"Faith That Fights"

"Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name." (Psalms 74:18) It has been said, "If something is not worth fighting for, then it's not worth keeping." On the other hand, I think we hold onto more things we should not keep, then we do fight for the things we should. Sometimes, if not always, it's those things that we try to hold onto that actually hinder our ability to fight for the things that we should keep. Take marriage for example, since marriage is something of a neutral position. If you are struggling with a substance or with porn, and your marriage is on the ropes, your addiction is hindering your ability to fight for your marriage; your passion is not really there to make it worth fighting for, because your passion to fight for what's right has been dissolved by lust, and your focus is hindered by drunkenness or drugs. As to our spiritual relationship with God, it's pretty much the same; we tend to let the sins we hold onto dictate our passion for Christ. It's really sad to say, but you can't really fight for your faith, if you are not willing to fight off your flesh. It makes me worry about how strong we might be when faced with the choice of Jesus or death; because if we can't make that choice now, based on our sins or life, how will it be any different? We can make a difference in our fight for the faith, only if our faith makes a difference in us; if my faith does not give a passion for what I believe, then my ability to fight for what I believe is not there. I might pretend that it's there; I might even boast about my desire to stand; but truth be told, if my sins have priority over holiness, I have nothing there to stand upon. It's a pretty sobering thought, but it's something worth our consideration; that is, if we really care about our faith. Maybe that's the whole point, our faith can sometimes be like an old marriage. We are still here, holding on, but the passion is gone; we are only keeping the faith for the sake of keeping the faith, but our faith is no longer changing us...
"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us." (Hebrews 10:23-29) NLT