Gifts from God: Part 5

The Shield of Faith

Ephesians 6:16

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can 

extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (ESV)

We are continuing with the argument that all the Armor of God is a gift.

The Shield faith is no different. 

To truly see why, we need to understand Faith and where it comes from.

So lets break this down..

In Strong's the word comes from: g4102. πίστις pistis; from 3982; persuasion

"credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), 

especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by 

extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:— assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Now I know reading that can sometimes be a lot... 

But...

 in the definition we find meaning and application.

Faith is conviction that something is true and is not questioned.

It is excepted deep in our hearts, and we defend that conviction.

Faith for a Christian is whole hearted acceptance of Jesus Christ

as our personal Savior from the penalty of sin and 

knowing that Christ is sovereign in our lives.

That faith, then drives the Christian to move into battle

with confidence that there is no Eternal Death for them.

From that we obtain courage and motivation.

The Sword and Shield stand out in front of the soldier.

They are key in battle. No soldier lasts without the shield protecting them.

It alone allows the blows to come and not hurt the soldier.

Hold Faith firm in our hand, knowing in your heart

that God holds you in the palm of His Mighty Hand!

In Faith there is no fear. Remember the Disciples on the boat in the storm?

Matthew 8:23-27

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, 

there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped 

by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, 

saying, " Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, 

"Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?"

Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there

 was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of

man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"(ESV)

For Christ, there was no fear of death. He knew

the Father held all things in His hand. 

He had such Faith that He slept while the storm raged!

There will be raging storms in our lives!

Battles so immense, that on our own, we would be overcome!

Accept Christ in your heart! Its a free gift! 

Know the confidence of Eternal Life!

Plunge into battle with your impenetrable Shield of Faith.

The Father holds you and your life in His hand.

Trust in Him, and rest in His Gift of protection.

Gifts from God: Part 4

Ephesians 6:15

and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (ESV)

So as we continue looking at the Armor of God as gifts,

we need to look at the subject matter of the Gospel of Peace...
Which is ultimately, Salvation.
Not earned, but given, received.
Real security is only achieved in receiving the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
In that security, we are able to go forth in Peace proclaiming Him,
knowing our life is set in eternity. In that Joy we also find
the motivation to speak out to others and share the good news of Christ.

Having peace in what we are given through Christ should compel us to move!

Move to those around, Family, Friends, and even strangers.
But, again, we must MOVE!

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus

had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him,

but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (ESV) 

We are commanded to move. We can rest in our peace granted to us by the Lord.

But we need to remember that others need that peace.

Its not just there lives that depend on our movement.

Eternity for them is at stake!

Put on your shoes, we need to be ready.

Take the step. Share!