Good morning!

Three weeks ago I had the privilege to take the stage in front of 600 men - and offer them a critical challenge.

A challenge I want to offer to you as well, regardless if you’re male or female. (So honored to have both men and women here on the journey towards Worthy Wins.)

And this challenge is important no matter what’s going on in your world.

Maybe you’re cruising and life is good. Maybe you’re running on fumes and wondering how you’re going to keep going. Or maybe just maybe you’re like me - sitting in the messy middle of good and difficult. Looking to remember the beautiful parts of life as you navigate hard 💩.

You see, going into it I didn’t know anything specifically about the men in the room. But what I’ve come to see over the last few years is that we are all in a battle in our own ways and lanes.

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​THE BATTLE IN ANCIENT TURKEY - AND TODAY

As foundation for my talk, I was asked to speak about two books of the Bible written to a leader, Timothy, in ancient Ephesus. His mentor (the Apostle Paul - writer of huge chunks of the New Testament) was writing him letters to encourage him as he tried to navigate life in a really challenging setting.

Timothy was a young leader of the church in Ephesus trying to help the followers of Jesus there… actually follow Jesus. Sounds simple, right?

Not exactly. Ephesus is in modern day Turkey. It sits near the coast of the Aegean Sea - and like most large, port cities in that time, it meant a city full of nearly anything anyone could want.

What that meant is that every follower of Jesus there was a fighting battle - whether they acknowledged it or not - to actually live out what they said was most important to them.

Yet the city and the culture they lived in was FULL of opportunities! They were constantly being prompted, whether verbally or just by what they walked by, about things they could do or participate in.

There were so many options and because of that they had to decide what they wanted to fight for!

And that sounds a lot like the world each of us finds ourselves in today two thousand years later.

THE FIGHT FOR TODAY

Here’s where this all comes together. In 1 Timothy 6:11 and 12, Paul lays out a simple challenge and encouragement that we can all benefit from.

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, loves, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Paul is painting a picture in this passage that there is a fight worth fighting - and one that is not. There are Worthy Wins to go after in our lives. But it will always be a fight for the things that matter most in a world with endless opportunities for things we could do.

Which brings me back to these 600 men I was with three weeks ago. Just as Paul didn’t know the exact circumstance of every person in Ephesus, I didn’t know their exact circumstances. Were they already fighting the good fight? Were they failing and fighting for things that are not worthy? Somewhere in between?

The truth: I didn’t need to know where they were at to be able to encourage them.

And I don’t know exactly where you are at while you read this. I don’t need to.

But I do know this: the battle to fight the good fight is today - for every single one of us!

It’s not about where you’re at right now or where you’ve been before today, the call to fight the good fight - to pursue Worthy Wins - is for today.

And then the next day… and the next after that.

But it starts today - for me, for Timothy and the followers of Jesus in Ephesus, and for you.

THE DECLARATION

I closed out my talk to those men doing something a little outside my comfort zone as a person - and a speaker.

But I felt like it was important enough to take a risk.

If you read carefully in the passage above from 1 Timothy the end of it talks about making a confession in front of others. To me, a confession in front of others sounds a whole lot like a declaration. It’s making a statement about what is important! And Paul is indicating that making that statement is foundational to fighting the good fight.

So as my time on stage was coming to a close, I asked all the men to stand up.

I invited them to make a declaration - out loud in front of the group - and to say it with gusto.

And it was worth the risk because in chorus, the men responded to my invitation and repeated after me, “I WANT TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.”

Then I had them repeat it about five more times in the loudest voices they could. I wanted to mark a moment they would remember - the day they declared they want to fight the good fight.

I want the same for you. No matter who you are or what you have or haven’t done, a declaration is a starting point for getting Worthy Wins today.

So, I’m going to risk it here as well - if you want to mark today as a day you fight for what is worthy, would you just reply to me with two things?

1. “Yes - I want to fight for Worthy Wins”
2. Answer this question: “What’s ONE thing you can do today that will lead you towards a Worthy Win in your life?”

I’m rooting for you!

Much love,

JO

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