| Growing up in Puerto Rico I used to love to fight. | | | | label you as a hypocrite. It is indeed a bloody fight. |
| I became an amateur boxer as a teen just to | | | | The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12: "For we |
| add to the "reputation." Shortly after 1991, as I | | | | WRESTLE not against flesh and blood..." |
| made Jacksonville home, I started studying | | | | The word "wrestle" here implies that you are |
| various styles of Martial Arts; it was a more | | | | fighting an enemy whose objective is to choke |
| civilized and in a sense, legal way, of getting some | | | | you to death as he sits on top of you! Neither |
| of this fighting steam out of me. I have been | | | | boxing, Kickboxing or even Ultimate Fighting can |
| involved in many fights in my life, but nothing can | | | | compare to the nature of this brutal clash. Your |
| even come close to the intensity of fighting the | | | | enemy is bold; he is not doing a "drive by |
| good fight of faith. | | | | shooting" on you; he enjoys being on top of you |
| "FIGHT the good FIGHT of faith, lay hold on | | | | choking and watching you as you die! |
| eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and | | | | "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, |
| hast professed a good profession before many | | | | and to destroy..." (John 10:10) |
| witnesses." (I Timothy 6:12) | | | | I must also admit that not all of the fights I |
| The assault against our faith is brutal in our | | | | engage in were good. A good fight for us is the |
| secular society today. For many politicians and | | | | one we can be declared winners of at the end. I |
| celebrities in Hollywood for example, it is almost a | | | | myself lost a few while I also got seriously hurt. |
| career killer to declare their faith in Jesus Christ | | | | The good news about this fight of faith is that, if |
| publicly. Stating that you are pro-life or that you | | | | we don't quit, our victory is guaranty. The Apostle |
| believe in the sanctity of marriage between a | | | | Paul, who fought bloody battles himself, |
| men and a woman is in fact a career risk that | | | | encouraged us with these words: |
| not many are willing to take. You will be mocked, | | | | "I have fought a good FIGHT, I have finished my |
| ridiculed and lied about. The liberal media will | | | | course; I have kept the faith:" (I Timothy 4:7) |
| fashion a distorted public image of you with the | | | | No one is taking away from the fact that the |
| intention of destroying your reputation that will be | | | | blows are real and very painful at times; but do |
| next to impossible to rehabilitate. They will find | | | | not be discouraged; you and I will win this fight if |
| ways to dig things out of your past with the sole | | | | we persevere until the end. So, ladies and |
| intention of discrediting you as a true Christian and | | | | gentlemen let's get ready to rumble! |