	Bob Hostetler > Devotions

Contending for the Faith

by Bob Hostetler

Contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3b, NIV).

"He won't let me hit it, Daddy!"

The new little-leaguer had struck out. He ran to his father and protested tearfully about the pitcher's uncooperative conduct.

The father, although moved by his son's tears, didn't complain to the umpire or scream at the opposing pitcher. He gripped his son's shoulders and faced him squarely.

"He's not supposed to let you you hit it, son," the man explained. "His job is to pitch the ball. Your job is to hit it. That's baseball."

I have seen and heard many Christian friends make the same mistake as that woeful little-leaguer. They become indignant because evil seems to oppress us on every hand. The media, the public schools, the government, often seem hostile to Christians. Our beliefs are constantly questioned; our values are constantly assaulted.

It doesn't seem fair sometimes. But it should not surprise us, nor should it drive us to our Father, crying, "The devil won't leave me alone!" The devil's job to attack our faith. Our job is to contend for the faith, to fight back.

That is why Jude wrote the New Testament epistle that bears his name nearly two thousand years ago. He was eager, he said, to write about more "inspirational" subjects, but he felt he had to write and urge his fellow Christians "to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 1:3b, NIV). We cannot retreat into an intellectual and political "no fly zone." We must contend for right over wrong, for truth over falsehood, for light over darkness, and we must do so earnestly and tirelessly.

Prayer: God, when Satan attacks, give me strength to fight back; when confronted with sin, help me to win.

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