In addition to all this, take up the
shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one. Ephesians 6:16
I
said the following yesterday:
“The
shield. Body armor defends particular
parts of the body against personal assault, and provides one type of
defense. A shield is different. It can be moved, it can defend against broad,
sweeping attack, such as flaming arrows...”
Let’s
think about that a little more. Other
parts of the armor, the parts we wear, stay on us, stay in place, guarding
particular areas. We put it on, and we move on. The helmet goes where the head
goes, the shoes with our feet, and so on.
But
the shield requires intentional decisions and actions. One must face the enemy, determine the mode
of attack and its trajectory, and move the shield into the proper defensive
posture.
So
then, when we know we are about to be attacked, whether days in advance or
split seconds before, we must then lift up our faith! We must take our faith in Christ Jesus and
put it in between the enemy’s launch and ourselves.
When
we sense an imminent attack, we must lift up our shields, lifting up by
praying, studying the Word, seeking wise counsel, etc., and then hold up our
faith to the onslaught that will come.
The arrows of temptation or attacks
on the integrity of Scripture or…whatever…
Properly positioned, the shield will
protect us!
Questions:
1.
How do you see faith as a shield?
2.
What arrows are the most dangerous to you?
3. How
do you position your shield?
May
we lead with our shield. Jim
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Faith is to believe what we do not
see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."
Augustine
"Faith never knows where it is
being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading."
Oswald Chambers
"Faith is the art of holding on to
things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods."
C.S.
Lewis
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