THE GREATEST GIFTS – Day 22

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THE GIFT OF WEAPONRY, THE SHIELD OF FAITH

“And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One.” (Ephesians 6:16, NCV).

What an interesting picture! When I think of Roman soldiers and their shields, I think of shields used for protection against swords and maces in hand-to-hand combat, not flaming arrows. Think about flaming arrows. They must be shot at you from quite a distance, right? I visualize Centurions looking skyward and seeing them from a long way off. I think that is good news, even great news! If you are a child of Christ and have faith in Him, you can first acknowledge that there is a battle going on. Dear child of God, please know that you are always closer to Jesus than Satan. Let me say that again: you are always closer to Jesus than you are to the enemy. The nearness of God will supernaturally protect you. If we look with the eyes of Christ, we can see the adversary trying to attack us some distance away. That usually gives us room to maneuver out of the way.

Shields are buffers between you and something designed to take you down. They protect you. What is faith?

“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1, CEV).

Another way of saying that is this: God is who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do. So, hold up that faith shield! Believe in what you can’t see, and in doing so, you will see God in a real way.

If you are a new creation in Christ, then you are born of God. You are His child, His heir. Look at the reference to “faith” in 1 John:

“Everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world — our faith. So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5, NCV).

So, our faith, your faith, crushes the world and all its struggles and strife! What a great gift! Faith is the “power that brings the world to its knees,” as one translation suggests.

Jesus is known in every follower by way of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is greater than anything this world throws at you. Greater than abuse. Greater than addictions. Greater than abandonment. Greater than grief or loss. No matter what we feel we are buried under or drowning in, God is greater! We are victorious!

Receive and use this gift, the shield of faith, to help defeat the enemy and the lies he throws at you. Deflect them today. Be strong in the Lord and His mighty power!

PRAYER

Father God, thank you for the gift of faith. Would you please increase my faith in you? Would you help me use this gift to defeat the enemy? Thank you that you are always closer to me than Satan. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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This advent devotional can be found on the YouVersion Bible App here.

So Good.

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God is kind, but he’s not soft.

What is something that is “so good” you can’t live without it? You may recall the old ketchup TV ad that used a creative pun to promote their condiment as being “slowwww gooood.”

During the summer months some may have a favorite vacation spot that is “so good!” Others might find it to be an escape with a book or movie that is “so good.”

For the Believer, truly God is so, so good to us. He really is!

The Bible is full of promises of the goodness of God. But here’s the thing: God’s goodness does not depend on our goodness. Thanks to His grace, there  is nothing we have to do to earn His goodness.

Paul says it this way: But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do; God accepts sinners only because they have faith in Him. (Romans 4:5 MSG).

God also confirms His goodness through the writings of Solomon: God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. (Lamentations 3:25 MSG)

So, goodness comes to the faithful who wait, to those who seek.

Why is God good to us? Again from Paul:  God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness He takes us by the hand and leads us into a radical life change. (Romans 2:4 MSG)

That’s why He is good to us! It’s not just for the sake of our happiness or joy. No, God is good to us because He wants to see radical life change in us. He wants us to let Him guide us and lead us to true transformation!

And then, as we are inspired to grow, we can have an impact on those around us.  Think about it. If a group of people is inspired to accept God’s goodness, be led by Him, be more like Him, be transformed by Him, that group can collectively have a God-sized impact on the community in which they live. And that’s where God’s goodness get exciting!

You may be feeling like He is distant or ignoring you right now.  The key is to have the faith to believe, to passionately wait and to diligently seek.

You will see Him. And you will see that God is so, so good.

 

(c) Rich Ronald. 2019.

Trust God. Period.

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Psalm20

David writes in Psalm 20:7:

Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the LORD our God.

A chariot combined with a horse was one of the most powerful weapons of war in King David’s day.  The first six verses of the psalm suggest it is penned for the person who is in trouble or who needs to be rescued. Some have called this psalm a prayer for victory. When life has you against a wall, where is the source of any true triumph? It is only in trusting the LORD; it is only in trusting God.

Do you see what David did there? Look at the chariots. They are man-made objects. Sometimes we can trust in those kinds of things, right? Our homes. Our cars. Our jobs. Even our churches.

But these are things that all have the potential to fall apart, rust, disappear or even close.

Or how about the living things like the horses? How often have we trusted in people only to have them fail us? Our spouse. Our children. Our boss. Our parents. Our friends. This list is endless because people are people. Often selfishness tends to put our wants before others’ needs. As a result, we don’t live up to expectations.

There is only One to whom we can confidently put our trust in: God. He will never fail us. He will never disappoint us. He will not fall apart on us or disappear. He will answer you “with the victorious power of his right hand.” (Psalm 20:6).

Certainly, it is important to build your marriage on trust or maintain the roof so rain will not leak into your house. Whether it’s a catastrophe or a minor offense, we will be let down by both the living and inanimate. “The chariots will rust and the horse will pull up lame.” (Psalm 20:7 MSG).

But we can confidently trust God! Period. He knows us and knows what is best for us. You can trust Him. You can! And, the victory we have in God’s economy is this: “God blesses everyone who trusts Him.” (Proverbs 16:20 CEV).

 

(c) Rich Ronald. 2019.

Bad news? You can go from mourning to great joy!

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Broken walls. Broken hearts. The story of the People of God from Nehemiah.

Do you remember a time when your heart was so broken you cried for days? You mourned and wept without ceasing? Maybe a spouse or child had died? Maybe something horrible happened to a friend? Maybe you moved across the land only to find that that which was supposed to be beautiful, turned out to be awful. It’s hard to weep and mourn for so long, isn’t it? It’s a challenge to recover from news that is so devastating, right? That’s my story.

My name is Nehemiah. And I was a cupbearer to the king, a wine steward.

I worked in the palace of the King in Susa. All of us Jews were scattered like the wind. Some were in exile, like me hundreds of miles away from our home. But the times had changed, some had weathered the exile in the Land and others had the good fortune to return to the beloved City of David.

My brother was one of those who had an opportunity to visit Jerusalem recently. Upon his return, I asked him about our fellow Israelites. I was hopeful that life in Judah was going very well. Deep in my soul I longed to return to the land of our roots.

The news from Hanani broke my heart. He said those who were there were in bad shape, adding that the conditions there were appalling. The walls of Jerusalem were in rubble. The city gates burned and in cinders. The city was unprotected and vulnerable.

What?

But hadn’t the people returned under Zerubbabel under the direct order of King Cyrus to rebuild the temple? Wouldn’t they have rebuilt the walls too? At that moment I was brought to my knees. I realized that the People of Israel, including me, had sinned greatly against the God of Heaven. We had built our own houses before building His house. We married foreign wives. We turned our backs against Him.

After all He had done for us. For years we didn’t even worship Him. And now, the walls of Jerusalem had been attacked. The gates were burned. And all the work and effort of the people to rebuild would be for naught. And more importantly God’s glory would be tarnished by us, his selfish children.

I wept for days. I couldn’t believe how the people had sinned against God… and I counted myself in that group as well.  We hadn’t followed His commands. I was a broken man with a broken heart.

I fasted. I prayed. I humbled myself before God. He gave me a plan. He told me that I should personally see to the rebuilding. Me? But where would I get the funds to rebuild the walls of great city of Jerusalem? Who would help? And what about those who would plot evil against this plan, and thwart our effort?

I love God. I trust God. So, I asked Him to move in the heart of King Artazerxes.  When I asked the monarch of this distant land, and others, to help me… God granted me favor! And the walls were rebuilt in record time. But more than that, the hearts of the people of Israel were rebuilt as well!

There was sadness. There was prayer. Then there was hearing from God. Then there was action. And finally, there was great, great joy!

Some of the words, actions and thoughts, perhaps, of Nehemiah, from the book in the Bible that bears his name.

This story opens with sorrow and mourning… and a call to God to please forgive our stubborn ways. And I wonder, who mourns today for that which breaks God’s heart? Who mourns for the most vulnerable of children? Who mourns that our nation turns away from God? Who mourns with the widow?

But Nehemiah’s story didn’t end there… no… when the people had ears to hear… and when they acted with courageous faith, this story ends with great joy!

And that’s our story, isn’t it?  That’s the truth of the Gospel. When you align your life to God’s word, when you are obedient after hearing from God, there is joy!

If you are in a season of mourning… a season where your heart is broken… let Jesus and His Holy Spirit rebuild your broken heart, your broken life.  He can do it. He will do it!

 

This is an excerpt of a sermon based on Chapter 21 of THE STORY. You can watch it here.

 

 

(c) 2017 Rich Ronald.

Advent Day 22, The Gift of Faith

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December 22, 2011

The Gift of Weaponry, the Shield of Faith

This Advent Daily Devotional is focusing on the gifts God gives us, as uncovered in the book of Ephesians.

And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. (Ephesians 6:16, NCV)

What an interesting picture this is!  First of all, when I think of Roman soldiers and their shields, I think of them using the shield to protect against swords and maces, in hand-to-hand combat, not flaming arrows.  Think about flaming arrows… they must be shot at you at quite a distance, right?  I think that is good news, even great news!  If you are child of Christ, if you have any faith in Him — yes, there IS a battle going on — but know that you are ALWAYS closer to Jesus than you are to Satan.   Let me say that again: you are always closer to Jesus than you are to the enemy.  You will supernaturally be protected by the closeness of God. 

What is faith?  Hebrews 11:1 says: Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. (CEV)

Hold up that faith shield.  Believe in what you can’t see, and in doing so, you will see God in a real way.

If you are a new creation in Christ, then you are born of God, you are a child of God.  Look at the reference to “faith” in 1 John:

Everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:4-5 (NCV)

So… our faith… your faith… conquers the world!  What a great gift! 

And that fits right in with Jesus own words: “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world.”  John 16:33 (NCV)

Use this gift this Advent to help you defeat the enemy and the lies he throws at you.  Deflect them with your shield of faith.

Father God, thank you for the gift of faith.  Would you please increase my faith in you?  Would you help me use this gift to defeat the enemy?  And thank you that you are always closer to me than Satan.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

© 2011. Rich Ronald