Anchor Devotional
See this and other editions of the Anchor Devotional online.
If someone forwarded this email to you, subscribe for yourself by signing up here.
The Battle Is the Lord’s
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12a
Flee. Pursue. Fight. Take hold. These are significant action words. A battle is raging, and Paul calls followers of Jesus to take a warlike posture. Remember, Paul had previously warned against the dangers of such things like false teaching (vv. 3-6) and greed (vv. 7-10). We must take this battle seriously, because sin and Satan never engage in a ceasefire. What are we fighting for? “Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” We are to “fight the good fight of faith,” and “take hold of the eternal life” we were called to.
So, flee from sin. Don’t toy with it, imagining that you can be close to it without getting burned. Pursue righteousness and godliness. Chase after these with all your mind, will, and emotions. Fight to grow in faith, knowing that Satan will make you doubt God’s promises of salvation and love, an old scheme he’s been using since the Garden of Eden. Finally, take hold of eternal life. Don’t construe this as earning eternal life. Rather, it is something which already has been secured for us.
SCRIPTURE FOCUS
1 Timothy 6:11-12
INSIGHT
Father, forgive our apathetic, peacetime mentality. Help us to engage in the good fight of faith, following You and looking toward the hope of heaven. Amen
THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
2 Samuel 23-24
Psalm 148
1 Timothy 5-6
Sign up to get the Know the Bible free email lesson series from Bible Gateway.