Armor of God: It’s Your Faith – Know It

 
“…take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”  – Ephesians 6:16

 

The battle for the mind is so unbelievably real.  If, as a believer, you aren’t seeing it or feeling it, step outside of your box and engage with non-believers.  In my 54 years I have never seen a society so offended and set on a path of destroying the Christian church.  From the media, to education, to social media, and the entire entertainment industry.  For years we feared ISIS and foreign terrorists attacking our foundational beliefs, but in the last three years I have seen more from within our own neighborhoods, communities, and relationships than ever before. 

Militant attacks from “non-believers”, Atheists, or Agnostics have increased dramatically with the introduction of social media in the last 5 to 10 years, simply because there is a keyboard and screen to hide behind.  No-one can challenge you when you are sitting in your basement and ridicule others for their beliefs, or blaspheme God, or call for violent actions against others in your media circle.  This is the world in which we now live.  The days of respect for others opinions and beliefs have shamefully become blurry in the rearview mirror of life. 

So, what is our defense?  What is expected from the Christian in today’s battle torn world of religious discrimination?  Faith.  Faith is your choice to stand on the truth of your beliefs.  My faith has been challenged numerous times since I was a young age.  As I’ve matured though, I have come to realize that as much as I have faith in my beliefs for an unseen, unproven God, others have just as much faith in a world created by chance and complete circumstance.  We are therefore caught in a tug of war with those who refuse to accept a creator, or intelligent designer of life. 

Taking up your shield of faith though is essential to battling in this war with the world.  Your ancestors were not challenged in the same manner, but none-the-less their challenges were very real.  We must find within our relationship with God, almighty, the foundation of our faith, and be able to defend it.  To fend off the arrows from society; be it Atheists, Agnostics, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, cult or sect; one must know why they believe what they believe, and who it is that they believe in.  Faith is commonly defined as believing without seeing.  Everyone of us on this earth exercise faith for this battle.  Not one of the individuals on the other side of the argument can definitively prove their case.  Each must rely on faith of something that they believe happened. 

The atheist wasn’t here when the Big-Bang was assumed to take place.  There is no proof of life coming out of the primordial soup or a skeleton of the stages of evolution between different types of animals, as fish became land animals or vice versa.  There is no physical proof as to which came first the eyeball or the brain neurons to enable sight.  There is no physical proof as to which came first the heart to pump the blood or the veins to carry it; and so on, and so on.  You see, we all rely on faith in order to defend our position. 

Your faith in God must be centered on the belief that we are all imperfect sinners in this world.  Every single one of us, for all of time, are destined for eternal separation from God the Father.  For He is perfect and cannot allow for unrighteousness in His presence.  Therefore, there must be an atonement for our iniquities in order to enter into His eternal Kingdom.  In most other religions, this atonement is obtained through the actions of man in an attempt to appease His holiness.  Doing good works is just that good works.  It is not an atonement for our salvation.  For you see, once the good work is completed, you will wake up the next day and sin again, in thought, deed or desire.  Therefore, more good works are required.  How many, which ones, when do I know enough is enough?  

In Jesus Christ, we have a perfect Lamb of God as our sacrifice for our sinful actions.  Jesus died once, and by his bloodshed, death and resurrection, we are redeemed and washed of our sins to be seen by the Father as spotless.  Jesus took my sins upon himself, so that I could receive eternity with God, the Father.  This is the story of our salvation, this is the root of my faith.  Unless someone can come to me with another way to expunge of my sinful nature and be washed completely clean to stand before the Lord on my own, I have nothing else.  I need a Savior because I believe there is something beyond this life.  I believe there is something beyond this life because if there is not, than life is meaningless. 

If nothing happens after one dies, than why did they live?  If there is nothing after life, you could shoot someone tomorrow and it wouldn’t matter.  It’s your choice and you’re entitled to do those things that seem right to you.  It’s sad for them, but what difference does it make, they were going to die someday anyway.  You see how absurd life is, how hopeless it is if there is not something afterwards. 

My faith is rooted in knowing that the Word of God is truth.  I’ve seen the historical biblical evidence in Jerusalem, Athens, Ephesus, Capernaum, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, Istanbul and many other places along the Mediterranean Basin.  I’ve seen Nehemiah’s wall, recorded in scripture around 425 B.C.   It’s there, in Jerusalem, under the old temple walls.  Does this mean the bible is 100% true?  No, of course not.  I have faith that the Bible is the word of God, sent down for man to understand His desire and plan of salvation.  Seeing Nehemiah’s wall though, helps me realize that the historical record in the scriptures (Neh 2:18) were accurately accounted for over 2500 years ago.  Show me a science book discussing primordial soup and evolution from that era.  You must base your faith on your experiences with God, and your relationship with Him.  It cannot be watered down or trivial, for the enemy’s arrows are very pointed and deadly.



Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Wash me oh Lord in your Holy Spirit.  Let Your love for mankind flow through me as I look at the world today.  Let me be an agent of strength, filled with faith, love and deeper understanding of Your ways.  Fill me with Your calling, that I might stand strong in the armor You have provided and defend the attacks from the enemy.  You are my rear guard and You have given me the tools to defend through my confidence and faith in You.  Bless me to be stronger in my quest.
– Amen


© Sondove Enterprises, 2019
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com

Stand Behind the Shield

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“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

  When I was a young boy of 10 or 11 I was faced with my first challenge of God’s existence.  I remember being in elementary school and a boy stated point blank one day that there was no such thing as God.  His point was that God was just a lie people tried to make us believe in so we would act good.  His questions were very basic, “If God exists, where does He live?”; “If there is a God, why did my Grandpa have to die?”; “Face it, there is no proof that God exists.”  I remember not having an answer or the ability to defend or stand up for what I had such a strong belief in. 

As I’ve aged (and Lord knows I have) I’ve come to realize that these are simple examples of Satan’s arrows that Paul refers to in Ephesians 6:16.  Certainly over time these arrows have continue to be fired but now from many different directions.  The age old question of God’s existence continues to baffle the minds of mankind and cause conflicts between families, friends and even countries.  Every single person since the beginning of time has had to answer the same question. “Can I accept something as fact without the physical proof or seeing it.”  I remember watching The 10 Commandments, after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and after experiencing miracle after miracle, they still questioned God’s existence.  The Red Sea parted, manna fell from heaven, water poured from rock and pillars of fire and smoke covered the entire mountain, yet the people still could not follow the commands of an unseen God.  As Moses goes to Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments on stone tablets from the Lord, the Israelites build idols from gold so that they might worship a physical god.

For all generations we have been asked to accept that God created the world and all that is in it.  To accept that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a perfect holy life, died and rose again on the 3^rd day to take away the sins of mankind.  To accept that God loves us, despite how much we do against His laws and commandments.  To accept that Jesus Christ will return and take His children home, and that there will be a judgment day, where all mankind will bow before the throne of the Lord.  These are the truths that we are all asked to believe on faith, not on proof.  I have been to Israel, Greece and Turkey and personally seen proof of buildings and a civilization that lived thousands of years ago.  But this in and of itself does not signify that there is a God in heaven who gave His only Son for us.  To believe that is a decision I have made within my heart and mind, not based on what I have seen, but based solely on the faith that the word of God is true from end to end, and that there is an absolute righteous truth in the world based on the foundations of our Savior’s life, love and grace coupled with God’s Holy laws given to Moses. 

This faith cannot be penetrated by the fiery arrows of this world.  I hold onto this faith in my weakest points, during my struggles and during my periods of temptation in this life to defend against Satan’s attack.  The faith that I am born again and redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ and that because of God’s grace I am accepted into heaven.  The strength of my faith is challenged continually, in many ways, but it is durable and covers me even from death.  Nothing, not a single thing can be brought forth from this world and the evil that exists, can dismiss the fact that I am loved by the most high God and that He has assured me a place in heaven one day.  That is the faith that is beyond understanding, because it is not something I can prove to anyone, it is an individual covenant between me and the Lord.  You must come to an acceptance of God’s promise or not based solely on your ability to accept His love on faith and not proof.   Once you have come to this decision though, there is nothing that can separate you from God’s love.  The fiery arrows of Satan will continue and multiply, but the shield of faith will repel all of them, when you decide to stand behind it.

Prayer:Almighty God,
We have faith that Your word is true. We have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We have faith that You have a plan and are working in this world today to expand Your Kingdom. We have a hope that Jesus Christ will return and deliver us from this world to join You in heaven. We have a hope that our sins are redeemed by His blood and that we are presented blemish free on that day. We have built a faith and hope that rests on the truth of Your promises and scriptures. We rely on this faith to protect us from the evil in the world today and sustain our strength until the day of salvation is here.  In Your heavenly name we pray - Amen

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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