I have heard “fight the good fight” used in many situations. Some of them are very far afield from what is meant in the Bible, the source of the modern idiom. For example, I’ve seen it used in a magazine article about marketing to the appropriate customers. They really meant fight the “right” fight. Militarily it is used to encourage soldiers to fight hard for their particular country, making it a nationalistic slogan.

So what is the “good fight”?

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” ‭‭(2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Don’t overthink it. A good fight, as Paul uses it here, is a fight for good. Specifically, a fight to remain faithful to Jesus and His ministry. Jesus’s ministry and command to His followers was to love God and love people. So, the good fight is to battle against anything that gets in the way of love.

And this is truly a hard battle. There are so many things that get in the way of love. In today’s society, one huge impediment to love (among many) is anonymity. From cars with tinted-black windows, to online comments, other people have become distant ideas and disembodied avatars. It’s easy to be rude to someone when I can’t see their face and how they are affected by my cruel words.

So we have road rage. I can’t see the person in the car who just cut me off so I can mentally turn them into a wicked villain, hate them, and retaliate. The devil loves nothing more.

And online we are quick to say awful things that we would never say to anyone in person.

The good fight involves battling the urge to demonize and retaliate, reminding myself that every other human is a beloved child of God. It requires me to de-anonymize myself and become vulnerable. I have to actually speak with people, get to know people, and fight hard to love them. This is where the battle lies. This is the “good” fight.

Dear God,

Please give me the strength and courage to fight for love every day. Forgive me for hiding behind barriers in fear and self-righteous judgment. Protect me as I step out to fight the good fight against hatred, pride, indifference, and injustice.

I live near the location of the highest recorded temperature on earth (according to the World Meteorological Organization). That was 134°F in 1913 in Death Valley, California.

Thankfully, I don’t live anywhere near the coldest temperature (‬‬-128.6°F), which was recorded in Vostok, Antarctica in 1983. (Although I grew up in Wisconsin which seemed about that cold when I stood outside in the morning waiting for the school bus in mid-February.)

No matter these extremes, the earth is a miraculous place. Wherever I travel, I can be sure I won’t boil to death like I would on Mercury or freeze solid like I would on the other side of Mercury.

Thanks to our atmosphere, held in place by our gravity, and our planet orbiting in the “Goldilocks Zone,” our mean surface temperature is currently around 59°F which seems pretty comfy. Without the atmosphere, it would be closer to 0°F, but the daily extremes would kill us all. (That is, if we weren’t killed by ultraviolet radiation, cosmic rays, and micrometeorites which our atmosphere also shields us from.)

While there may be billions of other planets that could potentially sustain life as we know it, none of them are anywhere near us. God created this one just for us, and it’s miraculously perfect.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26,‬ ‭CSB)

Although earth was God’s perfect creation for us, we do have to take care of it. We can’t make a new one. God can, and has promised to do so, but I’m pretty sure we don’t deserve it.

Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful planet with seasons and light and gravity and water and temperatures that allow your children to thrive. What a miracle! Forgive me for taking it for granted all too often. Teach me to do everything I can to love, appreciate, and care for the gift of your creation.

Life can seem like one long struggle when faced with addiction. Every day is a new test of endurance.

I am addicted to sugar.

Did you scoff? I am fortunate that my particular addiction is socially acceptable, unlike many addictions. We call it a “sweet tooth.” Sounds fun. Most people wouldn’t even call it a “real” addiction. That’s fine. To me it is real, and it’s a daily challenge.

American companies push sugar. They cram it into every possible food to boost sales and profits. And it works because sugar tastes good. And it is addictive.

I’m not overweight, but I could easily be if I were to stop fighting. The battle against my cravings for sugar is constant. I don’t always win, but I wake up every day with renewed determination to eat healthily.

The struggle against sin is like my battle with sugar cravings in many ways. I am fighting against powerful external forces as well as my own internal desires.

“Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Fortunately, in my battle against sin, I have an advocate more powerful than the devil, society, and my cravings combined. Jesus has already fought my battle for me and won. All I need to do is trust Him and keep getting up every morning to try to love well, gratefully accepting His forgiveness when I fail.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for giving me the strength to fight temptations in my life. Thank you even more for your promise of forgiveness when I fail, when I give in to the urge to hate instead of love, to take instead of give, to insult instead of encourage. Help me to try again today and endure in my struggle until you come again.

Doing laundry is a very unsatisfying task. I pull clothes from the hamper, wash them, dry them, fold them, and put them away, but before I can finish all that, more dirty clothes have appeared in the hamper again. I can never quite check “laundry” off my to-do list. It just always needs doing.

I think because it always needs doing yet never is completed, I rarely get thanked for doing it either. People get thanked for big, one-and-done tasks like fixing the broken refrigerator, picking someone up from the airport, or sewing a costume for the school play.

But laundry? When do I even thank someone? When it’s dry but in a pile in the laundry basket? Or when it has been folded perhaps? If I wait until it’s been put away, how do I even know that it happened?

There are plenty of other thankless tasks like this in the world. Garbage collection maybe. Janitorial services of all kinds actually. Lawn mowing. Weeding. Grocery shopping. Preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner…

Even though these tasks usually go unnoticed and seemingly unappreciated, they are all incredibly important. They are vital in fact. God knows it. He sees me and appreciates everything I do that contributes to a better world in any way, big or small.

“Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When I’m folding laundry, I don’t think about all the accolades I will get for a job well done. And hopefully I don’t grumble about the thankless task either. Instead I remember I am humbly serving God by working hard and doing a good job.

Dear God,

Thank you for your promise to see me and reward me for my hard work and humble acts of service. Forgive me for grumbling when I feel under appreciated. Teach me how to be satisfied in this life with the promise of rewards in the next when I humbly serve you.

In ancient times the best way to protect your kingdom was to prove you could defend it well, especially with lavish displays of sturdy chariots and strong horses.

In modern times, and on a much smaller scale, homeowners stake signs outside their houses proclaiming the name of the security company that will rush to their aid if an intruder attempts to break in.

I can use this same strategy when protecting myself from spiritual attacks. If I cover myself with the name of Jesus, dark forces will stay clear. They know His name and the mighty power they will be up against if they attack me.

“Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

To get God’s protective banner on my life I need to stick close to Him at all times.

Dear God,

Cover me in the name of your Son today so that I am protected from evil attacks. Forgive me for wandering off on my own without your banner of love over me. Draw me back to study your word, to pray, and to worship you so that your name shines out from my life like a warning in neon.

I grew up in a house on a large hill. I remember being comforted as a child by the knowledge that this house would never suffer from floods due to our high position. When heavy rains fell, the people who lived near the river filled sand bags and wrung their hands with worry. But I was able to get on with the business of being a child. I put on my rubber boots and played in the puddles.

My confidence can be as strong today as it was when I was a child. But my confidence is in God, not in a hill.

“The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Instead of being confident that my elevation will protect me from floods, I can be confident that my God will protect me from any and all of life’s disasters. Problems will most definitely come, but I can trust that God will be with me through them all. He will lift me up, light my path, and comfort me. Even if I lose “everything,” whatever I have left will be all I need because God will provide. I can confidently get on with the business of being His child.

Dear God,

Thank you for the reminder that I can trust you in all things. No matter what life brings, I know you will be with me, your power will protect me, your wisdom will guide me, and your love will comfort me. I am so grateful to be able to put my confidence in you.

In grade school, my classmates and I were required to participate in the Presidential Physical Fitness Award program which involved accomplishing several feats of strength, speed, or agility including a 50-yard dash and a 600-yard run.

I excelled in the 50-yard dash but struggled with the 600-yard run. I loved sprinting but hated running. Still do.

I always ended up walking those 600 yards. To me, the award wasn’t worth the pain.

“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭CSB‬‬

My pursuit of Jesus and His way of life should not be like my 600-yard run effort. The stakes are very high. The prize is incomparable. Every day, I need to give it everything I’ve got. God deserves my best.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me your best when you sent Jesus to save me. Forgive me for serving you half-heartedly at times. Thank you for reminding me that you deserve and expect my full effort and attention on the tasks you have laid out for me.

There is a writing exercise that I love where you write just the first line for a potential story. The idea is to come up with the most intriguing sentence you can think of so that anyone who reads it is eager to keep reading.

Here are some samples:

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”

This is one of my favorite first lines of a novel. It starts “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C. S. Lewis. I instantly want to know what this boy did to deserve such a moniker.

“It was the day my grandmother exploded.”

This begins “The Crow Road” by Iain M. Banks, and it leaves me thinking, “What?! I have to know more.”

“It was a pleasure to burn.”

This is the first line of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”. We all know being burned is no pleasure so I want to read on for answers…

And here are a few first lines I just came up with because it’s a fun exercise to stimulate the imagination.

“At least he was a polite dead man.”

“I never learned to fly because when it was finally my turn, we moved to this dumb planet where the gravity had us crawling for months.”

“Jamie wasn’t bothered by his leg falling off; in fact, he often took it off himself just to win a fight.”

The imagination is a fantastic gift God gave us. I can imagine a lot of wild and wondrous things.

And yet God says there is nothing I can imagine that He can’t do. In fact, He says He can do better than anything I can dream up. My wildest dreams are a dim, whimpering wish compared to the glorious and powerful plans He has in store.

“Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us —  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

How marvelous to know that God’s love is bigger, by far, than my imagination.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving your children creativity and curiosity and imagination. Thank you also that your love and power will always out-reach my wildest dreams. Remind me of this when I start to worry. Teach me to dream big when it comes to trusting you.

When someone gives me important instructions, I tend to write them down because my memory isn’t so great. But a written note isn’t so handy for some things. For example, after an unfortunate encounter with poison ivy, my mom instructed me on how to identify the evil plant so I could avoid it in the future. I could have written her instructions down, but I would have had to carry the note with me everywhere and check it every time I encountered a green leafy plant.

Fortunately, the information she gave me was an adage designed to be easily remembered by reciting it a few times: “leaves of three, let it be.” Obviously I still remember it decades later. Of course, my desire to remember is reinforced by the memory of my horrible experience with the plant.

“This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When Joshua was about to lead the Israelites into their long-awaited promised land, God reminded him of the instructions He had given him through Moses.

They were important instructions. Dire consequences would result in ignoring them. Success could only be achieved by following them.

So God told Joshua to meditate on them, recite them over and over. Commit them to memory so that they would always be available.

God wanted Joshua to be able to recognize sin in his midst the same way my mom wanted me to recognize poison ivy and avoid it.

Today I have these instructions inside the Bible. And I have the entire Bible handily in my phone (what an age I live in!) I almost always have my phone, and yet I don’t always consult my Bible. By memorizing scripture, it will always be available to me. I can more adeptly avoid the pitfalls of sin and succeed in living the life God intends for me .

Dear God,

Thank you for your word which is so readily available to me. Forgive me for taking it for granted, failing to read it more, and for being too lazy to commit it to memory. Write your word on the tablet of my heart so it is always with me to show me the right and wrong paths I should take today.

I used to play tennis at an indoor facility that had a viewing lounge overlooking the court on one end of the building. The viewing area had large windows that were open to the court so the players on that court could easily hear anything the onlookers were saying and doing. Often there were many people crowded into the lounge socializing but not necessarily paying much attention to the tennis being played.

Many people did not enjoy playing on that court because of the noise and distraction, especially during tensely competitive league matches. Sometimes the players had to stop and shush the crowd in the lounge.

Whenever I was assigned to play on that court, I tried to view it as an opportunity to practice my ability to focus. I had varying degrees of success.

Some of my friends loved to play on that court saying the cheers and encouragement from fellow team members brought out their best tennis. But also the perceived scrutiny kept all the players honest in their line calls.

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Being part of a tennis team is like being part of a church, or it should be. We are here to encourage each other to be our best. And we are here to keep each other honest and accountable in our faith.

Christianity is not meant to be done alone.

Dear God,

Thank you for all the people you have placed in my life over the years that have taught me, encouraged me, and corrected me. Show me who may need my encouragement today. Give me the wisdom and humility to be a responsible and dedicated member of your team.