TR & The Man In The Arena

In 2 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV), the Apostle Paul writes Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Fighting the good fight is a key component of the true Christian faith, and we are continually told in the Bible to persevere in our faith and during our spiritual trials and earthly battles. We must be willing to fight the good fight, just like the Apostle Paul did, and not shirk from it or avoid it, no matter how difficult it may seem to us at the time.

On April 23, 1910, former United States President Theodore Roosevelt echoed a similar theme in a speech that he gave at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

TR famously declared:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Jeshua

In Matthew 1:21 (NKJV), an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told Joseph that Mary would "bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

The Hebrew name for Jesus is Jeshua.

The Hebrew name Jeshua means "the Lord is Salvation."

Eternal life and eternal salvation, as offered by Jeshua and by Jeshua alone, is the greatest Christmas gift of all.

Nobody

Pastor Charles Swindoll has said that the life of Moses can be divided into three, distinct, 40-year periods.

In the first 40-year period, Moses thought that he was somebody.

In the second 40-year period, Moses learned that he was nobody.

In the third 40-year period, Moses learned that God can use a nobody.

In fact, God told Moses as much in Exodus 4:11-12 (NKJV), when God declared to Moses, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

God, through His own divine help, can use a nobody to accomplish great things for His kingdom.

God can use a nobody.

A nobody.

Like Moses.

Or you.

Or me.

Humble Or Humbled

Charles Spurgeon:

"Every Christian has a choice between being humble or being humbled."

At All Times

St. Francis of Assisi:

"Preach the Gospel at all times and, when necessary, use words."

Evidence

If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Tim Tebow

If you are a fan of the National Football League, then you know all about Tim Tebow.

If you are not a fan of the NFL, then you need to know that Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were 1-4 this season before Tebow took over as their starting QB. Since that time, the Broncos have gone 5-1, including multiple come-from-behind, last-minute or overtime victories.

Tim Tebow also is a deeply-committed Christian, and he is very bold about showing his faith on the football field. As a result, Tebow has many fervent supporters, but he also has attracted a whole lot of equally-fervent detractors. Football fans tend to be very black or white in their opinions about Tebow, either loving him or hating him. A large part of this, I believe, is due to Tebow's very-public faith stance.

God has given Tim Tebow a very public stage on which to show his faith, and I admire him for his boldness in doing so. Whenever I see Tebow publically proclaiming his faith in Jesus Christ on the football field, or during a TV interview, I think of the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 1:16 (NKJV), "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." In Matthew 10:32-33 (NKJV), Jesus declares, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."

Tim Tebow has shown himself not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and he has confessed Jesus Christ publically before many millions of men and women. He is to be commended for the boldness of his faith on a very public stage.