Me: Good morning Lord. Thank you for waking me this morning and for this new day you have made. I love you Lord.
Lord: The Shield of Faith
One of the great pieces of equipment for the Christian walk that comes from love, is faith. Faith is a greatly misused word. It has come to mean 'religion'. Mankind talks about people of 'different faiths', but what he really means is different religions. It would be more accurate to say, 'people who put their faith in different things'. I said that faith comes out of love, and that is what I mean. Faith comes through knowing me and beginning to trust me. It is one of the gifts I gave at Pentecost to equip the church for the mission ahead. Faith is the ability to believe in me and hold on to me even though the final outcome is not visible to human eyes. I highly prize faith in a believer and will honour the faithful.
Faith is not blind as some would have you believe! Faith many not yet have seen with physical eyes the outcome, but it is very much a part of using your spiritual eyes and seeing the thing I show you, so it has to do with living prophecy in your life. I speak the word and you hold on to the word until you see it fulfilled.
Faith is like the shield carried by a soldier. Just as a shield is a very practical tool used to protect and deflect, so faith is far from passive. Faith turns to counter the darts of doubt and scorn. Faith grows strong when when it is covered with trust in me. Faith also grows strong with spiritual understanding, so it is reinforced by a good relationship with me.
Many see faith as an individual thing and say, 'my faith is personal'. That is true only as far as faith is built upon your love and encounter with me. However faith is also a corporate thing. Sharing your faith, 'telling your story', why you believe, how you came to know me, and what I have done for you, encourages others who also tell their story. Combine these stories and you have a community of faith. To continue the soldier and his shield analogy, Roman soldiers would stand together in a tight group. Those on the edge of the group would stand with their shields together on the ground forming a wall of protection all round. Those in the middle raise their shields above their heads to form a roof. Thus the protection is complete against missiles arrows and even javelins.
I want my Church to be a community of faith, actively using their faith as shields to protect themselves and each other from the darts and arrows of doubt, unbelief and lies. Do not let you faith be aimless and 'blind', but rooted and grounded in love and trust in me. Be a faithful people for me. I love you.
Lord: The Shield of Faith
One of the great pieces of equipment for the Christian walk that comes from love, is faith. Faith is a greatly misused word. It has come to mean 'religion'. Mankind talks about people of 'different faiths', but what he really means is different religions. It would be more accurate to say, 'people who put their faith in different things'. I said that faith comes out of love, and that is what I mean. Faith comes through knowing me and beginning to trust me. It is one of the gifts I gave at Pentecost to equip the church for the mission ahead. Faith is the ability to believe in me and hold on to me even though the final outcome is not visible to human eyes. I highly prize faith in a believer and will honour the faithful.
Faith is not blind as some would have you believe! Faith many not yet have seen with physical eyes the outcome, but it is very much a part of using your spiritual eyes and seeing the thing I show you, so it has to do with living prophecy in your life. I speak the word and you hold on to the word until you see it fulfilled.
Faith is like the shield carried by a soldier. Just as a shield is a very practical tool used to protect and deflect, so faith is far from passive. Faith turns to counter the darts of doubt and scorn. Faith grows strong when when it is covered with trust in me. Faith also grows strong with spiritual understanding, so it is reinforced by a good relationship with me.
Many see faith as an individual thing and say, 'my faith is personal'. That is true only as far as faith is built upon your love and encounter with me. However faith is also a corporate thing. Sharing your faith, 'telling your story', why you believe, how you came to know me, and what I have done for you, encourages others who also tell their story. Combine these stories and you have a community of faith. To continue the soldier and his shield analogy, Roman soldiers would stand together in a tight group. Those on the edge of the group would stand with their shields together on the ground forming a wall of protection all round. Those in the middle raise their shields above their heads to form a roof. Thus the protection is complete against missiles arrows and even javelins.
I want my Church to be a community of faith, actively using their faith as shields to protect themselves and each other from the darts and arrows of doubt, unbelief and lies. Do not let you faith be aimless and 'blind', but rooted and grounded in love and trust in me. Be a faithful people for me. I love you.
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