Although I served Grace Lutheran Church in Denison, Texas for over 32 years before I retired, we lived in Sherman, Texas for most of that time. Those two towns have the longest standing High School football rivalry in Texas. It dates back to 1901, with there being some years they played each other more than once. Back in 1949, someone donated a Battle Ax to be used as the trophy for the team that won this game. This year marked the 126^th Battle of the Ax game between Sherman and Denison. Denison had won for the last 11 years, but Sherman took back the Ax in this year’s contest. By the way, Sherman also had an 11 game win streak at one point, and has won the game more times than Denison overall.

I attended many of these games over the years, but it has been a few years since I have gone to one. I still hear about them before and after the game. Whenever I hear people talking about this football battle, I am reminded that every day of our lives is a battle.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

While Christ has won the victory over sin and death for us through His life and death and resurrection, we still have to struggle with sin and its consequences here on earth. It is our daily battle. Evil is a present reality. But we don’t face it alone.

The weekend many churches will celebrate Reformation Sunday. A hymn that will be sung by many in celebration of the Reformation is “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.  It contains the line, “but for us fights the valiant one whom God himself elected.” He is still with us, by our side, every step of the way. He strengthens us, picks us up when we falter, encourages us to press on, and FIGHTS FOR US!

While we still have our daily battles, we keep it in perspective when we remember that the ultimate battle was won for us by Jesus. And He is still with us.