Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And
the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit
thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3 Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may
please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And if a man
also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 6 The
husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. 7 Consider
what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
One of my sons once said ‘For every new level there is a new devil’. This
is very correct in the life of every believer. I always tell my children that
if they are not relevant in the scheme of things, they cannot be a target of
the devil. But, the moment you make up your mind to obey God, to love God and
to serve Him, you become a target for the enemies, both within and without. As
a soldier of the Cross, you do not fight your battles with physical weapons
because it is the nature of a battle that will determine your arsenal of
weapons. As a good soldier of the Cross, you must be able to endure hardness in
the race to heaven. You have to fight lawfully and follow those rules which
characterise a righteous person.
There are many factors attacking the Christian faith today. We cannot
just continue to be passive; there is the need to defend the Christian faith
against modern and post-modern ideologies, so that we can all lay hold of
eternal life. Any Christian who is timid and fearful cannot carry out the struggles
of spiritual warfare.
“Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil” Ephesians 6:11
Those who were before us were able to stand strong and give a reason for
the hope they had in Christ Jesus, we cannot but do same. Timothy as an
evangelist, did not waste any opportunity, he constantly stood before men and
confesses his faith in Christ. Jesus Christ our master stood before Pontius
Pilate and defended his Son-ship and Kingship.
One of the ways to be a good soldier of the Cross is to appreciate
the works of the Cross and live our lives to reflect the sacrifices made by
Jesus. This we can achieve when we begin to live a life of purity and godly
behaviour. We must follow the truth that has been received in Christ. The truth
that set you free and gave you liberty must be passed on to others, so that
they can experience what you experienced. This is why our pastors need to go
back to the ancient landmarks of sound apostolic teaching. There is a need for
urgency on the part of the clergy to feed their flocks with the undiluted Word
of life.
Hardship will come, Satan will launch all forms of attack against the
preaching of the gospel of Jesus, yet, we must not allow all these to divert
our focus from our primary assignment as soldier of the cross. Also, don’t
allow the affairs of this world to make you a victim in the battles of life. As
a messenger of Jesus, you must do all that is within your power to please the
Owner of your life and be committed to the work of the Kingdom. It is my prayer
that your enemies will miss whenever they target you in Jesus’ name.
Action Point: Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil.
Bible in one year: Ezra 1-3, Ecclesiastes 5:10-20
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