Spiritual / Boxing KO & something to get up for again I remember 1994 and being in a boxing ring, I felt pretty

confident at the time. Over confident, the adrenaline was rushing through, I knew nothing about my opponent in the ring also. I remember he was moving really quickly and had fast hands. He'd been there many times, for me it was the first time in the ring. I'd done all the training to keep fit and healthy and was feeling good. I was though totally ignorant about my opponent. I remember the coach saying "go easy on Tony", I was thinking allot about what I'd do hoping to win and get that lucky punch in. The amazing thing was boxing was really exhausting compared to Karate, Karate you stop and start, in the ring those two or three minutes seem to last for ages. It's totally different hitting the punch bag to actually having an opponent, the adrenaline, not being in control. In the Gym you are in control of the weights, in the ring it's a different story. I remember the change from Karate to boxing and thinking that none of my Karate friends would stand a chance against a boxer. Karate fighting was get in a punch or kick and you get a point and stop, with boxing it doesn't stop till the bell rings or you or they get KO'ed. I remember the fight round 1 just about, the guy was fast, way too fast for me to hit, he'd had lots of experience, it was my first time in the ring. I remember after a couple of minutes he got in a punch to my jaw and down I went. Sad thing was I didn't even feel the punch land, I remember standing up and then being down and dazed. The coach stopped the fight, I wanted to carry on and felt cheated out of carrying on. Coach knew best though. Being young and enthusiastic, I got up again, I wanted to fight. One of the toughest challenges in the spiritual realm is getting back up again from the canvas of defeat. Sooner or later the devil will land a lucky punch and deck you, that's his job, he's relentless. In the spiritual realm the bell doesn't ring till you die. That lucky punch might be sin, drunkenness, immorality, greed all kinds of punches designed to break you down and knock you out. I look back at my spiritual life traumatised about all the times the devil has knocked me out cold in a wide variety of ways. Currently I feel on the canvas looking at the lights and wondering should I get up again to face more beatings. Prior to being a Christian I didn't know I was in a fight, I did what I wanted without a moral or spiritual compass, I can look back with regret at my ignorance and many of the stupid things I did. Sadly even after becoming a Christian, it's not as if a magic wand is waved and you become perfect at baptism, you have to fight against your own sinful nature ( Romans 7 ). Beyond that personal battle you become a target for the devil and his demons. I've been knocked out many a time, deeply traumatised to the point of giving up on many occasions. "Here I am yet again, what happened" I have said to myself many a time. You feel the spiritual punch every time and it hurts emotionally spiritually and other ways. It's tempting to stay down on the canvas and do nothing but stare at the clouds ( Acts 1 ) waiting for the bell to ring. 101 reasons to stay down and quit can go through my mind. The longer you stay down the harder it is to get up, the more time spent meditating on 101 reasons to stay down or getting up makes you paralyzed. Often I reflect on my relationship as primary

motivation to get back up again, if the phone hasn't rung or I've been out of contact for a while, I can get more and more depressed and stay on the canvas. Spiritually that is death, not an option. Realistically the devil keeps on punching, the more hits you take naturally the more you feel like giving up, it gets tiring taking the jabs and hooks of Satan and his followers. Psychologically it's exhausting, if you think you can do it on your own, ain't gonna happen! Fighting the fight on your own leads to self-deception, you can think you are doing ok but without the input of other believers and God you haven't got a clue about how you are really doing. Satan is crafty, if he KO's you with immorality or greed or some sin, you might not even be aware of it. That secret sin keeping you on the canvas and you aren't even aware of it. There are folk out there that are "religious theorists" in that regard they are like the audience of a boxing match, they are watching the match, even feeling part of it, but truth be told they are just spectators, not in the action. I remember that boxing match, so many hard hitting realisations that a spectator could never think about. I remember being baptised and realising my religious life prior to that was just a total deception. The bible showed me the rules and it was deeply sobering, prior to that I never even read it, I didn't know the rules just opinions and feelings all of which were false. Keeping on fighting is a big issue, some walk away and throw in the towel. Many of the folk I've known who walk away, most actually walk away because of relationships. Imagine being on the canvas decked by the devil and people are encouraging you to get back up again, but what if there is no-one there to encourage you to get back up? God is always there Amen but at times especially in this modern busy world, people aren't always there. A church can be a very lonely place if you don't feel you know anyone there, way worse than in the world. In the world you expect people to be selfishly motivated and empty of true love, but if you feel that in church your gonna stay on the canvas and ask God some tough "why" questions. Without good relationships you can become despondent, disillusioned, depressed. Often personally I feel only God is there. It's as if it's just me and the devil in the ring and the auditorium is silent, all I have to get up to is yet another beating, you can look around at the dark empty auditorium and it can feel very dark and very lonely. For me certain things really get me down, reaching out to people you never hear back from, like they don't care at all, the modern excuse is "busy" realistically that translates in to selfishness. I've noticed in the city it's way worse than in the countryside, people are "busy" if you aren't strong or take a hit your nothing to them, they have 101 other people to be getting on with, survival of the fittest. The great thing about God is he takes the rejected and despised things of the world and makes victory out of defeat. The journey to the cross was very lonely, for Jesus all his followers had fallen away, yet God was there and he knew by faith he would rise from the dead. Taking the hits can be like that, you've taken hit after hit, all alone, depressed and wondering when will the fight be over, yet by faith you know there is a heaven and it's worth fighting for.

These end times are difficult times, if you're looking for love it often ain't there, Mark 13v12 tells us even brother will betray brother to death. 2 Thess 2 tells of a great falling away. It parallels Jesus journey to the cross, everything was stripped away even his life. Yet the Lord was mission focused saving that thief on the cross. I look at Revelation and see that last round knockout of Satan, in terms of boxing it looks like the fight is over and Satan is about to destroy Christianity ( 2 Thess 2, 2 Tim 3 ) but with just a remnant of hope left Jesus comes back and with one punch wipes out the devil forever. It's like a boxer that looks dead getting up and delivering the hardest punch ever seen ( victory at Armageddon ) Jesus died on the cross and gave up his life, the parallel is the rapture of the church, Yet just as he rose from the dead, we're coming back with Jesus with that knockout blow for Satan and at then his billions of followers. It's easy to feel like giving up as if it's all over less that 10 count but quitting is not an option however lonely and depressing it gets. The victory is assured, heaven awaits.