Better Together Devotional: Stand for the Good Fight by Author and Board Member Stacy A. Davis

Family Fun Icebreaker: How do you fight for good?

Topic Question: What is the Right Lifestyle in God’s Community?

Today’s Big Idea: Stand for the Good Fight

There is a constant fight between good and evil in the world. If you choose to be in God’s community, then you are committing to make a stand for God and His moral values. God has a moral law in the Ten Commandments. Spend time reading Exodus 20:1-18. In these passages, God tells you to recognize that He alone is God and to only worship Him; He warns you not to make an idol and worship it. You should not use God’s name (or Jesus Christ) as a cuss word. He encourages people to rest on God’s special day and focus on Him. You should honor and provide for your parents, as they grow older. The Commandments also state don’t murder, keep your marriage vows, don’t steal, don’t lie, and don’t want other people’s things. Jesus encourages you to be selfless by saying, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (Luke 6:31 [NASB]). God tells His people to stand firm in their faith. He encourages you to put on spiritual armor, or know spiritual truth, that will help you resist evil (Ephesians 6). There are many references to this internal struggle that lives in hearts and minds. The struggle is to either agree with God and live His right way, or disagree and live apart from God.

Talk with God: Read the scripture aloud.

Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal
life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well
before many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12 (NLT)

Walk with God: Read aloud and discuss.

You have a decision to make; it may be tough. God asks that you stand and agree with Him on His values. Right now, you can see a fight among the people in our country to remove the evidence of God’s moral values from courthouses, schools, and other public places. Evil wants all reminders of God’s moral values removed from society. There may be a time when speaking about God’s moral values will cause problems for you. Just know that this situation has happened in the past. Look at the early church in the Bible; God’s people had to make a stand for Him to spread Christianity a long time ago. Making a stand can be difficult, but it helps if you decide beforehand how you will stand. God shares that it is worth the struggle to fight the good fight for the faith. There are many ways to stand for good in the world.

Discuss with your family: What are some of the struggles of standing for God’s right way? Why is it important to stand for God? What are peaceful ways that you can make a stand for Him?

Prayer suggestion: Pray for God’s help to stand firm in the faith.