Fight the Good Fight

We have just started an equipping series in church on how to study the Bible. And we studied 2 Timothy 4, and this is what I gathered from my studying:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight
The good fight. The most basic of our fights. The battle between good and evil. The good fight of faith. We are in a battle, aren't we? We knew that. As children, we knew the most basic of our fights. But as we grew older, the situations become more complex. And our desires often grey out what we used to see as wrong.

I have finished the race
Life. We have hat rat races, running a business, running from hurts. We run life. But why call it a race? Why the competitive element to it? Urgency. That is why. We never really know how much more time we have. But this is a race and there is an urgency to do the things God has called us to do.

I have kept the faith
Faith can dwindle. Faith can drop. But the idea is to sustain the faith until the end.

The crown of righteousness
What is righteousness? It's basically fulfilling our end of the bargain in our relationship with God. And it doesn't say here that we will achieve righteousness. Rather, it will be crowned us. Do what needs to be done, and at the end of it, He will make us worthy.

Overall take-home
Press on. I may be faltering, and I may want to give up with all the failures I have as a Christian. But we have to press on. Do what needs to be done, and do it with a sense of urgency. And at the end of it all, God will make you worthy of the relationship with Him.

Turn to Me

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish." (Psalm 25:16, 17 NIV)

"Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you." (Psalm 25:20, 21 NIV)

Lord, my God, turn to me. I am lonely and afflicted. Guard my life, Lord. I do not know what to do. I thought I had finally found someone I could consider. But new facts have given doubt. I'd like to pursue, but what is right, Lord? Will it displease You if I pursued this? Will I sin against You if I loved him? I do not wish to be too religious about this, either. What he really needs right now is love. Not the romantic kind. But the true one, which holds no record of wrong, which is patient and forgiving, and most importantly, which is Yours. But then I am being arrogant to think that I would be the one to bring that to him.

I do not wish to displease You, Lord. I do not wish to go against Your Word. But what is right in this situation? Is he condemned to solitude forever? Would my children and my children's children be cursed if I loved him? I am hurt and confused by the developments. But You, my God, are my Lord. Lead me. Instruct me in the way I should proceed. And guard me.

Downward Mobility

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” 2 Corinthians 8:9-15 NKJV

True power is not when you come to a point where you find yourself up there with the affluent. It is when you find yourself able to go down to the needy.

Today is my presentation in Social Transformation. This is our devotional for the day. In context, Paul was referring to Christians giving money. But what God has impressed upon me is that the same applies for any good work that we do. When we start out, it is usually for good. We start out excited to give, or to be doing something that changes the world for the better. But more often than not, we get sidetracked or discouraged. We question if our giving actually does anything. We question if what we do actually has an impact. I had been losing steam these past few months. Changes in my life and relationships had shaken my convictions when it comes to my company. But God gave me the chance and excuse to do field work and observe how different organizations work. Social Transformation class has helped me pause and reflect on the things I have been doing for my company and the motives behind it. I wanted to stop and run away. Not because it was too difficult, but because I felt lost and I wasn't sure if it was worth continuing. At a certain point, I almost believed what some of our critics have told us: that creating games is nothing but play. Nothing but meaningless wasting of time. But my class and people I've met recently have made me pause and think of the original reason why I'm doing this in the first place. Wasn't it to tell our stories? Wasn't it to change the mindset of generations through games, comics and animation? Wasn't it to create a work environment where people didn't care about career opportunities, but creation. Wasn't that what we wanted to do? For us, creators, who cares about being director or senior producer? All we ever wanted was to create, to touch lives, to make people feel.

It allowed me to stop and look at where we were. We didn't start this to make brands popular. We didn't start this to make money. I didn't start this to let big organizations abuse my people. But what was I doing now?

I wanted to stop and do everything over again. But no, that's not the solution. The solution is to press on, as we always have, and slowly but surely get back on track. Many times, it really doesn't matter WHAT we choose to do, but more WHY we do it. We can make branded games. We can service ads. But I needed to remember that the point was to tell stories, stories that stir people, stories that compel people to change the world. And by stories, I don't mean the stories of the work that we do, but more what story we live by doing the work.

All of us have good work that we started. All of us have projects that we've chosen to support for the good they do. But for many of us, we've lost steam. We've been discouraged. We've questioned the effectivity and acceptability of our projects. But I think we sometimes need to be reminded, "you also must complete the doing of it." Keep the faith. Press on. And together, let us encourage each other that we may do the work our God has placed in our hearts.

Comfort Zones

Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. (Micah 4:10 NIV)

I had a talk a few weeks ago where I was asked to recount how I put up my company and how I got it to where it was. And I realized how much I had to go out of my comfort zone just to make it work.

Sometimes, one needs to get out of one's city, one's comfortable place. And out there, out there, she will be rescued and redeemed by the Lord.

God is Light

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12 NIV)

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5 NIV)

Dear God,

My Light. Shine in my heart. Chase away any darkness in it. Lord, I lift to You my prospective relationships. I want to do it right this time. Protect me. If You do not will him for me, then Your will be done. Lead me to Your choice. Be my Light. Reveal to me truths. Give me wisdom.

I also pray for my meetings today. Put a seal on my tongue. Put a guard before my mouth. Not just for my meetings, but especially with my dealings with friends. Give me wisdom and give me kindness.

This I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

His Wonderful Light

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— (John 1:9-12 NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

Dear Lord,

You have called me into Your wonderful Light. I will sing praises to You! You have chosen me. I am Your special possession. Lord God, You are my King and Father. Your Will be done.

He Shall Bring Forth Righteousness

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. (Psalms 37:6 NKJV)

Dear Lord,

I've always thought that it's my duty, my job to fulfill my end of the relationship. But Lord, I can't do it myself. See? Just this morning, I slipped again. But Lord, know that I do want to be devoted to You, to find delight in You. I just can't do it on my own.

But You, Lord, said that it is You who will bring forth my righteousness. You will cause me to fulfill my end of the relationship. Lord, I surrender to You. Lead me. Change my heart. Cause me to find my delight inYou.