all your problems will be over." I will tell you why - because it is not in the Bible. No, not at all. Paul says we have to fight the good fight. That means it is a continual ongoing battle, but when we have made that confession, the Lord Jesus Christ is in our corner! So we are going to win that fight if we keep on. We need to run this race to the end. You only get the prize at the finish line. If you don't finish the race, you don't get the prize. I know that. I ran the Comrades Marathon. I did not finish and I never got the medal. We need to finish the race that the Lord has put us in. Jesus never promised you and me a bed of roses, but He did promise us that He would never leave us or forsake us. 

Now remember, it is not the fighter that can deliver the punch that becomes the champion. No, it is the boxer who keeps getting up when he has been knocked down. Eventually, his opponent is totally overwhelmed by the man's determination and gives up and loses the fight. There is only one heavyweight boxing champion in the world who was totally undefeated. Rocky Marciano was a small man by today's standards. He weighed about 170lbs, he stood 5ft 9 inches tall, and he was undefeated. He was fighting men who were 6ft 3" and weighed 230 lbs. What was the secret? The secret was that this man could take pain. He just never, ever gave up and eventually he wore his opponent down. 

Now, you and I are in the fight of our lives. We need to stand. The Lord is in our corner, He will give us directions but we need to keep on fighting, and remember what a reward awaits you and me in Heaven. One day when we have finished our race, when we have fought our good fight, and the Lord says, "Well done, good and faithful servant, come and enter into your rest."

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.