Fight the Good Fight
SOME YEARS AGO, Britta and I stood in a very quiet place, the dungeon of the Mamertine prison in Rome Italy. We stood in the very dungeon where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned before his execution.
As we stood there in the dark silence, I thought of the price that our Lord Jesus paid upon the cross just outside the city of Jerusalem. I thought of the price that Paul and thousands of other martyrs like him have paid for the Gospel over the centuries. I thought also of my own time in prison for the Gospel, and noted that what I suffered in my prison cell was really nothing compared to what Paul went through. Then I sat down in the little chapel upstairs and wept. You know, for some of us it costs us something to follow Jesus.
That is when the Lord spoke to me, personal things about my own life, to encourage me to continue to never give up but keep on pressing forward and onward for Him.
This dungeon was the place where Paul, at the end of his life, penned the words:
"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing" 2 Tim 4:6-8
May we all, at the end of our lives be able to say these same words, that we fought a good fight and never gave up, that we finished the race and kept the faith.
My friends, Jesus paid the price to set mankind free from sin, disease and the devil, but there is also a price also for us to pay - to take this Gospel of Jesus to the lost. It can cost us our flesh, our worldly pleasures, our worldly treasures.
I want to be single-minded and passionate about the Great Commission. Above the clamour around me of political passions, of the religious adulation of Israel, from anger towards the Muslim world, from the "Christian materialism" that seems to have taken hold of segments of the church today, I want to be passionate about Jesus, about His Gospel, His Word, and in prayer. I desire for my earthly life to be a living sacrifice, an offering unto God. I want the power of the Holy Ghost upon my life in such a measure that I can go forth and demonstrate the resurrection power of Jesus Christ among the lost and the dying of this world.
This is the challenge that is before me. I hope that all of you my friends also have some kind of a challenge set before you that will cause you to be stronger, and more fruitful for our Lord Jesus.
This visit to Paul's prison cell moved me, inspired me, to continue to serve my Lord with all my heart.
Originally posted on Facebook by Pastor Christopher Alam